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Health – Articles, Analysis, Comment

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Expansion of the blacklegged and other tick populations across Canada over the last few years mean an increased risk of diseases like Lyme disease. It is wise to do a full body tick check on ourselves and our pets when we come in from the outdoors. (Shutterstock)

How to avoid Lyme disease while ticks are hungry in the fall

Fall is peak activity time for adult blacklegged ticks, increasing the risk of tick bites on both people and pets.
Successful therapy involves collaboration. Both therapist and client work at maintaining a positive relationship and need to continuously respond and adjust to the other. (Shutterstock)

The surprising secret to successful psychotherapy

Therapy works. But success has little to do with your therapist’s experience, gender, graduate degree, or even the school of therapy they practise.
Animals in the western Arctic have higher levels of mercury in their bodies than those in the eastern Arctic. (Shutterstock)

How we solved an Arctic mercury mystery

A new study demystifies regional differences in mercury levels in marine animals in the Canadian Arctic.
A new short drug treatment for tuberculosis, called BPaMZ, is showing promise in trials. (The National Center for Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (Georgia) on behalf of TB Alliance)

To eliminate TB we need imagination and ambition

We cannot end TB with century-old technologies and poor quality care. It is time to reinvent the way we are managing TB, and overcome our collective failures of the imagination.
A employee holds pre-rolled joints at Buddha Barn Craft Cannabis in Vancouver, Oct. 2, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Now that cannabis is legal, let’s use it to tackle the opioid crisis

Cannabis legalization in Canada is a public health strategy. Let’s harness this opportunity to understand how cannabis could fit into a multi-faceted opioid prevention and response strategy.
The new cannabis legislation in Canada does not give enough thought to those who were overly punished for cannabis-related activities. Jakob Owens/Unsplash

As cannabis is legalized, let’s remember amnesty

Now that cannabis is almost legal in Canada, many are celebrating. Before we forget, we should remember those that have been arrested for previous crimes and push for amnesty.
A street art mural representing the innovative scientist Marie Curie, by French graffiti mural artist C215 (Christian Guemy) in Vitry-sur-Seine, France, on 24 Dec 2015. (Shutterstock)

True ‘innovation’ generates ideas, not wealth

To become a successful innovator, follow Marie Curie, Mahatma Gandhi and today’s female social entrepreneurs – focus on ideas and social value, not money.
Christine Blasey Ford testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

Trauma 101 in the aftermath of the Ford-Kavanaugh saga

If the Ford-Kavanaugh saga had any positive impact, it at least clearly highlighted several lessons from traumatology and the complex consequences of traumatic events across society.
Concrete action steps are needed to help reconciliation, says a research team that offers 12 actionable ideas. Here Ben Paul, of the Musqueam First Nation, sings and plays a drum during the Walk for Reconciliation in Vancouver, B.C., on Sept. 24, 2017, held to promote positive relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

New guide kick-starts reconciliation in the justice system

It’s been three years since the TRC released its report on the lasting impact of residential schools in Canada but responses to the 94 Calls to Action have been slow. A new framework hopes to change that.
Approximately 11 per cent of Canadian mothers report consuming alcohol during pregnancy, which can cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in their children. (Shutterstock)

The truth about fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

With an estimated prevalence of four per cent, fetal alcohol syndrome disorder (FASD) is more common than autism. And yet is it surrounded by myth and stigma.
The apparent higher costs of healthy foods like fresh produce compared to fatty, starchy foods is thought to have contributed to food insecurity in Canada. But is there more at play than just cost? Sydney Rae/Unsplash

Time and money – the biggest hurdles to healthy eating

Although nutritious, inexpensive food options do exist for low-income Canadians, whether those foods are easily accessible or feasible has long evaded both nutrition researchers and politicians.
A study published in the British Medical Journal Open reports that midwifery patients were 41 per cent less likely to have a small-for-gestational-age baby compared to patients of obstetricians. (Shutterstock)

