Dalla Lana Certificate in Health Impact

Improve health outcomes by using journalism skills to shape a smarter public discussion on health.

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THE NEW YORK TIMES FOR KIDS -- Toilet to Tap

BY CHRISTINE NGUYEN (CHI '21) -- WOULD YOU DRINK a glass of water that had been flushed down someone else’s toilet? In December, California gave the OK for cities and towns to take water from their sewers, purify it and send it straight back to houses to use as drinking water. READ MORE (graphic pictured).

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CANADA’S NATIONAL OBSERVER -- ‘People are going to experience frostbite, people are going to have more amputations’

BY NAZANIN MESHKAT (CHI ‘22) -- When unhoused people in Toronto run out of options, they turn to the city’s overcrowded emergency departments for shelter. READ MORE. 

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CANADA’S NATIONAL OBSERVER -- Is your asthma inhaler ruining the planet?

BY NAZANIN MESHKAT (CHI ‘21) -- Every time they use their puffers, up to six million Canadians with respiratory diseases like asthma and emphysema unknowingly release dangerous greenhouse gasses into the air. One hundred puffs of a metered dose inhaler (MDI) produce as many greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions as a 290-kilometre drive in a gas-powered car. READ MORE. 

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KQED -- From San José to Little Saigon, on the Bánh Mì Bus

BY CHRISTINE NGUYEN (CHI ‘21) -- The mention of a certain north-south bus line makes many Vietnamese Californians smile. “The first time riding this bus, I was feeling like I was sitting in central Saigon's sidewalk. We ate Vietnamese sandwiches and watched a Vietnamese music show on TV,” wrote Hồng Cao, director of operations at the Việt Museum in San José, in a text. “People on the bus were so talkative. They exchanged all the news that happened in San Jose and in Orange County. You did not need to read the newspaper to know what was happening in your areas.” READ MORE.

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THE GLOBE AND MAIL --  Life changes, baseball does not

BY EMILY WAUGH (CHI ‘21) -- The life lesson I have learned from watching baseball, and what my grandmother meant when she talked about her marriage, is simple: There will be ups and downs, but you stick it out. READ MORE. 

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CTV NEWS -- ATV Child Safety

BY KIRSTIN WEERDENBURG (CHI ‘22) -- ATVing is a popular pastime that often involves the whole family. When it comes to children and ATV safety, it can be a big cause for concern. Dr. Kirstin Weerdenburg, a staff physician and director of pediatric emergency ultrasound at IWK discusses the motorsport and ATV child safety. LISTEN HERE. 

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TORONTO STAR -- The Birth of ‘J59’ brings hope for B.C.’s starving killer whale community

BY NAZANIN MESHKAT (CHI ‘21) -- Her name is J59. At three months old, she is the first baby orca born into the Southern Resident killer whale community since September 2020. There should be six or seven births a year, but the group is struggling to survive. READ MORE. 

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THINK GLOBAL HEALTH -- Breastfeeding Babies During War

BY ALLISON DANIEL (CHI ‘20) -- More than 100 days into the tragic war in Ukraine, keeping children healthy and safe is a priority for humanitarian organizations and international agencies involved in the response. As the relentless attacks continue to destroy essential services, including hundreds of health resources and facilities, providing support to parents who are breastfeeding and using breastmilk substitutes, such as formula, is critical to the survival of babies caught in and affected by the conflict. READ MORE. 

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TORONTO STAR -- Maple syrup producers see climate change as a threat to industry’s future

BY MEGHAN MCGEE (CHI ‘22) -- Paul Renaud is only too aware of what the power of wind can do to trees. After violent windstorms recently swept through southern Ontario and Quebec, uprooting trees and leaving a trail of damage across a vast territory, Renaud’s thoughts went right to his sugar maples in Lanark Highlands, Ont., where storms once considered rogue now seem more frequent. READ MORE. 

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CBC NEWS -- European formula not yet on store shelves despite temporary Health Canada allowance

BY MEGHAN MCGEE (CHI ‘22) -- Measures to keep Canada's stretched baby formula supplies from spiralling into a widespread shortage like that seen in the United States are unlikely to offer immediate relief, and even then may be short-lived, experts say. READ MORE. 

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HEALTHY DEBATE -- Stories from the immunocompromised

BY STEPHANIE KEELING (CHI  ‘22) -- I am an Edmonton rheumatologist. I know that a simple cold can kill some of my patients. But until COVID-19, I never told patients to wear a mask. READ MORE. 

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HEALTHY DEBATE -- ‘They’ve grown up disconnected’: Saskatchewan programs aim to reunite Indigenous families, support vulnerable mothers-to-be

BY MEGHAN MCGEE (CHI ‘22) -- Birth alerts, a decades-old practice that has seen child welfare agencies flag expectant mothers as unfit to care for their babies, have separated hundreds of newborns from their parents, with a disproportionate number of them Indigenous and Black. READ MORE. 

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HEALTHY DEBATE -- Medical benefits from cannabis? Still waiting for proof

BY STEPHANIE KEELING (CHI ‘22) -- Weed your way through websites selling cannabis products and you’ll likely be told that the drug is bringing desperately needed relief to people suffering from chronic pain, arthritis and many other ailments. READ MORE. 

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HEALTHY DEBATE --  To tackle food insecurity, school adds hunting and fishing to reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic

BY MEGHAN MCGEE (CHI ‘22) -- When the snow melts in the next few weeks, Terri-Anne Larry’s students will lay traps for rabbits, muskrats and beavers, and learn traditional techniques for preparing and cooking the animals. Next month, they will try fishing for striped bass in the Miramichi. READ MORE. 

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HEALTHY DEBATE -- ‘As a matter of policy, kids were hungry in residential schools’: The dark history of Canada’s food guide

BY MEGHAN MCGEE (CHI ‘22) -- It’s simple, colourful, and many Canadians, especially parents, turn to it for advice on nutrition and health. But Canada’s Food Guide has roots in controversial experiments conducted on 1,300 Indigenous children and adults in Manitoba Cree communities and six residential schools across Canada in the 1940s and ‘50s. READ MORE. 

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CTV NEWS -- Safety advocates, physicians worry about rising number of kids hurt in ATV crashes

BY KIRSTIN WEERDENBURG (CHI ‘22) -- A growing number of Maritime children were seriously hurt in all-terrain vehicle incidents last year. And as hospitals elsewhere in Canada report a similar wave, child safety advocates say it's time for stricter rules for the off-road vehicles. READ MORE. 

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HALIFAX - A growing number of Maritime children were seriously hurt in all-terrain vehicle incidents last year. And as hospitals elsewhere in Canada r...

TORONTO STAR -- Safety advocates, physicians worry about rising number of kids hurt in ATV crashes

BY KIRSTIN WEERDENBURG (CHI ‘22) -- A growing number of Maritime children were seriously hurt in all-terrain vehicle incidents last year. And as hospitals elsewhere in Canada report a similar wave, child safety advocates say it’s time for stricter rules for the off-road vehicles. READ MORE.