Student Blog
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2020
Public Health and Police Violence
June 26, 2020
The murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis has fueled widespread protests supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. While police violence is often viewed as a political or social issue, its impact on public health is clear.
Despite general violence being classified as a public health issue for decades, very few studies examine the impacts of police violence on wellbeing (Lockhart, 2019). However, police violence is a social determinant of health. Black and Indigenous Canadians are particularly at risk, as represented by the recent deaths of Regis Korchinski-Paquet and…
The case of cancer drugs: An ongoing dilemma and the need for public engagement
June 25, 2020
Making coverage decisions – also known as “priority-setting” – for cancer drugs has become increasingly complex for governments. The rise in cancer cases means more services and treatments are needed. The introduction of innovative technologies has made it possible to detect cancers at an earlier stage, while improved treatment options mean people are living longer. Further, many new cancer drugs come to market with big price tags and some policymakers are worried that the costs might not justify the often-small increase in health benefits they provide (Woods, Coppes, & Coldman, 2015)…
The Ontario Premier’s Plan to Address Gun Violence
June 19, 2020
Over the past decade, gun violence in Canada has increased, and in 2019, Toronto, the largest city in Ontario, set a record for the number of shootings in a given year. In the country, gun violence results in hundreds of lives lost per year and places a significant burden on society, making it a public health crisis.The COVID-19 Endgame: How the Credibility of Public Health Could be Won or Lost
June 8, 2020
Public health officials all over the world have been featured prominently alongside political leaders as recommended control measures have been put in place to help slow the COVID-19 pandemic. To save lives and minimize disease transmission, physical distancing and social isolation are having a tremendously deleterious effect on economies, as well as people’s social and mental health. The trust being placed in our public health institutions could be jeopardized if the endgame of this outbreak is not effectively directed and managed. The endgame I am referring to is the…
An Integrated Public Health, Health Care, and Social System Approach to Chronic Disease Prevention
June 8, 2020
With rates of chronic disease and multimorbidity on the rise, there has been an increased focus on prevention and a push for personalized care in the treatment and management of health conditions. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to addressing chronic diseases, and treatments need to be grounded in an understanding of the social determinants of health (SDOH) that predispose people to certain health conditions. Public health focuses on prevention, emphasizing interventions that promote upstream approaches targeting the SDOH. However, the health care system is not designed to support…
Help prevent the spread of COVID-19
April 17, 2020
This infographic was not produced by the Canadian Public Health Association. It was produced by a student member of the CPHA.
The infographic is also available in French, Spanish,
2019
Moral Distress in Healthcare: A Public Health Issue
October 11, 2019
Imagine facing a moral dilemma at work: you know what needs to be done, but feel prevented from doing what you think is right because of complex healthcare limitations such as understaffing, time constraints or a lack of resources (Rodney, 2017; Fortier, 2018). Moral distress is present in every field of nursing, and can happen even more frequently in fields where Registered Nurses (RNs) engage with vulnerable, disadvantaged and marginalized patient populations such as in the intensive care unit, emergency medicine, public health and community medicine (Walton, 2018).
Moral…
Period Poverty in Canada and around the Globe
June 25, 2019
Should menstrual products be considered a necessity covered by health insurance or, at the very least, made readily available in public restrooms? There is a growing argument that supports such initiatives. After all, menstruation is a biological process experienced by most women, and is not a choice.
Every month, women all over the world menstruate. In Canada, menstruation typically begins between the ages of 11 and 14, and ends at menopause, around the age of 50 (Healthwise Staff, 2017). Estimates suggest that the average woman spends upwards of six years menstruating over the…
An Overview of the Healthy Parks Healthy People Movement
April 15, 2019
“I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, ‘This is what it is to be happy.’” ― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
Author and biologist Rachel Carson released her famous book, Silent Spring, in September 1962 (Lytle, 2007). Credited with starting and providing support to the environmental movement in North America, this book had far reaching impacts on overarching societal cultures, as well as government and private policies, in relation to the environment and nature (Vanderburgh, 2012)…
How does a post-legalization society restrain cannabis-impaired driving? Here are two strategies that Canada is using
March 11, 2019
Has legalization caused you to worry about an uptick in cannabis-impaired driving? An article authored by Laura Kane and published by the CBC on November 15th, 2018 suggests that your fears are misplaced. Anecdotes and preliminary data collected one-month post-legalization, from various police agencies across the country, indicate that cannabis-impaired driving did not increase (Kane, 2018). An officer interviewed in the article notes that marijuana’s widespread use in Canada prior to legalization means that we likely will not see a drastic change in the prevalence or incidence of impaired…