Poor women who use midwives have healthier babies

New research shows that midwifery care is not just for the wealthy – it has health and cost benefits for vulnerable women and provincial governments must act to increase their access.
In this April 14, 1947 file photo, a long line winds toward the entrance to Morrisania Hospital in the Bronx borough of New York, where doctors were vaccinating against smallpox. In an attempt to halt the spread of the disease, officials said city residents were being vaccinated at the rate of eight a minute. (AP Photo/File)

The elimination of smallpox showed how humans can work together to solve deadly global problems

Humans have shown that together we can overcome daunting problems, including deadly pathogens like smallpox. It is a lesson of international cooperation and respect that we should pay attention to.
Training in improvisational theatre enables health professionals to learn deeper empathy, as well as mental agility and other clinical skills. (Shutterstock)

How theatre training can boost your doctor’s empathy

Health professionals need a dose of drama in their training to build clinical and interpersonal skills.
There is a growing research literature suggesting psychedelics hold incredible promise for treating mental health ailments ranging from depression and anxiety to PTSD. (Shutterstock)

Opening up the future of psychedelic science

To know the real promise of psychedelic substances like LSD, mushrooms and MDMA, researchers must embrace the principles and practise of ‘open science.’
Sex-ed can equip and empower young people to make healthy and safe choices about their sexuality for themselves and for others. Simeon Jacobson/Unsplash

Sex-ed is crucial to the rights of children

The notion that religious groups are opposed to sex-ed is simply not true. And our youth need it more than ever to take control over their lives, their bodies and their decisions.
A resident of Shoal Lake 40 First Nation is photographed while speaking about water and access issues in her community in February 2015. The Shoal Lake community, despite supplying water to the city of Winnipeg, has long been under a boil-water advisory and is only just getting year-round road access. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

We fail our citizens in Canada – and the UN is onto us

Governments in Canada are routinely enacting public policies that primarily benefit economic elites, raising questions about government legitimacy and competency. Who’s looking out for us?
Women in Nepal are tapped for volunteer health work. Many take on the work out of a sense of duty, but also gain access to otherwise inaccessible opportunities. Here women are seen on a bus in Pokhara, Nepal. Terry Boynton/Unsplash

Women health-care volunteers have no upward mobility

Women health-care volunteers in places like Nepal, Afghanistan and Ethiopia play a vital role in the health system, yet they are undervalued and undertrained.
Barbershop Talks creates a place for Black men and boys to meet and discuss ideas about masculinity. Edgar Chaparro/Unsplash

Barbershop Talks: A safe place to discuss Black masculinity

Barbershop Talks use the idea of the “barbershop around the corner” as a place to meet and discuss ideas and create a safe space for Black men and boys to talk openly about masculinity.
Physical violence in dating relationships has decreased over the past decade among youth, but boys are still reporting higher rates of dating violence, according to a recent study. (Shutterstock)

More boys hurt by dating violence than girls

Surprisingly, a study of more than 35,000 Canadian adolescents shows that boys report higher rates of dating victimization than girls.
An Ottawa high school student looks at plain cigarette packaging examples on World No Tobacco Day in May 2016. Tobacco companies are railing against Ottawa’s plans for plain cigarette packaging in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Big Tobacco’s opposition to plain packaging is plain spin

The Canadian government is currently drafting regulations on plain packaging for cigarettes. Tobacco companies are trying to weaken the regulations via lobbying and misleading PR campaigns.
Sirley Silveira Paixao, an immigrant from Brazil seeking asylum, kisses her 10-year-old son Diego Magalhaes, after he is released from immigration detention in Chicago on July 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

Drugging detained children is like using a chemical straitjacket

Psychotropic medication is ‘pharmaceutical violence’ against migrant children and other incarcerated youth throughout the United States. Drug addiction is one consequence.
It is estimated that 1.2 million children in Canada live in low income households and 10 per cent of families with children under the age of six report some degree of food insecurity. This places kids at increased risk of developmental vulnerability. (Shutterstock)

Why Canada needs a ‘Children’s Charter’

From food insecurity to cyberbullying and teenage suicide, Canada scores low on child health.