Health Promotion & Disease Prevention
Isolation heightening teens’ image anxieties
What’s in the air? Aerosol transmission drawing increased attention
In failing nature, governments fail us. Remember that as B.C. votes
Medical conferences must face virtual reality
COVID crackdown: Fines are fine but bring on norm entrepreneurs
Widening the circle of care: adding legal and financial expertise to the health care team
Grace (name and some details changed to protect her identity) is a nine year old girl who lives in the northern suburbs of Toronto. Her doctor diagnosed her with asthma last year, and developed a care plan and prescribed her medication. Grace’s family understands and agrees with the care plan. But Grace’s acute attacks have …
Provinces divided over mandatory vaccination for school children
Integrative cancer care in Canada: curiosity and cautions
Joanne MacPhail was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993 at the age of forty three. At that time, her treatment included two surgeries, as well as a lengthy course of chemotherapy that had profound physical and emotional side effects. MacPhail details how she sought out reflexology, therapeutic touch and massage therapies to help her cope with side …
Stubbornly high rates of health care worker injury
Ann Smith starting working as a bedside nurse on an Edmonton general medical unit in 2012, three years after graduating with her nursing degree. She was working a night shift when she entered the room of an elderly patient who had called for help to get to the washroom. The patient had very limited use …
Physician health: reducing stigma and improving care
John Bradford always prided himself on being psychologically tough. After all, he needed to be. As one of Canada’s top forensic psychiatrists, he analyzed some of the country’s most high-profile murderers including Paul Bernardo, Karla Homolka and Robert Pickton. In order to keep healthy and reduce stress, Bradford exercised regularly and played competitive squash and …
The evidence and politics of mandatory health care worker vaccination
The United States Center for Disease Control reports that while only 44% of employees get the influenza or “flu” shot on a voluntary basis, that number rises to 89% when it is required or mandated by the employer. With vaccination rates of 45% among health care workers in some Alberta hospitals and similar rates in Ontario, a debate has …
Sheltering Canada’s homeless
“I’d do whatever I had to do to stay warm” recalls David, who was homeless on Toronto’s streets from 2000 to 2003. David said he spent the winter nights in emergency shelters, and bitter cold days in bank ATM lobbies or riding around on public transit. “Survival was tough” he says, describing everyday life on …
Combating antibiotic resistance in Canada
Michael’s Story Michael was a 75 year-old living in Canada’s Prairies. His wife recently spent five days in hospital for a scheduled hip replacement. At the time she was admitted to hospital, Michael was on a one-week course of Amoxicillin, an antibiotic medication to treat a sinus infection. Michael spent a great deal of time …
A patient asks: does my ancestry put me at higher risk of breast cancer?
The Personal Health Navigator is available to all Canadian patients. Questions about your doctor, hospital or how to navigate the health care system can be sent to AskLisa@Sunnybrook.ca The Question: I had my mammogram done last year. I also registered for a breast-screening program at a hospital. My aunt, who is my mama’s sister, died from …
Groundbreaking Canadian cohort studies aim to shed light on risk factors for cancer, chronic diseases
The British Whitehall studies helped establish the importance of the social determinants of health, while a Danish study of children provided strong evidence to disprove the damaging MMR-vaccine-causes-autism hypothesis. Those are just two of many international cohort studies—studies that follow large groups of people over many years. In Canada, starting such studies has never been …
Suspicious skin lesions and melanoma
The Personal Health Navigator is available to all Canadian patients. Questions about your doctor, hospital or how to navigate the health care system can be sent to AskLisa@Sunnybrook.ca The Question: I suspect I have acral melanoma on my foot and I want an excision biopsy done. Most family practitioners are unaware of what it is, and they …
Toronto casino would mean more problem gamblers, more “individual disasters”
With so much money to be made if a Toronto casino is built, it’s no surprise that the health effects of increased gambling receive short shrift in the media compared to news of intense lobbying activities. Private investors, construction trades and companies, as well as the province and the city all stand to make money …
“Chronic blindness” to health impact of alcohol policies
It’s a political football. Whenever the prospect of privatizing the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is placed on the agenda, the result is a heated and polarized debate. Tax revenues, employment, competition and consumer convenience—these are the concerns that dominate discussion. But when it comes to any changes in alcohol policy, explicit consideration of the health …
Dangerous drug interactions and how to stop them
The Personal Health Navigator is available to all Canadian patients. Questions about your doctor, hospital or how to navigate the health care system can be sent to AskLisa@Sunnybrook.ca The Question: My mother is on six different medications from different pharmacies under the care of three specialists. How do I avoid a dangerous drug interaction? The Answer: This is …