Transformations in Knowledge Translation: Policy, Practice, and Education

The translational process

In this seminar, we explore the dynamics of various translational processes to understand how medical knowledge is generated, communicated, applied, and renegotiated in a variety of settings within and beyond academia. KNOWIT is an acronym for Knowledge in Translation: Studies in the Translational Medical Humanities. This is one of the research groups at the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare Education. 

Registration

Anyone is free to attend this event, either in person (Møterom 3, Lucy Smiths Hus), or via Zoom (details will be shared in due time). 

We ask that you register for the event, so that we have an approximate idea of how many people to expect in person or online. Please find the registration form here. 

Programme 

Abstracts

Changes in multilingual communication policies and practices during COVID-19 in Victoria by Rachel Macreadie (University of Melbourne / KU Leuven) 

It is Victorian Government policy that Victorians who cannot communicate effectively through spoken or written English must have access to certified interpreters and translators. During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, criticism in the media and in parliamentary inquiries challenged the responsiveness of the government in providing up-to-date and understandable information, resulting in non-government organisations, volunteers, and community members stepping in and filling the gaps by providing their own unofficial translations. This presentation examines how COVID-19 may have created a policy window to instigate deeper engagement strategies and a change in practice: the use of communities to disseminate messages. I draw on interviews with policymakers, translators and interpreters, multicultural community representatives, as well as community members in Melbourne to understand the changes that occurred and what this means for the provision of languages services in Victoria. A key finding in my research is that communities demonstrated significant resourcefulness and agency in helping themselves and their community.

Increasing uncertainty tolerance in medical education by Kristin Heggen (University of Oslo) 

Medical student education is designed to enhance their ability to navigate complex professional practices and to make informed judgments in uncertain circumstances. This presentation argues that rather than attempting to eliminate uncertainty, it should be embraced as a critical component of knowledge in both the educational and practical arenas of medicine. By invoking the concept of "formation," I underscore the pedagogical imperative of nurturing essential virtues such as the tolerance of ambiguity and doubt, adaptability, humility, and courage. We, as educators, are challenged with the task of guiding our students to not only accept but also increase their tolerance for uncertainty. In addressing this challenge, I propose a narrative-based approach as an effective educational tool. This approach requires students to actively reflect upon their personal encounters with uncertain situations, fostering their ability to handle such complexities in their professional development.

Embedding interpreting and linguistic/cultural issues into midwifery curricula by Şebnem Susam-Saraeva (University of Edinburgh) 

Language barriers are one of the key factors contributing to poorer outcomes in maternal and neonatal health of families with immigrant, refugee or asylum-seeking status, increasing mortality and morbidity rates both for mothers and babies. The talk will focus on a project whose main premise is that research focusing on linguistic and cultural issues in antenatal support and midwifery education – both early stages of the process – can help avert such adverse outcomes in later stages of perinatal care. For the midwifery education aspect, the project aims to investigate the optimum ways of incorporating language and cultural awareness training in midwifery education in Scotland. Currently this topic is rather cursorily addressed in curricula, if at all. The talk will also report on the outcomes of several interactive workshops we held with student midwives (as well as student obstetricians and interpreters) in a previous project, focusing on how these findings will feed into the upcoming research. 

The real life (and challenges) of a knowledge broker: A whirlwind tour of a research centre’s knowledge translation (KT) program in Toronto, Canada, including KT strategies, products, and evaluation by Renira Narrandes (SickKids) 

In Canada, many knowledge brokers start their jobs with little training, experience, and mentorship. It can be hard for them to know how to “do” knowledge translation, let alone determine whether their efforts are bridging the gap between research and practice. In this talk, I describe my experience as a new knowledge broker with the Cundill Centre for Child and Youth Depression at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Canada’s largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital. I explain how reflecting on my own challenges led me to develop a centre-wide KT strategy, as well as a framework for organizing KT activities. Attendees will be taken on a tour of some of the Cundill Centre’s KT products, which were developed as part of a research project. I briefly discuss how I developed an organization-level evaluation strategy and conclude by outlining how the knowledge and experience I gained led me to my current position as Knowledge Translation Program Manager with SickKids, one of the top paediatric hospitals in the world.

Why do we need medical humanities in sustainable healthcare programs? by Tony Sandset (University of Oslo) 

In recent years, there has been a growth in the number of sustainable healthcare programs in medical education. Most of these focus to a large degree on the nexus of climate and health and the increased impact of climate change on human health. Subsequently, most programs for sustainable health focus on teaching students to mitigate and respond to the effects of climate change on human health as well as teaching students to become change agents in reducing the climate footprint of the healthcare sector. This talk will focus on why we also need to bring in perspectives from critical medical humanities in order to bring a greater critical awareness of power structures, as well as offer ways of investing in the very term sustainable health itself with an eye towards teaching students transformative competencies.