> Dean champions aboriginal/developing countries’ health issues
Dean champions aboriginal/developing countries’ health issues
January 9, 2008
A Simon Fraser University professor with high-profile research
interests will talk about his work and how it reflects the Faculty of
Health Sciences’ (FHS) vision at an upcoming luncheon.
Appointed the new FHS dean on September 1, 2007, John O’Neil will address a luncheon hosted by SFU President Michael Stevenson on Wednesday, January 16. The presentation, to be held at the Segal Graduate School of Business at SFU’s downtown campus from 11:45 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., will be O’Neil’s first public speech as the FHS dean.
A public-health sciences professor, O’Neil will talk about FHS’s inter-disciplinary approach to improving the health outcomes of people worldwide. He will also talk about how his research on aboriginal and Third World health issues mirrors the FHS’s inter-disciplinary approach and is making a difference in world health outcomes.
O’Neil’s drive to understand why population health varies significantly and how to improve it globally has taken him into some of the world’s most devastated aboriginal and Third World communities.
“Disparities in social conditions cause much of the variation in the health of various populations because they make some communities more vulnerable to health problems, especially chronic and infectious diseases,” notes O’Neil.
O’Neil’s dedication to helping aboriginal communities beat alcoholism, poverty and domestic violence was ignited by what he saw in a central Arctic Inuit community where he was researching traditional healing in the late 1970s. He was a master’s student in anthropology at the University of Saskatchewan.
“The community experienced the first known Inuit youth suicide in Canada,” remembers O’Neil. “What was primarily known as something that the elderly did to ensure the food supply of their community during periods of starvation, has become an epidemic among Aboriginal youth.”
Over the next 20 years, O’Neil produced more than 120 papers on aboriginal health issues. They established that a strong local government, local health institutions, and cultural continuity are keys to improving health in aboriginal communities.
O’Neil continues to collaborate with colleagues at the University of Manitoba to investigate how weaknesses in these areas correlates to epidemic levels of suicide, diabetes, injuries and chronic and infectious diseases in aboriginal communities.
O’Neil’s 23 years as a researcher, professor and administrator at the University of Manitoba prior to coming to SFU led him to work with colleagues in Manitoba, India and China to develop HIV/AIDS prevention programs. They focus on training health professionals at the community level to provide prevention services to these developing countries’ most vulnerable populations, particularly sex trade workers.
Recently, O’Neil traveled to India to sign an agreement that will see SFU help India train its own public health professionals to combat infectious and chronic diseases. It’s the first agreement of its kind between India and a Canadian university.
— 30 — (electronic photo file available) For more information on John O'Neil see the backgrounder.
Appointed the new FHS dean on September 1, 2007, John O’Neil will address a luncheon hosted by SFU President Michael Stevenson on Wednesday, January 16. The presentation, to be held at the Segal Graduate School of Business at SFU’s downtown campus from 11:45 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., will be O’Neil’s first public speech as the FHS dean.
A public-health sciences professor, O’Neil will talk about FHS’s inter-disciplinary approach to improving the health outcomes of people worldwide. He will also talk about how his research on aboriginal and Third World health issues mirrors the FHS’s inter-disciplinary approach and is making a difference in world health outcomes.
O’Neil’s drive to understand why population health varies significantly and how to improve it globally has taken him into some of the world’s most devastated aboriginal and Third World communities.
“Disparities in social conditions cause much of the variation in the health of various populations because they make some communities more vulnerable to health problems, especially chronic and infectious diseases,” notes O’Neil.
O’Neil’s dedication to helping aboriginal communities beat alcoholism, poverty and domestic violence was ignited by what he saw in a central Arctic Inuit community where he was researching traditional healing in the late 1970s. He was a master’s student in anthropology at the University of Saskatchewan.
“The community experienced the first known Inuit youth suicide in Canada,” remembers O’Neil. “What was primarily known as something that the elderly did to ensure the food supply of their community during periods of starvation, has become an epidemic among Aboriginal youth.”
Over the next 20 years, O’Neil produced more than 120 papers on aboriginal health issues. They established that a strong local government, local health institutions, and cultural continuity are keys to improving health in aboriginal communities.
O’Neil continues to collaborate with colleagues at the University of Manitoba to investigate how weaknesses in these areas correlates to epidemic levels of suicide, diabetes, injuries and chronic and infectious diseases in aboriginal communities.
O’Neil’s 23 years as a researcher, professor and administrator at the University of Manitoba prior to coming to SFU led him to work with colleagues in Manitoba, India and China to develop HIV/AIDS prevention programs. They focus on training health professionals at the community level to provide prevention services to these developing countries’ most vulnerable populations, particularly sex trade workers.
Recently, O’Neil traveled to India to sign an agreement that will see SFU help India train its own public health professionals to combat infectious and chronic diseases. It’s the first agreement of its kind between India and a Canadian university.
— 30 — (electronic photo file available) For more information on John O'Neil see the backgrounder.