Who they are and what they look like.
Frontline Health Knowledge Network users share some common traits :
They work on the frontlines of health.
They want to establish and expand their network of contacts.
They want to build communities of practice around common issues.
They are looking for innovative solutions.
They have developed innovative solutions.
They are keen to share information and best practices with others.
Learn more :
About Frontline HealthInnovative solutions
Research being done on the frontlines
The following organizations are already actively using the Frontline Health Knowledge Network. They have set up communities of practice around issues that are of interest to them. And they want to connect with others who face similar challenges to share best practices and solutions.
Victoria Youth Clinic: providing health and support services to street-involved youth.
Community Health Initiative by University Students: providing University students in health services with volunteer opportunities in inner-city clinics.
B.C. Transgender Health Providers: improving the transgender community's access to quality healthcare.
Note: Information on how you can join one of these communities of practice is included with each of the descriptions below.
Victoria Youth Clinic
By the late 1990's a crisis was building in Victoria, B.C. around finding appropriate healthcare for street-involved youth. Walk-in clinics could bandage their wounds and splint their broken arms, but couldn't offer continuity of care. There was nowhere to send them for counseling or to help them with addictions or housing or food. Practitioners working with street-involved youth began to speak out and members of the community decided to take action. The Victoria Youth Clinic was born. It provides health and support services to street-involved youth, helping them learn how to make good decisions about their lives and providing them with continuity of care.
JOIN the Youth Community.
Learn more :
Victoria Youth Clinice-Learning Module - Street Involved and Marginalized Youth in Canada
e-Learning Module - Sexual/Reproductive Healthcare in Vulnerable Adolescent Women
Community Health Initiative by University Students (CHIUS)
People choose to enter the medical professions for many reasons, but first among them is the desire to help. When a group of health and medical students at the University of British Columbia took their compassion for the patient and their passion for learning to the world outside their classrooms, they came up with a great idea that quickly became a growing movement in Universities across Canada.
The Community Health Initiative by University Students (CHIUS) provides students in health professions with volunteer opportunities at a downtown Vancouver clinic. This inner-city clinic serves some of Vancouver's most marginalized populations. Other student-led volunteer initiatives exist in cities across Canada - such as SWITCH* in Saskatoon and SHINE* in Edmonton - and throughout North America. These interprofessional clinics and programs have become models for innovative delivery of care in inner-city communities in North America.
CHIUS hosted a meeting in Victoria, B.C. in May 2007, on inter-professional, student-led health initiatives. The main objective was to provide students with the insights and tools needed to successfully establish their own initiatives in their home communities. SWITCH and SHINE joined the discussion, along with other health faculties from across Canada. The dialogue started at this meeting will continue on-line through the FLH Knowledge Network. To date, only CHIUS and SWITCH are on the knowledge network. We encourage other student organizations to join.
JOIN the CHIUS Community
JOIN the SWITCH Community
Learn more :
CHIUSSWITCH
* Student Wellness Initiative Toward Community Health (SWITCH) and Student Health Initiative for the Needs of Edmonton (SHINE)
B.C. Transgender Health Providers
The Transgender Health Program was launched by Vancouver Coastal Health in June 2003 to improve the transgender community's access to quality health and social care in B.C. The program brings together transgender people, their loved ones, healthcare providers, health planners, and researchers.
JOIN the Transgender Health Providers Community