Author Archives: IHPME GSU

IHPME GSU Student Feedback Survey 2020 – Results

Thank you to everyone who participated in the IHPME GSU Student Feedback Survey (formerly called the Course Union Survey) which was distributed in Spring/Summer 2020.

The intention is for the feedback to not only describe the current experiences of students, but to be used to inform departmental and administrative improvements, academic and curriculum development, and future student activities at the school.

Results from this survey are now available. We are excited to announce that our report includes a link to an anonymized copy of the data set for students to run their own analyses!

IHPME GSU Student Feedback Survey 2020

We invite you to participate in an online, anonymous survey conducted every 2 years that gathers information on students’ experiences in their programs including  student experience, course work, supervision and mentorship, and funding and professional development opportunities.

This survey is an important tool to enhance the student experience and collect information on student life, course work, supervision and mentorship, and funding and professional development opportunities. Results of this survey will be compiled into a report and shared with students and IHPME administration to inform course delivery, program planning, and future departmental activities.

There is a chance to be randomly chosen to win one of 12 prizes!

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Stay safe & healthy: COVID-19 Resources

All resources & updates have been moved to our COVID-19 sub-page:


GSU Skating Social – postponed

Please be advised that in light of the current CoVID19 climate (officially declared a pandemic yesterday by the World Health Organization), the GSU will be cancelling this event until further notice. 

Guidance from Public Health Ontario suggests social distancing as critical for containing spread and most large organizations are taking measures such as cancelling gatherings of larger than 20 people. Thus, the GSU would rather err on the side of caution. Stay tuned as we will do our best to reschedule this event once it is safe to do so.

In the meantime, please practice good hygiene and stay healthy!

IHPME Student Town Hall 2020

Want to discuss courses, funding, study space or anything else with our IHPME Director Dr. Audrey Laporte and Graduate Coordinator Dr. Whitney Berta?

Come our to their Student Town Hall this Thursday (March 5) @ 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM at HSB 412. Lunch will be served!

Prefer to submit anonymously? 
Submit your questions here and our moderators will bring it up.

Can’t make it in-person?
We’ve got you covered – dial in via 416-933-3853 #1407579.

HEALTH & WELLNESS – CALL FOR PEER CONTACTS & HASHTAG CONTEST


Elzar Sipin, our IHPME GSU Health & Wellness Lead is on a quest to reinvigorate health & wellness initiatives at IHPME. He is looking for Health & Wellness Peer Contacts & a creative hashtag to promote health & wellness at IHPME:

  1. Health & Wellness Peer Contact
    Under the IHPME GSU Health & Wellness Lead, this volunteer student role will support fellow students by recognizing mental health concerns and be a point-of-contact to provide service navigation to the appropriate support program available. In addition, this role will help improve mental health capacity in their school community by engaging in health & wellness events, educational presentations, and providing new updates to student peers. 
    Interested? E-mail elzar.sipin@mail.utoronto.ca 
  2. Hashtag Contest: Enter up to three hashtags for a chance to win a coffee gift card if yours is the chosen one: https://forms.gle/DkaRemhAhvkeaam89

UNLEASHING THE IMPACT OF OUR THESES TO INVENT A BETTER FUTURE, TOGETHER

This is an invitation from a fellow DLSPH Ph.D. candidate to imagine a different future and to join forces to create it. Our theses are driven by innovative ideas, that we invested years and years of our lives developing and transforming into evaluated, high-quality insights and evidence. Yet, most of our work will have unclear impact, while remaining largely unknown. What if we had the opportunity to maximize the impact of our intellectual contributions by joining forces to create a vision of a healthy future and to steer change in the world towards our vision? To begin with, let’s start making visible what is invisible.

Please complete the following short survey (https://bit.ly/34YfHy2) which should not take more than 5 minutes, before December 20, 2019. It is designed to reveal how ready we are for a quest like this, and what we need to do to pursue it successfully.

CALL FOR SUPPORT: UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH (UTJPH)

The UTJPH is calling for your support of a new student-led peer-reviewed journal of public health at the University of Toronto, called The University of Toronto Journal of Public Health (UTJPH), expected to launch in January 2020.

The University of Toronto Journal of Public Health will feature:

·        Original Research

·        Commentaries

·        Reviews

·        Practicum Reflections

Student benefits: 

  1. Hands-on experience in peer-review publication process
  2. Publishing opportunities to showcase exceptional contributions to practicum partners, public, and wider academic community
  3. Share new ideas that sparks thoughtful discussions on pressing public health issues
  4. Build resume/CV for future job and graduate school applications
  5. Editorial experience (for student-led editorial team)

Want to show your support for the UTJPH? You may lend your support in 3 ways:

  1. Provide your name and email address in the form below to demonstrate your support of the UTJPH launch
  2. Share your ideas & show your interest to contribute to the journal by completing the optional survey
  3. Share this UTJPH Call for Support form with others in the DLSPH community

Link to signatures of support form & optional survey: https://forms.gle/Q2dWerDUmG9i2DT69

By collecting signatures from the DLSPH community, we are building a case to show there is collective interest in launching the University of Toronto Journal of Public Health (UTJPH). Your survey input will help to create a meaningful student-led journal for the DLSPH community.

