Truth & Reconciliation Statement HDRN Canada has released its Statement on Truth and Reconciliation, reaffirming its commitment to Indigenous Data Sovereignty and supporting Indigenous-led approaches to health data research. The statement reflects the network's ongoing work to promote Indigenous leadership and self-determination in health data research. | | HDRN Canada & CIHI join forces HDRN Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Information have signed a memorandum of understanding formalizing our commitment to work together to strengthen Canada’s health data ecosystem, enabling the responsible use of health and health-related data to generate knowledge that improves health policy, care and outcomes. | | Help shape the future of research support HDRN Canada is creating a Researcher Panel to build stronger partnerships with researchers, help us better understand their needs and tailor our services to support them. Panel members will shape HDRN Canada priorities through focused tasks and feedback, while gaining opportunities to connect with colleagues. Sign up today! | | OHDSI Canada Symposium 2026 keynote announced We are thrilled to announce Dr. Paul Nagy as our keynote speaker for OHDSI Canada Symposium 2026. Dr. Nagy, an associate professor in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, will explore how health organizations can leverage OHDSI to help clinicians and data scientists make discoveries that elevate patient outcomes. Tickets are almost sold out! | | | | Python for health research
NOVEMBER 2, 4, 5 & 6 | Winnipeg Build practical Python programming skills for health research through hands-on, instructor-led coding in this workshop, hosted by George & Faye Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation. Designed for researchers, clinicians, data analysts, research support staff and graduate students, the course teaches core programming concepts as well as how to use generative AI more responsibly by critically evaluating AI-generated code. REGISTER | | | | From IDEA to action
NOVEMBER 18 | Virtual How can we shift inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility from values into practical action in Canada’s health data ecosystem? Join the next HDRN Canada Discussion Session with Dr. Amy Freier, Kate Kelly and Dr. Laura Bowler to explore three new tools, developed from HDRN Canada’s IDEA Strategy, which are designed to help data centres, administrators, analysts and researchers put IDEA into practice. Save your spot today! REGISTER | | | | | ICES Research Forum
NOVEMBER 16 | Toronto Registration is open for ICES’ annual research forum, Powering Possibility: Data as the Catalyst of Tomorrow’s Health System. This year’s program highlights innovations in AI governance, aging in place, advanced analytics and delivering services closer to home. Connect with researchers, analysts and health system partners to discover emerging approaches and how data-driven insights are shaping the future of population health. REGISTER | | | | Building equity into AI & data tools
NOVEMBER 26 | Virtual Data and AI can accelerate health impact—but they can also accelerate harm at population scale. Join Heather Krause, founder of We All Count, for our next Big IDEAs About Health Data webinar to learn why equity values need to be explicitly built into data and AI tools, and how the We All Count Data Equity Framework can help translate equity commitments into data and AI practices across the health data life cycle. Register today! REGISTER | | | News from Across the Network | An IDEA roadmap for health data research A new paper co-authored by Dr. Morgan Stirling and HDRN Canada’s IDEA Team describes how the network co-created its IDEA Strategy, offering practical lessons for organizations seeking to embed IDEA into governance, operations and research infrastructure, including the importance of shared decision-making. | | Applying FAIR to genomic data in Atlantic Canada A new study led by HDRN Canada Executive member Dr. Ted McDonald at DataNB explores the availability and accessibility of genomic data in Atlantic Canada. It highlights gaps in data sharing, access and representation, and identifies ways to make the data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR) for health research. | | News from Across the Network | CIHI releases Hospital Harm measure Hospital care is generally safe, but preventable harm can occur. CIHI’s Hospital Harm measure tracks unintended occurrences of harm in acute care that may have been prevented through evidence-informed practices, providing decision-makers, clinicians and policy-makers with insights into patient safety and opportunities to improve care. | | Cancer screening fails First Nations New research from ICES used linked administrative data to examine colorectal cancer diagnosis in Ontario. The study found that First Nations people with colorectal cancer were younger and diagnosed at a later stage compared to other Ontarians, providing population-level evidence that screening thresholds are not reaching those at highest risk. | | MCHP Annual Report focuses on impact The Manitoba Centre for Health Policy has released its Annual Report, highlighting a year of accomplishments. Centred on reconciliation, it showcases research impact, including the Manitoba government’s decision to double the province’s maximum prenatal benefit, informed by MCHP research. | | Compensation for health care partners After developing an internal framework for managing recognition and compensation for health care partners, Unité de Soutien SSA has now shared that resource publicly to help guide health and social services professionals as well as researchers when working with patients, caregivers and citizens. | | Wastewater & drug consumption in Canadian cities Explore opioid and stimulant consumption patterns across eight Canadian cities with new results from Statistics Canada’s Canadian Wastewater Survey. Covering January 2024-March 2026, the release includes a public data table and interactive dashboard to examine patterns across cities and over time. Read the findings and explore the data. | | | | Precise Indigenous population analysis Learn about Seven Quantifiable Indigenous Concepts, a framework developed by Kienan Williams from Canada’s 2021 Census to support more precise Indigenous population analysis. This Big IDEAs About Health Data webinar recording examines how Indigenous identity is captured in population data, with attention to the Status Indian population, and introduces QICIDs as a methodology for consistent, meaningful analysis. WATCH | | | | What is health care’s travel burden in NB? How far do New Brunswickers travel for health care? This DataNB webinar recording explores the travel burden associated with accessing care, using administrative health data alongside household travel survey and cellphone data. The study examines travel patterns by age, geography and health care type—and if “transportation to health care” could pose a significant practical barrier to health access in the future. WATCH | | | | | | |
