Presentations

There is increasing evidence that long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) may adversely impact cognitive performance. Wildfire smoke is one of the largest sources of PM2.5 today and concentrations are likely to increase under climate change. However, little is known about how short-term exposure impacts cognitive function. We aimed to evaluate the associations between daily and hourly exposure to PM2.5 and wildfire smoke and cognitive performance in adults. Scores from 20 plays of an attention-oriented brain-training game were obtained for 10,228 adults in the United States (US). We estimated daily and hourly PM2.5 exposure through a data fusion of observations from multiple monitoring networks. Daily smoke exposure in the western US was obtained from satellite-derived estimates of smoke plume density. We used a longitudinal repeated measures design with linear mixed effects models to test for associations between short-term exposure and attention score. Results were…

Rising temperatures are one of the biggest global health threats of the 21st century. They underscore a critical need for ambitious adaptation and advancement of protective measures to safeguard the health of populations. The threat of rising temperatures is even greater in Canada because the country is warming 2-3 times faster than other regions. The record-setting heat dome that engulfed western Canada in late June 2021 was associated with at least 740 excess deaths among older Canadians, and it strained provincial health services to a near breaking point. This catastrophic event followed on the heels of record-breaking temperatures in 2020, which capped the hottest decade ever recorded in Canada and the planet. While the negative health impacts of heat are predictable and largely preventable, improving population health outcomes requires that policy makers, frontline clinical staff, health managers, and others have comprehensive knowledge of factors affecting heat-…

This presentation will highlight the National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health’s (NCCIH) collaboration on the 2022 national assessment titled the Health of Canadians in a Changing Climate: Advancing our Knowledge for Action, produced by Health Canada’s Climate Change and Health Innovation Bureau. This comprehensive study of current and projected risks from climate change to the health of Canadians included a chapter dedicated to climate change and Indigenous Peoples’ health in Canada. Contributing author, Donna Atkinson will provide an overview of the key findings of this chapter; a summary of specific climate change risks to First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples’ health; the role of Indigenous knowledges and rights in climate change adaptation, research and policy; and knowledge gaps for future research.

Donna Atkinson, MA, National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health

Donna Atkinson is the Manager of the National Collaborating Centre for…

In the past decade, climate change-exacerbated landscape disturbances such as wildfires and floods have threatened water security by altering not only water availability, but also source water quality and consequently treatability. An international panel convened by the Canadian Water Network and the Water Research Foundation in 2014 concluded that sole reliance on in-plant treatment technologies for mitigating such risks is inadequate.

Algae blooms—especially cyanobacteria—pose some of the greatest associated challenges to drinking water treatment. Cyanobacteria blooms can reduce drinking water treatment process efficiency, leading to service disruptions, inability to meet community demands, and even outages. Moreover, they can produce toxins that expensive advanced treatment not found in most conventional treatment plants.

Traditional source water protection approaches are alarmingly inadequate for managing these threats, especially in a changing climate. These…

Abstract

Almost two years since the start of the pandemic, significant psychosocial impacts are still observed in the Canadian population. The results of various surveys, as part of a study carried out by Université of Sherbrooke with the collaboration of international universities, have depicted the association between various risk/protective factors and mental health in times of pandemic. The most recent survey was conducted in October 2021 (in Canada, New Zealand and Switzerland) among a large and representative sample of adults. Special attention will be paid to the evolution in anxiety and depression and its associated risk/protective factors, as well as to a newly explored concept called “pandemic fatigue”. In addition to these results, some interesting comparisons between the attitudes, perceptions and responses towards the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change will be made. Lessons in disaster risk management learned over the past two years can indeed be utilized to…

Presentation Slides:

Presentation Slides: 

The NCCEH Environmental Health Seminar Series provides an opportunity for learning and knowledge exchange on a variety of environmental health topics. The seminars can be attended in-person or online.

Presenter: Kim Perrotta, Executive Director, Creating Healthy and Sustainable Environments (CHASE)

This presentation will summarize the health risks associated with climate change on a global scale and in Canada, identify the actions needed to address climate change which provide immediate health benefits, and discuss the different ways that public health professionals can help mitigate climate change and/or its harm on the populations they serve.

Climate Change Toolkit for Health Professionals

The BCCDC/NCCEH Environmental Health Seminar Series provides an opportunity for learning and knowledge exchange on a variety of environmental health topics. The seminars can be attended in-person or online.

Speaker: Peter Berry, Senior Policy Analyst, Health Canada

Canada's changing climate is accelerating at an alarming rate that result in significant threats on our health and well-being, infrastructure, ecological integrity, and economies. This webinar addresses new evidence of health impacts from climate change, the next national health assessment and Canada's HealthADAPT initiative that includes 10 local health authorities.

This presentation was delivered at the 78th CIPHI Ontario Annual Education Conference. It provides an overview of how climate change impacts public health and how public health workers can act at a local level to address climate change challenges.