Modernizing Doctoral & Post-Doctoral Training

Check out these exciting new Longwoods papers by IHPME’s very own:

Training for Impact
The Career Outcomes of Health Services and Policy Research Doctoral
Graduates
Training for Health System Improvement
Making Contributions and Defining Success
Developing Competencies for Health System Impact
Exploring Mentorship as a Strategy to Build Capacity and Optimize the
Embedded Scientist Workforce

October 23rd 2020

MINUTES:
Present: Lydia, Dane, Chloe, Anna, Qi, Husayn, Lilian, Ruby, Maaike, Dave, Alex, Alyssa,
Arlinda, Rebecca, Elzar, Tara, Chris, Flora, Emmanuelle, Brian, Mairead, Jessica, Victoria
Regrets: Dina, Nada, Mikayla, Kayla, Danielle, Aravind, Katherine, Monica, Isra, Jillian,
Crystal, Zakariya, Amika
General announcements:

  1. Discussion with our program director: Dr. Audrey Laporte (interim director until Dec
    2019)
    o Very supportive of overall student wellness
    o Invitation to IHPME faculty meetings
    § Will give us an opportunity to inform and engage staff for any GSU
    initiatives

o Has invited Arlinda and Lydia to the faculty meetings to ensure that we have a
clear connect with the faculty (every other month)
o If there are any specific things that come up within each of your sub-committees,
please let Arlinda or Lydia know so we can pass this along to the faculty
o Had a successful meeting today – told them about our mentorship activities, etc.

  1. $500 conference funds extended to include data collection activities as well (submit
    receipts for reimbursements as usual). Will be shared more broadly soon.
    • Anything that has to do with your thesis project, you can submit for
  2. IHPME GSU 2019-2020 Accomplishments
    . Please fill out any accomplishments (events hosted, mentors recruited etc.) here:
    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1scpbJd5JcBsb1WEII-KqKa6vr6NFyK9-
    C5gjrKlaMqY/edit?usp=drive_web&ouid=100148773532213751027
  3. Part-time work:

• Short term contract with ACE (Accessing centre for expertise) (ASAP) –
please share with colleagues

• https://ihpme.utoronto.ca/events/student-information-session-ace-accessing-
centre-for-expertise/

o Knowledge of Cantonese or mandarin
o 4-week contract to work on a project – ideally 2-3 days/week
o Would be working very closely with Rebecca Hancock Howard
o Literature review, conceptual framework, and developing the slide
deck for meeting
o Will send around posting
o MORE Info:
§ ACE contract (3-4 weeks working with Dr. Rebecca
Hancock-Howard)
§ Ideally we would have someone 2-3 days per week over the
next 3-4 weeks. Some of the work could be flexible, but I’d

like to work closely with the person so they’d need to be
willing/able to meet in person at IHPME 1-2 times per week
during regular working hours.
§ The duties do not fall within a standard project style. We’d
need someone to help develop a conceptual framework, help
draft a report based on a targeted (informal) literature review,
and help prepare materials (slide deck) for an upcoming
roundtable consultation.
§ Email Rebecca.Hancock@utoronto.ca for more information or
if interested.

GSU Exec Check-in:
• President: Arlinda Ruco
o Thanks so much to the people who volunteered at IHPME’s open house! You are
great!
o Thank you for Lydia, Dane, and Mikayla who went to Moonshot and had a booth
• Vice-President: Lydia Sequeira
o No updates
• Secretary: Flora Vieira Zamora
o No updates
• Communications Lead: Dina Bayoumy
o Please send by Friday for posting the next Monday
o Also please let her know which avenue she needs to use to send out the info
• Treasurer: Brian Lo
o Head Grant Application
§ Finished and will submit and have a better indication of our funding
o Expense Reimbursement:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0X7SEl54VcoRUOlsaiv8gzXuN_j
J6JmTGEPRoocoUt5Q73Q/viewform
• Social Activities Coordinator: Jessica Ramlakhan
o Dalla Lana food drive (more info below)
o Pub Night – Nov 6
o Skating night
• Health and Wellness Lead: Elzar Sipin
o Has contacted Whitney and Audrey regarding some dates, hasn’t heard back
o Has some ideas but wants to make sure the senior leadership is on board
o Has a contact for a speaker RE: burnout – will reach out
o If anyone has any ideas, please contact Elzar at elzar.sipin@mail.utoronto.ca

Mentorship
Separate budget
• HSR Mentorship/Peer Support Lead: Alexandra Cernat
o Had orientation
o Went really well – great turn out – 30 people
o Halloween Event – Nov 6 – pizza, candy, etc.

