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Heavy smoke from wildfires in northern Alberta and British Columbia fill the air at 9 a.m. in Yellowknife, N.W.T. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Bill Braden

COP28: How 7 policies could help save a billion lives by 2100

Joshua M. Pearce, Western University

A recent study found one billion people are likely to die prematurely by the end of the century from climate change. Here are seven energy policies that could save their lives.
Exploring the interaction between the heart and the brain, known as the heart-brain axis, has shown how heart function changes due to a concussion. (Shutterstock)

Repeated concussions can alter heart activity and impact the ‘heart-brain’ axis

Jyotpal Singh, University of Regina; J. Patrick Neary, University of Regina, and Payam Dehghani, University of Saskatchewan

Concussion doesn’t just affect the brain, but the whole body. The interaction of the ‘heart-brain axis’ means that as the brain works to heal its injury, it puts extra stress on the heart.
Psychologist and professor Monnica Williams, on the left with a patient, is advocating for psychedelics in therapy to heal racial trauma. Right: Psilocybin mushrooms sit on a drying rack in the Uptown Fungus lab in Springfield, Ore. (Left: Monnica Williams | Right: AP/Craig Mitchelldyer)

The potential of psychedelics to heal our racial traumas

Vinita Srivastava, The Conversation

Clinical psychologist and professor Monnica Williams is on a mission to bring psychedelics to therapists’ offices to help people heal from their racial traumas. To do this, she’s jumping over some big hurdles.
Halfway through the Sustainable Development Goals timeline, the world is not on track to meet the target of ending malnutrition by 2030. (Ben Curtis/AP Photo, File)

Wasting and edema — severe forms of malnutrition — affect millions of children worldwide as food insecurity grows

Allison Daniel, University of British Columbia

As global acute food insecurity increases, severe wasting — which already affects 13.6 million children — is expected to rise with it. Treating wasting requires specialized nutrition and medical care.
A man butters a dinner roll as he eats a Thanksgiving meal at the Ottawa Mission in Ottawa in October 2023. Food insecurity is on the rise in Canada, particularly in households with children. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Food insecurity in Canada is the worst it’s ever been — here’s how we can solve it

Valerie Tarasuk, University of Toronto and Tim Li, University of Toronto

The persistence of food insecurity in Canada is a policy choice. By not doing more to improve the adequacy and stability of household income, governments are choosing to let food insecurity fester.
A store selling psychedelics in Windsor, Ont. Recent police raids on psychedelics stores in Vancouver reflect misplaced attitudes toward drug regulation. (Shutterstock)

Raids on magic mushroom dispensaries are a knee-jerk reaction, but taking a blind-eye approach only allows the market to run wild

Daniel Eisenkraft Klein, University of Toronto

Psychedelics are an opportunity to do better than our past drug control strategies. Adults should be trusted to make the right decisions, but policymakers should ensure they do so fully informed.
Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks players and spectators stand for a moment of silence for Adam Johnson, before an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, on Oct. 31, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Hockey organizations need to address the psychological impacts of team trauma, not just the physical ones

Craig Greenham, University of Windsor

Hockey culture’s tendency to prefer attributes like mental toughness over emotional vulnerability can damage athletes when they’re confronted with traumatic events. This needs to change.
Students in a death and dying class have the opportunity to become a ‘death ambassador,’ in recognition of their new level of awareness that could help foster healthy conversations about death and dying. (Shutterstock)

As a death doula and professor who teaches about dying, I see a need for more conversations about death

Susan Srigley, Nipissing University

All of us face loss and the reality of our own mortality. Whether through in-person discussion or over social media, let’s build communities that support people navigating death and dying.
One student in a study said they would have loved to receive emails about school closures: ‘I always had to ask my parents. Sometimes they don’t read the emails.’ (Shutterstock)

Listening to youth voices was missing in the COVID-19 pandemic response

Negin Riazi, University of British Columbia; Jessica A. Goddard, Brock University; Karen A. Patte, Brock University; Terrance J. Wade, Brock University, and Valerie Michaelson, Brock University

Insights from youth about COVID-19 school closures and youth exclusion from pandemic-related decisions suggest we have an opportunity to improve how we support youths’ rights.
Women — particularly racialized women — are more likely to be in positions at the lower end of the health sector’s pay scale, that also require close and prolonged contact with patients. (Shutterstock)

Canada’s health-care crisis is gendered: How the burden of care falls to women

Julia Smith, Simon Fraser University

Not only is the health sector feminized, but women — particularly racialized women — are more likely to be in jobs at the low end of the pay scale, but that require prolonged contact with patients.
A child’s sense of attachment with parents or caregivers is formed from the consolidation of a series of interactions and responses during the child’s first year of life (and beyond). (Shutterstock)

How children’s secure attachment sets the stage for positive well-being

Marissa Nivison, University of Calgary; Audrey-Ann Deneault, University of Calgary, and Sheri Madigan, University of Calgary

Parents or caregivers who a child can return to in times of distress to receive comfort or protection provide a secure base for the child from which they feel safe to explore the world.
Approaching the opioid crisis from a public health perspective includes massively increasing access to care and treatment for patients experiencing substance use disorder. (Shutterstock)

The roots of the North American opioid crisis, and 3 key strategies for stopping it

Rohan Anand, University of British Columbia and M. Eugenia Socias, University of British Columbia

There were more than 100,000 opioid-related deaths in North America in 2022. How the crisis grew to such proportions, and three potential paths to ending it.
If public health bodies and policymakers put greater focus on improving the work environment, it could achieve major gains in population health and reduce health inequities. (Shutterstock)

The impact of work on well-being: 6 factors that will affect the future of work and health inequalities

Peter Smith, University of Toronto; Arjumand Siddiqi, University of Toronto; Cameron Mustard, University of Toronto; John William Frank, The University of Edinburgh, and Reiner Rugulies, University of Copenhagen

The work environment is a social determinant of health. However, work has been underused as a lever to address health inequalities.
Sinclair Daniel plays Nella in ‘The Other Black Girl’, a horror-satire about the dangers of Black women’s hair care products — something this week’s podcast guest knows a lot about. (Wilfred Harwood/Hulu)

Detangling the roots and health risks of hair relaxers

Vinita Srivastava, The Conversation and Dannielle Piper, The Conversation

In this episode, Cheryl Thompson, author of ‘Beauty in a Box,’ untangles the roots of hair relaxers for Black women and discusses their potential health dangers and resulting hundreds of lawsuits.