Health Science Inquiry (Journal)
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Climate change and health: Impacts of the water crisis on the physical and psychological well-being of Indigenous Peoples
Get PDFThe June 2021 British Columbia heat dome: A social autopsy
Get PDFClimate change and its associated extreme heat is one of the greatest risks to public health today. The sharp increase in mortality during the June 2021 British Columbia (BC) heat dome revealed inequities further exacerbated by the social and structural determinants of health. The fundamental causes of health injustices are well-established; however, contemporary solutions, such as increasing access to greenspace, require decisionmakers to pay close attention to structural and political determinants that continually perpetuate negative health outcomes. By conducting a social autopsy of the community deaths from the BC heat dome, we illustrate how material deprivation, social isolation, and access to greenspace are key risk factors that are the result of longstanding colonial legacies. Without paying close attention to this relationship, climate-health response risks further exacerbating inequities. 
Disruptions to the delivery of cancer services resulting from climate change: A British Columbia perspective
Get PDFClimate change represents a significant challenge to planetary health due to its impacts on ecosystems, biodiversity, and human communities. Extreme climate events are projected to increase in both frequency and severity, including unpredictable rainfall, storms, flooding, heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires. The impacts of these events on individuals’ health, security, and survival are likely to be significant. However, the specific effects of climate change on cancer risk, quality of life, and mortality remain largely unquantified. Climate events are considered an important challenge to the burden on cancer patients because these events cause disruptions in the delivery and quality of care to cancer patients.
During 2021, British Columbia (BC) faced two record-breaking weather events. First, during the summer, a ‘heat dome’ occurred over the final ten days of June that caused an excess of 569 deaths. Later in the same year in the southwestern region of BC, severe floods devastated communities and key transportation routes, between November and December. These major climate events have had both substantial effects on individuals’ day-to-day lives and long-term effects for many. These disruptions in healthcare services pose a risk to cancer patients; interruptions in cancer treatment of even one month represents a significant risk of lower quality of life and increased mortality.
We have yet to capture the full impact of the specific climate events such as the heat dome and flooding of 2021 on the delivery of cancer services and the corresponding patient outcomes in our province. The climate events that occurred in 2021 showed that further research is urgently needed for developing new protocols and guidelines in the Canadian healthcare system to adapt climate change
The impact of climate change on Indigenous women: Insight into female leadership in earthly stewardship
Get PDFCOVID-19 in the North American Prison System and the Public Health Response to the Epidemic
Get PDFWith a sharp increase in the number of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases worldwide, one of the hardest hit institutions are high-density prison systems. Incarcerated individuals are at a disproportionate disadvantage of contracting COVID-19 due to their previous medical history of underlying conditions, the densely packed quarters they reside in, as well as increased contact with correctional staff who frequently go in and out of prisons. This calls for public health efforts to ensure that there are guidelines in place in order to manage COVID-19 in the prison systems in a structured manner, and to reduce mortality related to the disease among prisoners. The current public health response has been to follow recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as push towards decarceration of those individuals who are least likely to re-offend. Finally, with continued vaccination rollouts, researchers encourage priority vaccination of both prison staff and prisoners in order to control the COVID-19 outbreaks