• MHI Peer Support Lead: Mairead Mulroy
o Graduate in Dec 2019
o Elections for GSU done and in the midst of voting – will have a new GSU
member soon!
o Decided to host an event rather than doing the gift-cards
o Great start to mentorship
o 30/36 of the upper-year students are mentors and new students = 28
o Are hoping to get more involved with greater IHPME students
• Alumni Committee Co-Representatives: Dane Mauer-Vakil & Mikayla Munnery
o Completed recruitement
o 11 alumni and student dyads
o Will send out match emails this week
o Going well!
Academic Rounds
• Scholarly Activities Coordinator (Lunch and Learn): Chloe Mighton
o AI and healthcare – hoping to have first one for end of November
o Has reached out to Dr. Jennifer Gibson
o Still in process and will try to alternate with the other academic round leaders
• Health Policy Rounds: Aravind Rajendran
o Unable to get a speaker for November but have a speaker for December. Need to
confirm with him.

• Student Rounds Coordinator: Jillian Macklin
o Put out a call for students who want to present

Curriculum & Programs
• Curriculum Committee Representative: Husayn Marani
o Nothing much to report
o Has heard mixed reviews re: 5011 four-day course – want to get more formal
feedback
o Proposed idea of an AI collaborative program
§ Emphases vs collaborative program
§ There has been interest in both
• HSR Emphases Representative: Maaike DeVries
o Discussion re: HTA and cost-effectiveness courses
§ Looking at bringing more opportunities for this
o Health informatics had issues with course enrollment and trying to figure out how
to do this
o Outcomes and evaluation – more discussion on what this constitutes
• Clin Epi Representative: David Forner
o No updates
• MHSc Representative: Ruby Bola and Tara Mckay (Y1), Kayla Chow (Y2)
o Food drive (supports Daily Bread) & Hygiene drive (supports Covenant House)
§ Will run from Nov 1 – Nov 29
§ Boxes on the 4th floor (IHPME office), 6th floor, possibly 5th and 7th floors

§ Will be advertising this Friday
§ Flyer will be out soon
§ Jam drive – jam from Niagara region to raise funds
§ Daily Bread: Non-perishable food items
§ Covenant House: is a youth homeless shelter that accepts unopened
hygiene products, so that would be a great organization to donate dental
supplies, feminine hygiene products, and soap/shampoo/conditioner etc.
o Senior fellows round table – want one that’s more MHSc (career) focused vs
research focused

• MHI Representatives: Mairead Mulroy & Katherine Kresta
o Will see new reps soon
• eMHI Representative: Monica Chao
• SLI Rep: Isra Hussein
• QIPS Rep: VACANT
IHPME Research Day
• Research Day Co-Chairs: Qi Guan & Lilian Lin
o Settled on a theme!
o Had a great first meeting
o Progress going well!

Other Councils
• Environment Committee Representative: Anna Cooper Reed
o Design and development workshop – Jan
o Case competition – Feb
§ Have 6 grants – have enough to fund the case competition
§ In November will start communications for the case competition
§ Will be open to greater U of T community
§ Formed teams can apply – still figuring out if single members can apply –
Anna will update
§ If interested in being a member – talk to Anna – meetings every 2 wks, but
not all members need to attend, give opportunity to allow people to learn
about sustainability efforts
§ Core exec team – will take care of the main events

• DLSPH Councils:
o School Council: Crystal Milligan, Christopher Noel, Nada Dali, Elzar Sipin,
Victoria Haldane, VACANT (professional Masters)
§ No new updates
§ Meeting – Nov 25, 2019
o Education Committee: Danielle Toccalino, Zakariya Thraya, VACANT
§ Meeting – Nov 4, 2019
§ Tips: very formal, so introduce yourself to the chair
o Executive Committee: Maaike De Vries, Amika Shah
§ Meeting invite sent out

• UofT GSU Representatives: Alyssa Kelly, Emmanuelle Arpin, Tara Mckay
o First meeting at end of Sept

o Very interesting
o Sophie McGibbons – Units 3 and 4 – also resigned – but now will be the new
finance commissioner
§ Role: addresses academic and funding issues
§ If there are any complaints from students and then talk to the greater
people at U of T
§ Finance commissioner has resigned – will be leaving as of Nov 1
§ Election at next meeting on Nov 29
§ For finance commissioner 3 and 4 and other positions
§ Lots of debate about the head grant
§ Board voted to hire a mental health onsite councillor – for the GSU
§ Meeting tomorrow to discuss how needs assessment and then will
move on with hiring process

Other items?
• More support for upper year students
o Meet and greet
o Helping connect upper years
o Helping with next steps, networking, etc.
o Help with comps – possible student rounds for December?
• Improving Moonshot for new graduate students
o Found that it’s challenging to network with faculty, students and alumni – even
more so for new students who may not know too many others yet – how can we
bridge this?
§ Possible sticker system (on name tag) – one for new students, returning
students, faculty, etc.
§ Possibly set a meeting point with other IHPME students before event and
go together?

o Lydia to follow -up with Taylor and Rebecca