The global public health success of vaccination is astounding. According to the World Health Organization, vaccinations save the lives of 2-3 million people worldwide each year and prevent millions of others from suffering and disability. Marvelous achievements from the use of vaccinations continue; just this month India was declared Polio-free . Past and ongoing studies …
On November 7th 2013, the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced their proposed measures “to completely eliminate artificially produced trans fatty acids (TFAs) from the American food supply”. This measure would prevent food manufacturers from selling products containing artificial TFAs. Just as many Americans made their own New Year’s resolutions, their government has proposed quite a respectable one indeed. …
This is not a piece that is pro-vaccination or anti-vaccination. I am writing this as a citizen and consumer of the health system in Canada. I have watched the messaging about the influenza vaccination both in 2009 and now in 2014. It may be time for our health officials to pause and take the time …
There is little doubt that system transformation is necessary to achieve sustainable and high-quality health care for Canadians. In recent years, the care and management of high users (HU) of health care has emerged as a focal point for developing a sustainable health care system. Despite the focus on this group, one question has received …
We know that social environment plays a large role in shaping people’s health. Determinants like poverty and housing have recently received much deserved attention. The recent report by Canadian Medical Association, What Makes us Sick?, for example, identifies poverty as the leading cause of poor health outcomes and health inequity among Canadians. But poverty, housing …
Exercise is good for you. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Stop smoking. Drink less alcohol. Such messages abound in public health campaigns and there is a firm belief that they will ultimately change behavior. This is based on the assumption that individuals are motivated to change behaviors to reduce their individual health risks. While healthy …
During her campaign for reelection in 2012, Alberta premier Alison Redford promised to create 140 Family Care Clinics (FCCs) over three years. She articulated a vision of primary care that would be one-stop, with many different health care providers under one roof. These clinics would have expanded hours to improve patient access, and would focus …
Last month, after the publication of an open letter by a large group of health professional organizations and health care advocates, former Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq re-opened consultation on the contentious issue of whether Health Canada should approve clinics where people can sell their plasma to a for-profit corporation. Canadian Doctors for Medicare – the …
In the past six months, the Auditor Generals of both Canada and Ontario have turned their attention to problems with strategies designed to tackle one of Canada’s biggest health threats—the epidemic of diabetes. The government watchdogs have scrutinized the value that Canadians have received from the hundreds of millions of dollars expended on the Canadian …
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 …
The media had a field day recently with the proposal from Ontario’s Healthy Kids Panel to ban marketing of junk food to kids under 12. Sadly, this covereage missed a number of the panel’s crucial recommendations that would address the biggest contributors to childhood obesity. Childhood obesity rates are increasing across Canada. Over a quarter if children and …
Canadian research that shows how alcohol price policies can reduce alcohol-related harm is making waves in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States—but not yet at home. International attention has far outstripped domestic attention for a surge of public health-related alcohol research coming out of the University of Victoria’s Centre for Addictions Research of …
What do you do as a healthcare provider when you know your patient can’t afford the medicines you are prescribing? In the era of evidence-based medicine, a greater focus has been placed on ensuring that patients are prescribed the most effective treatments, but rarely do we discuss what happens when a prescription leaves the physician’s …
This past October, I met a bright and engaging man who had suffered a stroke. Luckily, a family member of his had recognized the symptoms he was having and brought him to the hospital. Unfortunately, the stroke had left him unable to use the left side of his body and, as a result, he required …
I knew he was sick when he told me he’d thrown out his cigarettes on account of how badly he felt. Mr. P had gotten used to the breathlessness when he climbed stairs and the hacking, dry cough that followed him everywhere. What else could he expect after smoking three packs a day since he …
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 …
It’s a sad day for refugees looking to Canada for protection. Today, Jason Kenney and the Conservative government announced a controversial list of countries that will determine who does and does not get access to healthcare in this country. This ‘Designated Countries of Origin‘ or so-called ‘safe countries’ list singles out refugee claimants from certain countries fast-tracking …
A little over a month ago I was invited by the Ontario Medical Association to give a talk at a food industry breakfast. I was asked to speak about what I thought the food industry could do to help further public health. 3 days prior to the talk, after my flights and hotel were booked, …
Public health officials must find better ways to communicate with parents about the risks and benefits of childhood vaccination, researchers and public health officials agree. That task is particularly challenging in the absence of a national, or a provincial, vaccine surveillance registry because, to target messages effectively, accurate and timely information about vaccination rates and …