Steve Combes

Developer at Station WP

Steve is a WordPress expert and architect who takes particular pride in creating simple interfaces for clients to update their websites.

3382 Contributions
by Kelly Rezansoff

The Time is Now for LGBT+ Health Equity

Creating inclusive environments for LGBT+ clients has not occurred on a broad scale in Canada or elsewhere. The onus is on the health-care system and its leaders, from the local level to the federal government, to address LGBT+ health inequity. The lives of millions of people depend on it.

by Graham Dickson

‘Transformation’ in health care depends on leaders’ people skills

The true challenge of transformation is the need for leaders to see it not as simply a cumulation of changes, reforms or innovations but as a process of collective people change, regardless of the role one plays in health care.

by Moses Der Arakelian Julian Surujballi

The plastic pandemic

Face masks have helped gain the upper hand against COVID-19, but if we continue to consider the needs of today above sustainability for tomorrow, it might not even matter.

by Lena Faust

Canada is failing to track an ancient but deadly infectious disease

Tuberculosis has been around for millennia and continues to circulate to this day. On World TB Day, Stop TB Canada has launched a new tracker to hold the government accountable to its elimination targets.

by Maddi Dellplain

Is Canada ready to lift mask mandates? Experts weigh in

As public health restrictions lift across the country, we asked experts to weigh in on whether it's time to do away with mask mandates.

by Nakia K. Lee-Foon Adalsteinn Brown

Why equity indicators are essential in COVID-19 monitoring

Unarguably, a profound weakness in our public health response to COVID-19 has been the equity-blind approach that numerous jurisdictions adopted when the pandemic began.

by Idil Abdillahi Anne Rucchetto Madeleine DeWelles

An app is not the answer: Government’s ‘free’ mental health tool raises significant privacy concerns

Canadians should be aware that PocketWell will extract a significant amount of data from users. And as data has now become the most valuable commodity on Earth, this raises major concerns.

Trusting my mind again after psychosis failed it

My illness is not your adjective. If you are acting unhinged, you are not “psychotic.” If you’re feeling unstable, you’re not “bipolar.” In the same way, if you like things neatly arranged, you’re not “so OCD.”

by Abrar Ahmed James Bunker

As we head into a provincial election, it’s time to rethink sick-pay leave

The pandemic has amplified social inequalities in our society as lived experiences have differed vastly based on income. Hourly workers have been disproportionately affected relative to salary workers. For many, a consistent paycheque is crucial to providing necessities such as food and housing.

by Mary-Kay Whittaker

‘Chipping away at barriers’: Nurse practitioners filling primary-care gap

Nurse practitioners are steadily solidifying their place in primary care. However, with 5 million Canadians without a primary care provider, experts say there's still more untapped potential for nurse practitioners to improve access and quality of care.

by Junayd Hussain Vaidhehi Veena Sanmugananthan Noor Al-Kaabi

Health-care behind bars: Equity and accountability in Canada’s correctional services

The Canada Health Act governs publicly funded health-care insurance and protects Canadians’ right of access to universal health care. However, contrary to popular belief, these rights do not apply to federal prisoners, nor are they covered by provincial plans.

by Seema Marwaha

Finding joy and meaning in our new reality

Dr. Seema Marwaha, our editor-in-chief, pens a column for Best Health Magazine about the second anniversary of the pandemic. She writes: "as we head into our third pandemic year, the mood is palpably different. Unlike 2021, we have been here before. We know that returning to restaurants, social gatherings and a general sense of normalcy may be temporary."

by Anthony Fong

‘All the trends paint a dire picture’: B.C. facing looming shortage of family physicians

As many as 40 per cent of British Columbia’s family doctors may retire in the next 10 years, leaving millions in B.C. without a family doctor.

by Lori Dunne Julia Henderson

Two years into the pandemic, social workers are in critical demand

The first week of March each year marks Social Work Week. Now more than ever, social workers are needed to enable and accelerate access to mental health support within the health-care system and across many other settings.

by Ontario Public Health Association’s Reproductive Health Working Group

Pandemic recovery plans must address gaps in reproductive health

As Canada turns toward pandemic recovery plans, we must ensure that these plans, and any mitigation strategies in response to future COVID-19 waves, address reproductive health for all of Canada.

by Mary-Kay Whittaker

‘A very different experience for our class’: Medical students and the virtual world

Pre-pandemic, 3,000 fourth-year medical students flew across Canada every January for interviews to secure residency positions. Now, for the second year in a row, students are embarking on these high-stake interviews by Zoom.

by Heeba Abdullah Cathryn Espadero

The essential role of spiritual care in long-term care

In 2020, Ontario's LTC lockdown policies led to the elimination of religious, recreational, therapeutic and social activities for residents, resulting in a spiritual health crisis in LTC homes. As a front-line occupational therapist, I witnessed first-hand the devastating consequences of the removal of spiritual care.

by Anthony Fong

Nunavut struggling with crisis that ‘won’t go away’

Food insecurity in Nunavut has been called “among the longest-lasting public health crises faced by a Canadian population.”

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