
Critical Collaborative Research for
Equity and Transformation in Health
Do you provide health services to the ACB community?
Do you identify as African, Caribbean or Black (ACB)?
Welcome to CO-CREATH Labs
The Collaborative Critical Research for Equity and Transformation in Health (CO-CREATH) lab is led by Dr. Josephine Etowa, OHTN Chair in Black Women’s Health and Professor, School of Nursing, University of Ottawa.
CO-CREATH conducts critical research and capacity building to advance health equity and transformative community engagement. We are a hub of researchers, trainees, and community partners working to unpack the complex determinants of health inequities, identify innovations, and create solutions to the challenges of providing high-quality health and health care to a diverse society.
LATEST FROM COCREATh
June 23-24, 2022: Over 90 people participated in the World Café Event for the African, Caribbean and Black Community PHAC-funded COVID-19 Impact (APCI) Study. Stay tuned for the launch of the English and French versions of the APCI Community Report.
Over 90 people participated in the World Café Event for the African, Caribbean and Black Community PHAC-funded COVID-19 Impact (APCI) …
June 8, 2022: New publication – Birth spacing among Ethiopian women between 2000 and 2016: Trends and Predictors.
Bishwajit G., Etowa J., Anik A.I., Etowa E. Birth spacing among Ethiopian women between 2000 and 2016: trends and predictors. …
May 26, 2022: NEW PUBLICATION – Immigrant generational status and the uptake of HIV screening services among heterosexual men of African descent in Canada: Evidence from the weSpeak study.
Read the full article Konkor, I., Luginaah, I., Husbands, W., Omorodion, F., Antabe, R., Wong, J., Kuuire, V., Mkandawire, P., …
April 28, 2022: Prof. Etowa (PI) and CO-CREATH Lab partners awarded $450,000 SSHRC grant for a new 3-year project, “Strengthening organizational capacity for health research, data management and knowledge mobilization in ACB communities across Canada”
Read the SSHRC announcement
March 31, 2022: Launch of the AVA Project COVID-19 vaccine acceptance survey on the impact of COVID-19 on ACB community members and on service providers
Complete either survey for a chance to win one of 10 prizes of $150: Do you provide health services to …
Explore CO-CREATH LABS
DIRECTOR JOSEPHONE ETOWA
Josephine Etowa, PhD RN RM FWACN FAAN, is a Full Professor, School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa and holder of the OHTN Chair in Black Women’s Health and HIV Prevention and Care.
Dr. Etowa is the Director and Lead Investigator of Collaborative Critical Research for Equity and
Transformation in Health (CO-CREATH) Lab. She is a transformational leader in health equity, antiracism, and community empowerment research within Canada and internationally, and her research and mentoring have led to real-world change at the practice, program, and policy level. Her programs of research include many nationally- and internationally funded studies on African, the Caribbean, and Black (ACB) health, health equity, perinatal health, COVID-19 pandemic, HIV/AIDS, nurses’ work life, and community health nursing.





What We Do
— Intersectionality
Intersectionality is a theory used in equity work to understand and interpret how social identities intersect or mutually enhance to create marginalization or privilege, and how these impact health outcomes.
— Socio-ecological Model
We employ a socio-ecological model in our work to acknowledge that tackling individual-level determinants is insufficient to reduce health inequities unless it is supported by structural changes.