Keynote - Jeff Reading -Indigenous Research and Covid-19

In light of years of unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic-related interruptions and upheavals across the global Indigenous communities, this is an opportunity to reflect, from the standpoint of governance, on research and management perspectives, on respective organizational roles and practices, and the context of the pandemic and its impact on Indigenous communities. These reflections are informed by rapid developments in health sciences’ research disciplines connected with access to health services and the wider Indigenous human rights and social justice context. It is a challenging landscape to navigate public health research and meaningful Indigenous community engagement. The unfolding pandemic already forced communities to make choices regarding health resources and capacity on short notice and without adequate consultation. Clearly, work needs to focus on adapting to urgent pandemic conditions with strict adherence to Indigenous ethical principles, e.g., OCAP®, in which future pandemic surveillance and response systems will require much more preparatory work, ideally before a pandemic begins, to establish the aims and technical details of research according to governance and community engagement protocols. These cannot be bypassed, even in the context of a global public health emergency. A unique opportunity nonetheless has occurred to meet Indigenous leadership as partners in their pandemic readiness committed to community led Covid research in service to community to become navigators of infectious disease surveillance and community responses, engaged to proceed with public health surveillance intelligence required to further advance assessments and filling of capacity deficits. Indigenous Peoples’ have worked long and hard to establish norms and standards for research that aims to be supporting Indigenous communities and key institutions are moving forward to achieve their research mandates without overstepping the boundaries of ethical practice and supportive partnership. What is required now is for us to commit to undertaking this journey together, learning from our experiences with Covid 19 to support the current pandemic response and to prepare for the next one.

Mediasite Presenter

10/25/2022 5:05:00 PM