Our method

User-centered research, design thinking, community engagement, and multidisciplinary collaboration are at the core of our co-creation process.

Community engagement

In order for our digital tools to be meaningful and impactful, we believe in spending time with our intended users and their communities to hear the gaps they identify in accessing safe, up-to-date, and reliable sexual and reproductive health (SRH) tools and services.

User-centered research and design

Our design thinking approach is unique in that it combines rigorous academic quantitative and qualitative user-centered research methods, in-depth contextual analysis, stakeholder mapping and analysis, with up-to-date UX/UI research and design strategies.

Multidisciplinary collaboration

We are a diverse global multi-disciplinary team of women’s health experts, medical professionals, SRH activists, public health and technology specialists, dedicated to applying our expertise and skills to enhance our co-creation process.  We believe in collaborating with all SRH-related organizations working on the ground to ensure our work is inclusive, is not redundant and is complimenting their existing work.

In the Field, backed by Science

The Vitala Global Co-Founders have various clinical and managerial experiences in the provision of essential SRH services for women and girls in challenging settings, including working in remote communities in Canada, in Northern Nigeria during jihadist insurgencies, in Yemen during the COVID19 pandemic, and in Lebanon with Syrian refugees and other vulnerable populations affected by the protracted Syrian crisis. 

We also work with the World Health Organization (WHO) Preventing Unsafe Abortion Unit to provide technical expertise on the development of evidence-based global guidelines. Examples include involvement as WHO Secretariat to the WHO Medical Management of Abortion guideline and WHO Ebola in Pregnancy guideline, current involvement in the ongoing update of the WHO Safe Abortion technical guidance 3rd edition, and facilitation of the approval of mifepristone and misprostol on the core WHO Essential Medicines List. 

“Every woman and girl should have access to SRH tools and services regardless of their socioeconomic situation, religion, culture, beliefs, political context, and geographic location.”

Our publications

Gill R, Ganatra B, Althabe F. WHO essential medicines for reproductive health. BMJ Glob Health. 2019;4(6):e002150. Published 2019 Dec 17. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2019-002150

Gill R, Ogilvie G, Norman WV, Fitzsimmons B, Maher C, Renner R. Feasibility and Acceptability of a Mobile Technology Intervention to Support Postabortion Care in British Columbia: Phase I. J Med Internet Res. 2019;21(5):e13387. Published 2019 May 29. doi:10.2196/13387

Gill RK, Ogilvie G, Norman WV, Fitzsimmons B, Maher C, Renner R. Feasibility and Acceptability of a Mobile Technology Intervention to Support Postabortion Care (The FACTS Study Phase II) After Surgical Abortion: User-Centered Design. JMIR Hum Factors. 2019;6(4):e14558. Published 2019 Oct 10. doi:10.2196/14558

Gill R, Norman WV. Telemedicine and medical abortion: dispelling safety myths, with facts. Mhealth. 2018;4:3. Published 2018 Feb 1. doi:10.21037/mhealth.2018.01.01

Gill R, Black A, Dumont T, Fleming N. Photovoice: A Strategy to Better Understand the Reproductive and Sexual Health Needs of Young Mothers. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2016;29(5):467-475. doi:10.1016/j.jpag.2016.03.001

Faught W, Gill R, Ng-Kamstra J. Women's Health and Surgical Care: Moving From Maternal Health to Comprehensive Surgical Systems. J Obstet Gynaecol Can. 2015;37(10):894-896. doi:10.1016/s1701-2163(16)30024-x

Gill R, Stewart DE. Relevance of gender-sensitive policies and general health indicators to compare the status of South Asian women's health. Womens Health Issues. 2011;21(1):12-18. doi:10.1016/j.whi.2010.10.003