{"id":99658,"date":"2025-02-28T14:39:58","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T19:39:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=99658"},"modified":"2025-03-03T11:33:15","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T16:33:15","slug":"edi-changemaker-empowers-future-public-health-leaders-to-break-barriers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2025\/02\/edi-changemaker-empowers-future-public-health-leaders-to-break-barriers\/","title":{"rendered":"EDI Changemaker empowers future public health leaders to break barriers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maame De-Heer (BPH ’16) is passionate about creating a more equitable health-care system \u2014 and she\u2019s training the next generation of health care providers <\/span> at Brock University to help drive that change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to create a system where everyone feels that their voices are heard, their challenges and concerns are being addressed and they are receiving equal access to health care, irrespective of their social identity,\u201d said the instructor in the Brock\u2019s Department of Health Sciences<\/span>.<\/p>\n

De-Heer was recently named February\u2019s EDI Changemaker by Brock\u2019s Office of Human Rights and Equity (HRE) for her commitment to integrating equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) principles in all aspects of her teaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cEDI is thoroughly embedded within public health as social identities are encapsulated in social determinants of health, such as socio-economic status, race, religion or gender,\u201d she said. \u201cThese are things about a person that cannot be changed and, if not recognized or managed effectively, could, in turn, affect their health or even lead to death.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anne\u00a0Readhead, Educational Developer for Brock\u2019s Centre for Pedagogical Innovation, said De-Heer\u2019s pedagogical approach incrementally builds on student knowledge and ensures the lesson material is accessible and engaging to those with varying learning styles.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has integrated the fascinating strategy of meaningful and authentic storytelling to make complex concepts relatable and memorable,\u201d Readhead said. \u201cShe excels at keeping her learners actively engaged throughout her class time, where her diverse teaching methods not only support learner comprehension but also encourage critical reflection and independent thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

De-Heer often calls on her robust experience in the field \u2014 including working as a Policy Analyst at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada \u2014 to further her students\u2019 understanding of the intersectional nature of public health outcomes across equity-deserving populations.<\/p>\n

She also shares examples of lived experiences in the health-care system \u2014 including her own, as an immigrant woman from Ghana \u2014 and trending topics in the media<\/a> to encourage critical thought surrounding the course material.<\/p>\n

By highlighting stories of real people who have experienced discrimination or dismissal in health-care settings, she helps students understand the role physicians play in addressing health disparities and reducing distrust in the medical community among marginalized groups.<\/p>\n

She also encourages her students, as aspiring health-care providers, to acknowledge their implicit biases and work toward eliminating them. Doing so, De-Heer said, ensures they do not translate into microaggressions that could further impact access and quality of care for those negatively impacted by health inequities rooted in racism and discrimination.<\/p>\n

\u201cEDI is about eliminating barriers, whether systemic or institutionalized, that are prevalent within our communities and society because when you look at equity-denied groups, they are often disproportionately disadvantaged,\u201d she said. \u201cI encourage my students to always wear an EDI lens because when you do that, you’re able to really value, respect and understand people with different identities and be empathetic towards their circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n

De-Heer added that she is \u201celated\u201d to have been recognized as an EDI Changemaker, especially during the University\u2019s recognition of Black History\/African Heritage Month.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that it is evidence of the work I have been putting in over the years, encouragement to keep on doing that work and recognition that more work needs to be done to support people who are equity denied,\u201d she said. \u201cWe can dismantle barriers, step-by-step, and this recognition is my small way of doing so and being the change that I want to see in the community I am in.\u201d<\/p>\n

EDI Changemaker criteria and nomination information is available on the\u00a0HRE website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maame De-Heer (BPH ’16) is passionate about creating a more equitable health-care system \u2014 and she\u2019s training the next generation of health care providers at Brock University to help drive that change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":99667,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[36,1],"tags":[8778,28,13216,714,2561,7909,13915,11326,8166,2582,14259,3200],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99658"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99658"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99687,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99658\/revisions\/99687"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}