A health impact assessment (HIA) is a process that strategically evaluates the potential effect on health of a policy, plan or project. The assessment generally takes place in a series of steps,…
Topic Pages
Topic Pages introduce an aspect of the environment and its relation to public health by featuring a curated shortlist of NCCEH and external resources. The most relevant resources related to a topic have been selected to best guide the search for further information. These lists are not intended to be exhaustive, and the omission of any individual resource does not preclude it from having value.
Topics:
COVID-19, Emergency Preparedness, Emergency Response
The goal of any public health emergency is to help as many people as quickly as possible. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a new dimension to emergency management. Not only has COVID-19 made it…
Indigenous communities may be disproportionately impacted by a variety of emergencies and disasters, including floods, wildfires, and crude…
Oil spills are very complex events that, depending on where they occur, may result in acute exposures to nearby human populations. Regardless of the presence of humans, however, oil spills have…
Topics:
Emergency Preparedness, Emergency Response, Flooding
A number of extreme flooding events have occurred in Canada over the last few decades, and as a result of climate change, are growing in both frequency and magnitude.…
According to Environment Canada, a heat wave is a period of more than 3 days when temperatures are more than 32°C (…
The frequency and intensity of Canadian wildfires is increasing as a consequence of the changing global climate, as well as long-standing forest management practices (…
This topic page is intended to help environmental health practitioners understand the guiding principles and public health objectives being used to develop cannabis policy, both federally and…
Topics:
Equity, Practices and Procedures
Health equity is achieved when everyone has a fair opportunity to meet their health potential. Health inequities result from systematic disparities in the social determinants of health (the…
Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odourless, colourless, and non-irritating gas that is harmful to humans. As a by-product of incomplete combustion, CO is produced by fuel-burning appliances including…
Topics:
Built Environment, Pest Control
Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) are small, elusive, and resilient insects that live by feeding on the blood of mammals, including humans. Bed bug infestations have become prominent worldwide…
Topics:
Contaminants and Hazards, Shale Gas
Hydraulic fracturing (also termed “fracking”) is the process used, along with horizontal drilling, to extract unconventional natural gas (shale gas, tight gas or coalbed methane) and tight oil…