Lived Experience

399 articles:
by Darren Cargill

Match Day 2024: ‘Take 3 deep breaths … and have faith’

The NFL draft is much like the CaRMS match. It distills years of hard work and sacrifice into one binary answer: matched/unmatched.

by Joe Vipond Chris Houston Kashif Pirzada Nancy Delagrave Cheryl White

Introducing the Canadian Covid Society – because we need it

It’s time for Canadians to organize and advocate for patients, for ourselves and for our kids. It’s time for better COVID-19 policies from our health authorities and politicians.

by Sarah Bartnicka

‘Why would I not keep going?’ Month-long sobriety challenges establish healthy habits

Dry January and Sober October could be the start to forming long-term, healthier relationships with alcohol.

by Jason M. Lo Hog Tian Shyamaly Vasuthevan James Watson

Tackling HIV stigma: Why it’s important and what needs to be done

Experiences of HIV-related stigma are still incredibly high in Canada. However, given the continued lack of understanding about how stigma makes people feel unwell, it is a challenge to design solutions to reduce its impact.

by Maxime Lê

Navigating the health-care system is not easy, but you’re not alone.

Hello, dear reader! This is my first column for Healthy Debate as a Patient Navigator. This column will be devoted to providing patients with information to help them through their journey with the health-care system and answering your questions.

by Simone Lebeuf

Please leave politicians out of the exam room. Proposed changes to transgender health policies set a dangerous precedent

Government insertion into medical care is a dangerous step for all Canadians. While it may seem limited to a small minority of people, it sets a precedent that health care is subject to the whims of the current political party. Medical decision-making should be left to the patient and the provider.

by Sammy Chown

Canadian universities are fumbling mental health support for student-athletes

Canadian post-secondary institutions need to step up to the plate to improve mental health services for student-athletes. Fear about legal liabilities cannot continue to override action to support psychological well-being.

by Tara Slade-Hall

OurCare Quebec: ‘Patients are frustrated and afraid of what is to come’

Like most Quebecers, I'm worried about our failing health-care system. We as patients are left feeling frustrated and afraid of what is to come.

by Maria Raveendran

Come for the black bears and huskies. Stay to ‘transform how we deliver health care’

"Self-determination doesn't happen when all of your clinicians are flying up from the south, working for a week and then flying home.” Medical resident Maria Raveendran writes on her experience working in the remote northern Ontario community of Moose Factory Island.

by Maddi Dellplain

Resolutions and solutions: Health-care experts set goals for 2024

In a time of upheaval and undoubtedly significant professional strain, we wanted to know what health-care experts themselves had on their New Year’s resolution lists.

by Maddi Dellplain

Holiday wishes for our beleaguered health-care system

Health-care workers and experts share their wishes for Canada's health-care system this holiday season.

by Amolak Singh

Lose the calculator: Physician champions weight-inclusive care rather than calorie counting

Katarina Wind is a family physician in British Columbia who has her patients focus on healthy behaviours without setting a goal of weight loss or gain.

by Tania Kazi

Financial side-effects of treatment can be devastating in our ‘free’ health-care system

Health-care providers must also begin to take proactive steps to ensure that patients are not only aware of the medical side effects of their care and treatments, but the financial side effects, too.

by Maxime Lê

Lessons in patient partnership from a patient and health communications expert

Organizations that prioritize patient voices while championing equity, diversity and inclusion stand to gain immensely in not only enhancing their reputation among their patient communities, but also in leading the way as models for other institutions to follow.

by Nicole Naimer

Clinic offers a ‘one-stop shop’ for brain care

The Brain Medicine Clinic – a novel clinical model that is a “one-stop shop” for diagnosis, symptom management and treatment – is serving those who don’t have a clear home elsewhere in the health-care system.

by Megan Werger

Protecting pregnancy in clinical trials poses risks

Historically pregnant people have been largely excluded from clinical trials. But in the long-term, better representation in research will promote maternal and fetal well-being.

by James Janeiro

Canada’s diverse caregiving community in dire need of federal strategy

Canada is a nation of caregivers. But caregivers and care recipients alike are at risk for burnout. We need a concerted policy response that meets caregivers where they are.

by Mehreen Zaman

Yes, patients and caregivers are experts

Does being a patient make you an expert on your condition? Does formal education and credentials to comprehend a disease outweigh the rigor of experiencing life with the disease? There may be more room for patient-expert buy-in in health care decisions.

by David L. Dawson

Could we have done more? Risk assessment and violence

Risk assessments done by mental health professionals for violent offenders are often highly subjective. But there are better tools we can use to screen perpetrators of violent crimes before release.

by Evan Watson Louis Hugo Francescutti Eddy Lang

Housing first: The case for social prescribing of housing in emergency departments

Providing permanent housing is not only something that can and has been realistically implemented for unhoused patients in emergency departments, it also has been shown to reduce ED visits and hospitalizations and produce health benefits.

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