By Maika Branch • Sackville NB • 2025-03-16
This January, Egale Canada partnered with the federal government to nominate twenty 2SLGBTQI advocates for the King Charles III Coronation Medal, honoring significant contributions to Canada from across the country. Among them is Kjipuktuk/Halifax’s own Dr. Jacquie Gahagan, PhD: academic, Associate Vice-President of Research at Mount Saint Vincent University, and at the forefront of HIV and health equity research for over twenty years in Atlantic Canada.
“From a health equity perspective, why do we continue to see particular populations underserved?” Jacquie asks. A medical sociologist by training, Jaquie received their PhD in 1999 and is deeply interested in the stream of sociology sometimes referred to as community medicine: In essence, “how health services, health systems, and health policies effectively serve particular populations, and by the nature of how those systems are set up, exclude other populations.”
Jacquie’s accomplishments are many, and varied across the field of community health promotion research: reducing community barriers to HIV and STBBI testing, contributing to the national HIV Stigma Project, research within the National Housing Strategy as a key determinant of health for older 2SLGBT+ people, aimed at addressing factors such as affordability and homelessness in Canada, and more. A common theme throughout much of their research interests, Jacquie shares, “is around health equity. So, for example, if you don’t have a safe, affirming place to live, an affordable place to live, other factors in terms of your health outcomes will be impacted. We need to look at these systems, whether it's medical systems, or housing systems, or education systems to understand the ‘who’s missing’ question.”
This award recognizes Jacquie’s collective work of over twenty years in the Atlantic region, a career with roots tracing back to Ottawa during their undergraduate degree. Among their first community-based projects were a series of interviews during the Krever Commission of Inquiry on the Blood System in Canada, also known as the Krever Inquiry: when thousands of Canadians received blood and blood products with HIV and Hepatitis C. This inquiry led to compensation for some affected individuals, but for many gay men, this was not the case.
We need to look at these systems, whether it's medical systems, or housing systems, or education systems to understand the ‘who’s missing’ question.
“For me this inquiry was really fascinating and troubling. What was missing from that discourse was that if you are not able to be out about your sexuality, you’re probably not going to say to your healthcare provider, ‘I’m concerned about HIV, or I'm concerned about my sexual health more generally. So for me that was a really important moment in our history, and I got involved in HIV [research]”. “It felt like this was such an important issue to disrupt, or to challenge, because it was really about [how] those services and systems are putting a specific lens on people’s health, healthcare, health access.”
Shortly after arriving in Halifax, Jacquie received funding from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Infection and Immunity to host a two-day session on health equity with researchers, advocates, and those with lived experience living with HIV and Hepatitis C. From the conference emerged AIRN (Atlantic Interdisciplinary Research Network), an organization with over 250 members today and continued goals of advocating, collaborating, and researching the social and behavioural aspects of HIV, HCV, and other STBBIs across the Atlantic region.
Nominated for the King Charles III Coronation medal by multiple organizations and individuals, Jacquie shares their gratitude at having their ongoing efforts recognized, but acknowledges that health equity is a collective effort: “It’s not just about us. It's about the bigger picture, and if we can contribute in some small way to making things better for the next generation, then there’s a reason why we should do it”.
As for living in Halifax/Kjipuktuk, they share, “I love it. I feel really grateful to be able to live in this beautiful province. I recall leaving [work] at night, and it’s pitch dark, and the moon would be over the ocean, and you just thought, ‘wow, this is such an incredible place to live’. It’s a beautiful place to live, the province is amazing, the people that are here are amazing. This is my home.”
This spring, Jacquie will Co-Chair, with infectious diseases physician Dr. Lisa Barrett, the Canadian Association of HIV Research (CAHR), which will be held in Halifax May 1-4, 2025; over 800 delegates are planning to attend. At Mount Saint Vincent University they also continue to bring their 25+ years of experience as a researcher to support other academics in their research careers.
Not the first: Jaqui's new award joins their QEII Diamond Jubliee, Platinum Jubilee, and Order of Nova Scotia ones.
