Faculty Share Knowledge at Cuba-Canada Maternal-Child Health Event
Faculty from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology are known to have strong connections with advocacy efforts in women's health both at home and abroad. Our department's international connections have only grown stronger, thanks in part to the new Cuba-Canada Maternal-Child Health Symposium. The overall goal of this new event was to encourage a connection between clinicians and researchers from Canada and Cuba, allowing for knowledge sharing that will better enhance the health of women and children in both countries.
The Symposium, which ran over two days in March (25th and 26th) in Cuba's Varadero Beach, hosted a number of researchers, clinicians, educators and students from Canada, Cuba and the Netherlands. Topics at the event ranged from prenatal care to postpartum care, with talks ultimately encouraging more interaction and collaboration between everyone involved. Dr. Stephen Lye, Professor with UofT ObGyn and one of the presidents of the Cuba-Canada symposium, said that his Cuban colleagues were very excited about the collaboration and the possibility of expanding their connection. Although Cuba's primary healthcare system is proactive and similar to Canada in terms of health outcomes for newborn and prenatal care, the country is still fairly isolated when it comes to connections with others in research and innovation. This symposium marks a large step towards stronger connections between Canadian and Cuban clinicians and researchers.
Dr. Lye was joined at the event by a number of UofT ObGyn faculty members, including Drs Dan Farine (Professor), Shoo Lee (Professor), Stephen Matthews (Professor) and Wendy Whittle (Assistant Professor). Dr. Lye was very grateful to the faculty who attended the event, as they displayed their dedication to improving connections with international colleagues. Thanks to this event, a number of research projects were proposed, including:
- A trial to increase rates of exclusive breastfeeding
- A DOHaD (Developmental Origins of Health and Disease) cohort embedded in the Cuban health system
- An analysis of individuals born during the "special period" in the early 1990s when the Russian government pulled out of Cuba, leading to nutritional adversity (a project also looking at the similarities between this time and the food rationing by the Germans for the Dutch people during the Second World War)
The Symposium will be back again next year, and Dr. Lye hopes that more of his Canadian, Cuban and Dutch colleagues will join them at this important networking and research event in the future.
You can learn more about the past event here.
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