U of S, U of R researchers bring Saskatchewan history of health online
A team of University of Saskatchewan and University of Regina researchers is unveiling an innovative new tool for academics and the public to contribute to and learn more about the history of health in Saskatchewan.
By Jennifer Thoma
The Historical Health Timeline is an interactive online resource that offers information on a range of events between 1905 and 1985 that have affected the health of Saskatchewan residents. It was developed by the Saskatchewan Population Health Evaluation and Research Unit (SPHERU), a joint initiative of the province's two largest universities.
"This resource offers a glimpse into Saskatchewan's rich history of health and health care, through text, photographs and links to external documents," said Paul Hackett, a geographer and expert in Aboriginal health and health history at the U of S. "The online format also allows us to build upon this initial foundation, so the timeline can become a gateway to understanding the past as well as how we got to where we are."
Visitors to the timeline will find such highlights as Saskatchewan's becoming the first province to offer free tuberculosis vaccine, the opening of the first hospital designed to treat the mentally ill, and the controversy surrounding the introduction of universal medicare. Health history is interspersed with social, economic and technological milestones, such as women achieving the right to vote, the election of North America's first socialist government, and the first successful treatment of a cancer patient using cobalt-60 radiation therapy at the U of S.
Hackett collaborated with SPHERU members James Daschuk, Tom McIntosh, Gloria DeSantis and Tara Todd from the U of R to create the timeline.
"Our hope is that other scholars will see an opportunity to add to the content by including their work on the timeline and that, ultimately, it becomes a 'living' teaching and research resource for people in the province," said McIntosh, SPHERU associate director and head of the Department of Political Science at the U of R.
The timeline was developed as part of a larger project looking at the history of health in the province, led by Bonnie Jeffery at the University of Regina and Nazeem Muhajarine at the University of Saskatchewan, with funding from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation. It is available at http://www.spheru.ca/research_projects/projects/Project.pdf/Historical-Health-Timeline.php.
For more information, contact:
Jennifer Thoma
Media Relations
University of Saskatchewan
306-966-1851
jennifer.thoma@usask.ca
"This resource offers a glimpse into Saskatchewan's rich history of health and health care, through text, photographs and links to external documents," said Paul Hackett, a geographer and expert in Aboriginal health and health history at the U of S. "The online format also allows us to build upon this initial foundation, so the timeline can become a gateway to understanding the past as well as how we got to where we are."
Visitors to the timeline will find such highlights as Saskatchewan's becoming the first province to offer free tuberculosis vaccine, the opening of the first hospital designed to treat the mentally ill, and the controversy surrounding the introduction of universal medicare. Health history is interspersed with social, economic and technological milestones, such as women achieving the right to vote, the election of North America's first socialist government, and the first successful treatment of a cancer patient using cobalt-60 radiation therapy at the U of S.
Hackett collaborated with SPHERU members James Daschuk, Tom McIntosh, Gloria DeSantis and Tara Todd from the U of R to create the timeline.
"Our hope is that other scholars will see an opportunity to add to the content by including their work on the timeline and that, ultimately, it becomes a 'living' teaching and research resource for people in the province," said McIntosh, SPHERU associate director and head of the Department of Political Science at the U of R.
The timeline was developed as part of a larger project looking at the history of health in the province, led by Bonnie Jeffery at the University of Regina and Nazeem Muhajarine at the University of Saskatchewan, with funding from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation. It is available at http://www.spheru.ca/research_projects/projects/Project.pdf/Historical-Health-Timeline.php.
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For more information, contact:
Jennifer Thoma
Media Relations
University of Saskatchewan
306-966-1851
jennifer.thoma@usask.ca