Wahi Celebrated for Research Innovation at 2022 Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation Gala

On Saturday, December 10, 2022, the Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation (HHSF) hosted a sold-out, black-tie fundraising gala at LiUNA Station that featured amazing entertainment, a raffle, and dancing.   

This year’s theme was I’m Every Women: A Concert of Greatest Hits to honour eight female researchers from across Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) and to raise funds for leading-edge research. 

Dr. Gita Wahi, a General Pediatrician at McMaster Children’s Hospital (MCH) and an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, was one of the eight female researchers honoured at the HHSF Gala for her work in building a social prescription intervention at MCH. 

Her study will screen children and families cared for in outpatient clinics at MCH using a digital survey available in multiple languages and will determine if they have unmet social needs.   

The results of her work will be used to build a social screening toolkit and create a pathway for referral to support that improves the health of children with complex medical conditions.   

Wahi’s research aims to improve the lives of children and families who are often neglected in health research and who are at risk for childhood obesity using health promotion approaches and advancing treatment strategies among families burdened by socio-economic inequities.  

Wahi’s study was celebrated at Saturday’s gala as a model of the innovative and impactful research happening at HHS and McMaster University.