Public Health Insight

More than 50 million people around the world are living with dementia and this number is expected to double every 20 years, as the global life expectancy continues to increase. Dementia is a general term used to describe a collection of symptoms, which includes impaired memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer&apo...

Health workers in healthcare facilities, homecare, hospital staff, and many others have long been recognized as crucial components in a functioning and thriving society. They provide crucial services to the public to ensure that population health needs are met. Despite their important societal contributions, the World Health Organization estimates that health workers are at high risk of violence a...

Education as a social determinant of health has the power to improve health outcomes for communities across the world, but what happens when access continues to be an issue for some neighbourhoods and populations? Nicole Vick, Adjunct Professor, TEDx Speaker and Amazon Best Selling Author of Pushing Through: Finding The Light in Every Lesson , remains with the Public Health Insight Podcast to shif...

Education is one of the most important modifiable social determinants of health. Despite the power of higher education, many health disparities persist for marginalized and racialized populations. Nicole Vick, TEDx Speaker and Amazon Best Selling Author of Pushing Through: Finding The Light in Every Lesson , joins the Public Health Insight Podcast to discuss the role of education as a social deter...

Road traffic collisions are largely preventable, however, it consistently remains one of the top 10 leading causes of premature death every year. The Public Health Insight Podcast discusses the role of leadership and institutional management in preventing road traffic collisions and Vision Zero as a framework to address road safety. The conversation concludes with an overview of some effective bes...

Road traffic collisions are the 8th leading cause of death and one of the most burdensome causes of injury world-wide. In particular, it is the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29. The Public Health Insight Podcast examines road traffic deaths and injuries from a global perspective, some differences between developed and developing countries, and introduces the United Na...

Social isolation and loneliness are an indication of the number of social supports and the perceived collective quality of those connections. Dr. Mehrete Girmay is a Public Health Analyst based in the U.S. and she remains with the Public Health Insight Podcast to continue our discussion about some of the impacts of social isolation and loneliness on health outcomes, their disproportionate impact o...

Social isolation and loneliness are often used to refer to the same concept, however, in public health research, some important differences exist. Social isolation is more of an objective measure based on the size of one’s social network and the frequency of social interactions. On the other hand, loneliness refers to the subjective discrepancy between one’s desired level of social connection and...

There are many different harm reduction strategies in public health, including wearing seatbelts while in a vehicle or wearing a helmet when riding a bike. Public Health Insight’s Hosts assemble for a captivating discussion on one of the more controversial harm reduction strategies, referred to as Safe Consumption Sites (SCS). In this conversation, we explore the history of SCS, political and ideo...

Racialized and marginalized populations often disproportionately experience negative health outcomes compared to the broader population; COVID-19 is no exception. Linda Holdbrook joins the Public Health Insight Podcast to continue our conversation on the social determinants of health, with a deeper dive into the role racism plays in population health and how the underlying health disparities have...

The Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) is a central dogma to the field of public health. There are many different definitions of SDOH from reputable organizations, however, in its simplest form, it refers to the social and economic conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age - working as a system to influence the health of populations. Linda Holdbrook joins the Public Health I...

Abstinence-based messaging and interventions have long been used as the gold standard to deter populations from adopting various types of behaviours that can have detrimental effects on health. However, its limited success in addressing drug addiction and other public health issues has called for a more holistic multi-pronged approach to meet the needs of our modern-day society. Harm reduction is...

Systemic racism in institutions such as the healthcare system can amplify already existing racial and ethnic health disparities. For the past decade, cultural competence has been explored as a potential solution to remedy the mistreatment and substandard care often delivered to people of colour, immigrants, and other marginalized populations. Rose Marcelin joins the Public Health Insight Podcast t...

The United States of America’s multi-payer privatized healthcare system is drastically different from Canada’s universal single-payer healthcare system, but why does the U.S spend more on healthcare as a percentage of GDP compared to Canada? Rose Marcelin joins the Public Health Insight Podcast to discuss the nuances of these distinct healthcare systems and the importance of accessibility, afforda...

Outrage continues in the US and all around the world as a result of George Floyd's death and others at the hands of police brutality, which uncovered how entrenched systemic racism in our society has become, especially anti-black racism... But, what is systemic racism? In this episode, we explore institutional racism as a social determinant of health and the first steps we need to take. Follo...

Opioids are a specific class of analgesic drugs that can be found naturally occurring in the opium poppy plant. It has been documented that this drug has been used since the earliest days of civilization to treat severe acute pain and terminally ill patients. Public Health Insight’s public health professionals discuss how overprescribing opioids based on weak evidence and the subsequent efforts to...

Prior to the ongoing multi-phased strategies to ease restrictions in jurisdictions across the world, countries were actively exploring innovative ways to return to normal during the COVID-19 pandemic without jeopardizing the health and safety of its citizens. At the centre of those discussions was the topic of Immunity Passports, a legal document issued by an official testing authority following a...

On Monday, May 25th, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year old African American man was killed while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States. This was the straw that broke the camel's back and has sparked outrage across the country and in other cities across the world. For centuries, the black community has experienced systemic racism and discrimination, particularly at the h...

On Monday, May 25th, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year old African American man was killed while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States. This was the straw that broke the camel's back and has sparked outrage across the country and in other cities across the world. For centuries, the black community has experienced systemic racism and discrimination, particularly at the h...

During the initial stages of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it became abundantly clear that there were no comprehensive surveillance systems in place to systematically collect and/or report race and ethnic data for confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada. This issue was brought to the forefront when it was reported that Black Americans were more likely than the general American population to be diag...

On May 1st, 2020, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a nation-wide ban on military assault-style weapons. This ban was implemented 13 days after a gunman murdered 22 people in the province of Nova Scotia, making it the worst mass shooting in Canadian history. According to Amnesty International, more than 500 people across the world die from gun violence and another 2,000 suffer gun-r...

Vaccinations have been one of the greatest public health achievements of the twentieth century, credited with extending global life expectancy, reducing premature mortality and morbidity, and reducing healthcare costs. May 8, 2020, marked the 40th anniversary of smallpox eradication - recent proof that vaccines have prevented millions of deaths each year since its invention. This heralded success...

Natural disasters and infectious disease outbreaks can disproportionately affect communities in developing countries with vulnerable public health infrastructure and health systems. The Public Health Insight Team discusses the investment and innovation that may be required to successfully repurpose and scale-up efficient elements of existing public health systems in low-resource settings. Share yo...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made significant contributions to human society, most recently in modelling and predicting the spread of infectious diseases in a way that provides decision-makers with helpful information. The Public Health Insight Team discusses the other side of the coin by sharing their thoughts on the practical, ethical, social, and moral implications from the widespread appli...

The agricultural and food production industries have been drastically disrupted by the ongoing pandemic, creating an imbalance in supply and demand that will likely influence the price of healthy and nutritious foods. Jessica Schill, a Policy Advisor for Beef Farmers of Ontario, joins the Public Health Insight Team to discuss food insecurity and the long-term implications for public health. Share...