Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grants - Institute/Initiative Community Support

Indigenous Peoples have historically shared knowledge through storytelling, teachings, art, and oral traditions. However, most health research communication today is largely rooted in written reports and academic language that do not reflect Indigenous ways of knowing. As a result, research findings are not always shared in ways that are meaningful, culturally relevant, or useful for First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and urban Indigenous (FNIMUI) communities. This project brings together Ontario Health's Indigenous Health Unit (IHU), the Joint Ontario Indigenous Health Committee (JOIHC), an Indigenous Knowledge Translation (KT) expert, and an Indigenous graphic designer to co-create KT Guides that reflect FNIMUI languages, ways of knowing, teachings, and communication styles. The team will host a workshop during JOIHC's annual meeting to explore how health information can be shared by Nation, age group, sex and gender through culturally grounded tools like visuals, stories, personas, and digital media. Findings from the IHU's National Census Linkage Project-which studied cancer outcomes among First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples in Canada-will be used as test cases to design these KT products. By using real-world data to create culturally grounded messages and reusable KT guides, this initiative will strengthen how health information is shared between FNIMUI communities, researchers, and health organizations, ensuring that evidence is translated into action in authentic, respectful, and culturally safe ways.