SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being

Life-changing research

The Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG) is the largest research group at Queen’s, with over 140 Queen’s faculty and staff, and 85 member hospitals and cancer centres across Canada working  with a global network of 20,000 investigators and clinical trial staff.  Since 1980, CCTG has supported more than 600 cancer trials to  test anti-cancer and supportive therapies worldwide, enrolling 100,000 patients from 40 countries.

Centre for Health Innovation

In 2022, Queen’s and Kingston Health Sciences Centre partnered to launch the Centre for Health Innovation (CHI). An evolution of Queen’s Human Mobility Research Centre, CHI brings together interdisciplinary researchers from health sciences, arts and science, and engineering to study the biggest challenges for human health, from digital health data to genomics and precision medicine.

Democratizing access

Queen’s and Kingston Health Sciences Centre provide medical services to a predominantly Indigenous population in the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority (WAHA) – Moose Factory and surrounding communities – in northern Ontario. Queen’s researcher Dr. Omar Islam and his team received Health Canada clearance and ethics approval from WAHA and Queen’s to bring the first Hyperfine portable MRI scanner to Canada’s north. Patients in these communities will have direct access to the device rather than travelling long distances for diagnoses in an effort to help democratize access to health care.

Mental health supports

Queen's Student Wellness Services provides confidential Mental Health Services, including one-on-one appointments with mental health professionals, groups, events, and training. Students can also use the online self-directed tool Therapy Assistance Online (TAO) to design a personal intervention plan or access free 24/7 mental health support through Empower Me.

Thrive is a week-long series of events at Queen’s that focuses on building positive mental health and helping reduce mental health-related stigma among our students, staff, and faculty.

Sexual health

The Queen’s Sexual Health Resource Centre is a confidential, non-judgmental, sex positive, pro-choice, queer positive, non-heterosexist, and feminist information and referral service that provides students with sexual and reproductive education and health care services.

Collaborating on research

Queen’s collaborates closely with the Kingston General Hospital Research Institute, the research arm of the Kingston Health Sciences Centre, and Providence Care, a local health organization. More than 350 investigators at this not-for-profit academic institute are leading innovative research projects that are making a global impact on health and wellbeing.

Developed with a group of seniors living in a Kingston-area apartment building, Oasis Senior Supportive Living Program is a unique model of active aging-in-place. Professors Catherine Donnelly and Vince DePaul from the School of Rehabilitation Therapy at Queen’s are leading a research project to evaluate and expand the Oasis model into seven new communities in four cities across Ontario.

Providing health services to the broader community

The Neuroscience Outreach Program, located at the Centre for Neuroscience Studies at Queen’s University, strives to improve the Kingston community’s awareness and understanding of neuroscience. Programmers lead lecture series, educate athletes about concussions and brain safety, perform hands-on experiments with local children, and provide companionship to elderly patients.

Health hub

In 2021, Queen’s School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Maple Family Health Team, and Kingston Community Health Centre partnered to launch Rehabilitation Services at the Health Hub. Rehabilitation Therapy students have provided care for more than 80 patients in the Kingston community who would have been unable to access care elsewhere.

Inspiring young athletes

The Junior Gaels program aims to inspire young Kingston athletes to attend Queen’s and, one day, play for the Queen’s University Gaels. The program connects current student-athletes to young athletes in the community and offers opportunities for mentorship and community building.

Advancing health beyond our borders

Queen’s is committed to improving the health and wellness of individuals and communities across the globe. The University’s International Centre for the Advancement of Community Based Rehabilitation works to mainstream disability and advance the concept of community-based rehabilitation (CBR) practice in collaboration with persons with disabilities. Initiatives aim to improve health care and social services for people with disabilities, their families, and their communities in Canada and 15 other countries around the world.

Queen’s Health Outreach (QHO) is a student-run non-profit that promotes health through peer-to-peer discussions in classrooms in Canada and around the world. Each year QHO implements programs for students in Belize, Guyana, Kenya, and across Canada that aim to improve individual and community health.

Health and wellness policies

Queen’s prioritizes health and wellness in its operations. To protect our community’s health and well-being, Queen’s maintains a tobacco and smoke-free environment on all our campuses and properties.

Campus Wellness Project

In 2020, Queen’s launched the Campus Wellness Project to develop a Campus Wellbeing Framework. Guided by the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Wellness and aligning with the Okanagan Charter, the framework identified an interrelated set of principles and priority focus areas to help, support, and encourage a culture of wellbeing for all who live, learn, and work at Queen’s and embed health in all aspects of campus culture.