What We Do

We Co-Create Knowledge Mobilization Activities to improve pregnancy and post-pregnancy care by working to reduce Severe Maternal Morbidity and Mortality in Canada.

What is Co-Creation?

An open, active, and creative process in which all actors are engaged in an innovation process (1)

It is achieved through respectful interactions and dialog where everyone’s input is considered (2)

When engaging in co-creation, researchers accept a shift in power dynamics from being the only decision-makers to equal partners with non-academic groups (3)

Image description: the image shows two circles, one on the right is blue with production of knowledge written in the centre. The second circle to the right of the first is green with use of knowledge written in the centre . Both circles overlap creating a teal vertical oval in the middle of the image with knowledge co-creation written in the centre. There are two arrows one above that is below and goes from left circle to right and one below that is green and goes from right to left. It shows how production of knowledge and use of knowledge create knowledge co-creation.

Figure 1. Knowledge co-creation aims to bridge the gap between the production and use of knowledge

What is Knowledge Mobilization?

Knowledge mobilization is a broad umbrella term encompassing a wide range of activities related to the production and use of knowledge. This includes: knowledge synthesis, dissemination, transfer, exchange, co-creation, and co-production by researchers and knowledge users (e.g., persons with lived experience, healthcare professionals, and policymakers)(4).

How Will We Carry Out Knowledge Mobilization?

To stop perpetuating systems of oppression and marginalization faced by women and gender-diverse people in healthcare, knowledge mobilization activities strive to reduce pregnancy-related near-miss events and deaths through co-creation with communities that carry the greatest burden of harm.

What is Severe Maternal Morbidity?

Severe maternal morbidity is a set of unexpected events related to pregnancy, labor, childbirth, and the postpartum period resulting in severe illness, prolonged hospitalization, and/or long-term disability (5).

Health inequities exist with regards to these events, and a disproportionate burden of severe maternal morbidity and mortality is carried by racialized, immigrant, Indigenous, sex/gender minoritized populations, and persons with other experiences of marginalization (6-10).

Therefore, there is an urgent need to reduce the knowledge-to-action gap in this area of women and gender-diverse people’s health. Through the development of knowledge mobilization activities, the GEM Hub aims to improve pregnancy and post-pregnancy care.

Image description: from left to right, the first item is arrow made of dashes pointing upward and leaning towards the right in an angle and has increasing severity written. Parallel and the right of the arrow are 5 rectangle blocks stacked on top of each other, starting with a light gray to a dark grey at the top. The first block has uncomplicated deliveries written, the second maternal morbidity, the third, severe maternal morbidity. There is a line within the blocks that makes a triangle shape. On the right side on the fourth block is says maternal near miss and fifth block says maternal death.

Figure 2. Visual representation of severe maternal morbidity

What are the Hub's Knowledge Mobilization Activities?

Over 2024-2028, the Hub aims to complete five knowledge mobilization activities. Each knowledge mobilization activity will be co-developed with input from individuals with experiential, cultural and spiritual knowledge, as well as mainstream or academic knowledge. The image below is a visual representation of this process along with a brief description of planned and ongoing work.

For further details about our work for the next four years, click the button.

Our Work

Image description: Three overlapping circles, one peach that says cultural or spiritual knowledge, one yellow that says mainstream or academic knowledge and one red that says experiential knowledge, title, multi-sector inputs. Parallel to the circle is an arrow that says, co-create. The right of the arrow is a rectangle with the title, knowledge mobilization activities, below the title are 5 sections. #1, priority setting with the description, knowledge co-creation aligned with community centred priorities. #2, educational material, the description of culturally appropriate, gender-sensitive near miss event reviews. #3, knowledge repository with the description of accessible information on near-miss events and mortality prevention. #4, process maps with the description human centered integration of evidence based solutions. #5, outreach town halls, with the description of accountability towards Hub members and the public.

Figure 3. Planned and ongoing Knowledge Mobilization activities of the Hub