News-Medical Canada
Moosonee sharing circles shape a comic-style report on heart health
Knowledge recapCleared for publication
Researchers from University Health Network and the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority held sharing circles in Moosonee, Ontario, to hear how community members experience heart health. They used a community-based participatory approach and reported four themes. Heart health is more than clinical numbers. Trauma needs to be honoured. Relationships help take the stigma out of care. Solutions start with the community. Humour emerged as a way people connect and draw strength. The team presented the findings as a comic-style graphic report. It uses two-eyed seeing, described as negotiating between two cultures, to bring Indigenous and Western knowledge together. The release calls it the first report of its kind in CJC Open. "Comics are one way we can make research equitable for everyone." — Q. Jane Zhao, first author and lead graphic artist
Why it matters
The authors call for care that goes beyond clinical management, including culturally grounded nutrition and relationship-centred care. The release says First Nations people in Canada are about 2.5 times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease and that remote James and Hudson Bay communities may travel 3 to 9 hours for care.
Read the original at News-Medical
Origins, evidence and credits
Original headline: Novel report uses two-eyed seeing to bridge Indigenous health knowledge
- Origins and holders
- The experiences come from Moosonee community members who took part in the sharing circles, gathered through a UHN and WAHA partnership and published in CJC Open.
- What was checked
- The source does not describe independent checking, and it does not say whether community members reviewed the report (the News-Medical page is marked "Reviewed" but names no reviewer).
- Limits reported
- None stated in the source.
People and institutions credited
Sahr Wali, PhD (principal investigator and team lead, TRANSFORM Heart Failure Strategic Initiative, Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, University Health Network, University of Toronto); Q. Jane Zhao (first author, lead graphic artist, and PhD candidate, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto); Justice Seidel (WAHA co-author, medical student at Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, and Member of Moose Cree First Nation); Laura Banks, PhD, MA (author of the accompanying editorial; Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, and University Health Network, Toronto); community members in Moosonee who took part in the sharing circles; University Health Network (UHN) and Weeneebayko Area Health Authority (WAHA) (research partners); Elsevier (news release).