Chronic Illness

HCWs have died and been disabled. Laws should have prevented this

We must learn the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent thousands from acquiring a preventable workplace-acquired illness.

Reclaiming the joy of cooking for people living with chronic conditions

The millions of Canadians living with diabetes deserve better than a lifetime of restriction and shame.

Assisted dying is changing medicine more than we realize

If Canada continues expanding assisted dying, it must answer hard questions. Are we expanding access to death faster than access to care? Are we ending lives prematurely when people could have flourished with adequate suicide prevention and support?

The hidden cost of dismissal: How we amplify chronic pain in clinical settings

Chronic pain affects more than one in five Canadians. But not all pain is shaped by our bones, muscles and systems. It also is shaped by context.

In rural Canada, burnout looks different

Burnout in Northern Ontario is not simply about being tired. It is about being stretched across distance, across roles, and across unmet needs. It reflects the broader challenge of delivering care in a vast country with uneven resource distribution.

Kevin’s story: My journey with my brother, dementia and Down Syndrome

Across the country, we talk about dementia more than we used to, but too often, conversations remain fragmented - and people with disabilities are rarely at the centre of planning.

Sick notes are slowly being banned but much more is needed to reduce administrative burden

Doctors across Canada agree: the crushing paperwork in medicine is unsustainable. Together, we can create a better system that truly supports both patients and the physicians who serve them.

‘Dangerous outcomes’: The limitations of BMI as a diagnostic tool

Researchers, clinicians and advocates have been raising concerns about the BMI, saying it is not a comprehensive indicator of health and using it can have disastrous results, especially for racialized populations.

From harm reduction to harm production: A frontline physician on the closure of safe consumption sites

The closure of safe consumption sites in Ontario flies in the face of scientific evidence and my experiences as a physician on the frontlines.

Don’t give up on your health. Give up on the old playbook

As January recedes in the rearview mirror, so have most New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, eat better or get fit. But when success is only defined by a number on the scale, disappointment is almost inevitable.

Getting a flu shot is a small yet deeply profound act of Canadian community care

Canadians know the flu is here. We know that anyone, even those who seem healthy, can get it. And we know that getting a seasonal flu vaccination is one of the best ways to protect ourselves and the wider community from illness.

Where two worlds meet: The importance of cultural sensitivity in medicine

"I felt not like a physician but more like an interpreter – not of language, but of the space between two worlds: Western medicine and the cultural practices that shaped Lakshmi and Prakash’s life."

‘When doctors stop talking, patients fall apart’

When care is fragmented, patients become the glue holding the system together. We carry test results from one office to another, retell our histories again and again, and hope that someone will connect the dots before something important is missed.

Vulnerable seniors belong in care, not jail

Accused seniors with cognitive impairments are all too often punished for conditions beyond their control because the justice system lacks safe places to shelter them.

The colonial wounds on Indigenous women’s health

To improve Indigenous women’s health, there must be a drastic change to the health-care system and how we view health.

‘A lot of work to do, one conversation at a time’: New Year’s resolutions for 2026

With changes reverberating throughout our health-care system, we wanted to know what health-care experts planned to focus on for themselves in the year ahead.

Feeling blue? It’s not just you. Canadians live in a ‘winter depression hotspot’

Seasonal affective disorder or – the appropriately acronymic SAD –  will impact an estimated 15 per cent of Canadians during their lifetime.

‘How would the average Canadian know to ask?’ Men left in the dark on minimally invasive prostate cancer treatments

For many men, prostate cancer is not just a question of survival. It is a question of how they will live afterward. When the system fails to offer a full picture of the options available, it limits not only their choices but their long-term well-being.

No, women aren’t supposed to hurt: Misconceptions about reproductive health have serious consequences

If Canada is committed to gender equity and universal health coverage, then we must address the fact that young women’s pain too often goes unheard, not because they are silent, but because the world taught them to be.

The painful struggle: Transitioning to adult medical care with a rare condition

The difference between a safe, supported transition and a dangerous one often comes down to whether the system is a partner in your care – or leaves you to navigate it alone.