Dr. Wendy Gifford

Biography

Wendy Gifford is a Full Professor at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Health Sciences, where she holds the Loyer-DaSilva Research Chair in Community Public Health Nursing. Her research is dedicated to promoting health equity for disadvantaged and marginalized groups, with a special focus on Indigenous Nations, Inuit, and Métis individuals, emphasizing the need for culturally safe health care. Gifford's work recognizes the systemic settler racism that continues to disenfranchise and marginalize Indigenous Peoples, integrating critical decolonizing methodologies into her research approaches. She has been actively involved in projects funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research that collaborate with Indigenous communities in Ontario and Nunavut, particularly around health care for homeless and street-connected populations in Ottawa. Before her academic career, Gifford worked in remote rural communities within Yukon Territory. Her research interests include Health Equity, Indigenous Health, Integrated Knowledge Translation, Post-colonial and Decolonizing Theories, Participatory Research, and Community Health Care, with a notable focus on Cancer Survivorship.

Research Interests