Time: 12:30 – 14:00

Venue: Chen Kou Bun Building 109 (CKB 109), CUHK

Speaker: Prof. Winnie So (Professor, The Nethersole School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong); Dr. Erica Liebermann (Assistant Professor, College of Nursing, University of Rhode Island); Prof. Nirmala Bhoo-Pathy (Professor of (Clinical) Epidemiology, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya)

Moderator: Prof. Ivy Wong (Associate Professor, Gender Studies Programme, The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Abstract: 

The topic of women and cancer covers a wide range of areas, including how gender affects exposure to cancer risk factors, interactions with the healthcare system, and unique challenges for health professionals, advocates, and caregivers. Women face gender bias in various areas and also encounter discrimination based on factors like age, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, and gender identity, leading to their marginalization in society. Moreover, women unfairly carry the weight and sustain an unpaid cancer caregiving workforce mainly made up of females, thereby impeding their progress as leaders in cancer research, practice, and policy development.
The lancet commission was formed to examine the relationship between women, power, and cancer. By utilizing an intersectional feminist perspective, the commission examined, revealed, and questioned the existing power imbalances in terms of cancer in three main areas: decision making, knowledge, and economics. The Lancet has released a report covers the key findings and recommend a set of ten actions, emphasizing the importance of incorporating gender equity into every cancer-related policy and guideline to better meet the diverse needs of women. In this seminar, three commissioners will present some key findings of the three topics from the report: women in cancer research leadership, gender composition of global oncology leadership, and gender disparities in financial toxicity.

Speaker’s Biography: 

Prof. Winnie So is a Professor of the Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is also the President of International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care and the Past-President of Asian Oncology Nursing Society. Prof. So has more than 10 years of experience engaging in regional and international oncology nursing organizations to support oncology nurses for capacity building. As a scholar and scientist in cancer care, Prof. So’s research substantively influenced knowledge generation which manifested as evidence-based intervention for reducing cancer burden and promoting equity cancer care. She is a commissioner of the Lancet Commission on women, power and cancer. The commission examined, revealed, and questioned the existing power imbalances in terms of cancer in decision making, knowledge, and economics. The report has been published in the Lancet which covers a set of recommended actions, emphasizing the importance of incorporating gender equity into every cancer-related policy and guideline to better meet the diverse needs of women. Recently, her Integrative Multicomponent Programme for promoting south Asians’ Cancer screening upTake (IMPACT) was recognized by the WHO Western Pacific innovative challenges in 2022 as an innovative solution for various health challenges in the western pacific region. She has obtained HK$25 million to support her research and knowledge transfer projects. She has published more than 220 papers in international peer reviewed journals and was recognized as one of the world top 2% scientists of the year 2022. The impact of her research is far-reaching and cited in nursing and health related journals.

Erica Liebermann is an assistant professor at the University of Rhode Island College of Nursing, a practicing nurse practitioner, and a global women’s health researcher. Dr. Liebermann’s clinical work and health services research are driven by a desire to advance the health of women and girls throughout the world through promoting equitable access to high quality healthcare. Dr. Liebermann’s research uses implementation science and mixed methods approaches to understand multi-level barriers to cervical and breast cancer early detection in the low- and middle-income countries and among marginalized populations in the US. She has served as a commissioner on the Lancet Commission on Women, Power, and Cancer and aims to help design women-centered, resource appropriate strategies that improve delivery of and access to cancer prevention services. Her current research focuses on advancing progress towards cervical cancer elimination in the US through innovative strategies to increase HPV vaccination rates and improve cervical cancer screening and follow-up.

Nirmala Bhoo Pathy is a professor of epidemiology at Universiti Malaya and a public health physician at University Malaya Medical Centre. With a career focused on improving access to cancer care and optimizing life after cancer, she is a champion for enhancing cancer health systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Prof. Bhoo Pathy has been instrumental in leading landmark studies like the ACTION study, which provided crucial evidence for policy changes across Southeast Asia. She has served as a commissioner on the Lancet Commission on Women, Power, and Cancer, and leads the economic section of the Lancet Oncology Commission on Cancer as a Human Crisis.

Language: English

Registration: https://cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/webform/view.php?id=13696120