The Last Chapter: Death on Your Own Terms

 A Supreme Court judgment now permits some Canadians to approach death on their own terms. Who should those Canadians be? An essay by Catherine Frazee For some of us, the book of life will close abruptly. A sudden pop or crunch or snap, and we’ll be gone. Perhaps some body

Safe, Secure and Affordable Housing is a Health Issue: Why Canada Needs a National Housing Strategy Now

 "Social factors, like housing, income and wealth, educational background and race are more powerful determinants of health outcomes than our behaviours, genes or even the healthcare system." When you're feeling unwell, whether from a minor cold or a devastating terminal illness, the feeling of home, the desire for a safe

Scratching the Surface of CIU

 Luke is a young man living in Ottawa. He is married with a baby, has a great new job and, on the exterior, seems to live a pretty normal life. He has always been an athletic person, frequently playing soccer and going to the gym. But what people don’t know

Why Zika Matters to Canada

 Three ways Canada can help stem the spread of the Zika outbreak The World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced that clusters of microcephaly that are possibly linked to the Zika virus constitute a “public health emergency of international concern.” This virus has captured the attention of the international community because

Putting children’s health and resiliency on the national agenda

 By Chris Harper Last year, at a camp in southern New Brunswick, I met Evan. Before turning eight, he had bounced from foster home to foster home. He was sent to camp without a bathing suit or sufficient lunch. Regardless, Evan smiled constantly, excelled in school and had a striking sense of compassion.

You are what you eat: Processed food additives linked to obesity, gut inflammation and food addictions

 Processed food can remain longer on shop shelves, but what does that spell for our digestion? In a new research paper published in the journal Nature, scientists from Georgia State University examined how food additive emulsifiers affect the digestive health of mice. Emulsifiers are added to most processed foods to prolong shelf

Response to Refugee Crisis Must Include Expanding Refugee Healthcare

 The haunting image of Alan Kurdi’s lifeless body lying face down on a Turkish beach, and the subsequent revelation of the Kurdi family’s intention to seek asylum in Canada, have prompted many Canadians to ask what we can do as a country to help Syrian refugees. So far, our search

Canada’s Euthanasia Legislation: From the Perspective of Canadians with Disabilities

 By Peter McGrath. On Feb. 6, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down Canada’s assisted suicide law, opening the door to physician-assisted suicide. This is an incredibly complex topic, one fraught with moral and ethical issues. Peter McGrath, a Counsel in the Department of Justice, gives his opinion from

Shave for a Cure

 During cancer treatment, patients often tend to lose their hair. A common way people show their support to family, friends and others going through treatment is by shaving their heads. It binds people together in an effort to show their love and care. On Wednesday, April 8, from 4 p.m.

When is it Okay for Doctors to Let Someone Die?

 By Dr. Charles J. Wright The long overdue public, medical, legal and political debate on end-of-life care is now well underway in Canada. Medical journals and the general press are commenting regularly on the subject, the Canadian Medical Association is changing its ethics guidelines, Quebec has decriminalized assisted dying and

Drug Treatment for Female Sexuality not about Equality but Profits

 We have come a long way, baby. Eighty-five years ago, on October 18, 1929, women were declared "persons" in Canada. Women in Canada became eligible to be appointed to the Canadian Senate, which up to that time, had been the sole dominion of men because women were not deemed ‘persons’

Three Things We Can Do to End Poverty in Canada

 Poverty degrades our economy, changes the nature of our cities and the cohesion of our society “Time to end poverty in Canada” has been the message from the Salvation Army coming across our TV screens this holiday season. A great idea from an organization that fights poverty every day in

It’s Time to Include Dental Health in the Healthcare System

 Canada’s most vulnerable populations have the highest rates of dental pain, decay, disease and the worst access to care. There are many reasons why some Canadians choose not to go to the dentist, but a new report released recently from the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) found that cost

Why Do I Feel So Achy, Cold and Tired?

 Photos courtesy of Dollar Photo Club Lets talk about Laura, aged 30. It’s 7 a.m. on a January morning in Orleans and Laura leaves her house, jumps into her car and starts her 45-minute drive to work into Ottawa. The mornings are really cold this time of year and although she’s

New Hospital Funding Model is a Leap of Faith

 Activity-based funding may discharge patients from hospital ‘quicker but sicker’ Most Canadians probably don’t realize that health care in Canada is quietly undergoing a major transformation in funding that could significantly impact patients.  Three provinces—Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia—are implementing a new funding model for hospitals and other provinces are

Federal Government Moves to Strip Power from Top Public Health Scientist

 Demoting Chief Public Health Officer more about politics than promoting health Buried in the current omnibus budget bill being studied by parliament this week is a plan to demote the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada. He will no longer hold a deputy minister rank, he will have no direct

Naturopathic and Conventional Medicine Team Up to Fight Cancer

 The Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre (OICC) and the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) have been given a $3.85 million research grant to look into the effects of naturopathic medicine combined with conventional medicine. The two Ottawa-based institutions will be researching the effectiveness of different types of medicines used in conjunction with one

Those Pesky Wisdom Teeth

 By: Dr. Samuel Kucey, DDS, FRCD(C), Dip. ABOMS In North America, it is a rite of passage to be considered for removal of wisdom teeth, particularly in the orthodontic population. The first appearance of wisdom teeth occurs in the early teens and is complete in the late teens. Sometimes the jaw

Three Tips for National Dental Hygiene Month?

 Halloween is the Perfect Time to Take Measures for Lasting Fresh Breath and Oral Health Halloween kicks off a series of holidays celebrated with delicious treats, from yummy chocolate candies to gut-busting dinners to seasonal alcoholic beverages. While most parents will make sure their kids brush after eating their treats,

Now There is Proof for the “Angelina Jolie Effect”

 Breast cancer screening for rare genetic mutations doubles. Up to this point, it had only been a hypothesis: that celebrity fire-power can definitively drive consumer health behaviour in a certain direction. The case here concerns whether women wish to embark on a genetic hunting expedition to see if they are

Summer Reading

 Be sure to add Ottawa Stories: Trials and Triumphs in Bytown History, by Clifford Scott to your summer reading list. A collection of historical vignettes will take you on a journey through Ottawa as it once was to where it stands now. Read about the devastation of fires and diseases

How Technology is Transforming Health Care – Cheryl-Anne’s Story

 Cheryl-Anne was diagnosed with a very rare form leukemia, a complex disease to understand. She believed part of getting well depended upon understanding her disease, her treatments and their effects. She needed to become a full, participating, engaged patient. She needed to get information. Before digital health tools were available

Dealing with Diabetes

 The Nita Family Opens Up and Shares How Community Involvement and Digital Health Helps Families Deal with Type 1 Diabetes Imagine waking up one morning to find your child going into diabetic ketoacidosis — a life-threatening complication from diabetes. Blood flow slows throughout your child’s body as your child slips

Why Canada Shouldn’t Compete with the U.S. for the Worst Performing Health System in the Developed World

 B.C. Court Challenge Looming The latest Commonwealth Study ranked Canada’s health care system a dismal second to last in a list of 11 major industrialized countries. We had the dubious distinction of beating out only the Americans. This latest poor result is already being used by those bent on further

The Best Anti-Aging Remedy: Building Muscle

 Don’t just get in shape for the summer—keeping fit for the rest of your life is the key to fighting off the “disease of aging,” according to Dr. Brett Osborn, neurosurgeon and author of Get Serious, A Neurosurgeon’s Guide to Optimal Health and Fitness. Trained at New York University, Dr.