Economy, community and mortality in British Columbia, Canada.

Time to Shift from Systems Thinking-Talking to Systems Thinking-Action; Comment on “Constraints to Applying Systems Thinking Concepts in Health Systems: A Regional Perspective from Surveying Stakeholders in Eastern Mediterranean Countries”

A recent International Journal of Health Policy and Management (IJHPM) article by Fadi El-Jardali and colleagues makes an important contribution to the literature on health system strengthening by reporting on a survey of healthcare stakeholders in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) about Systems Thinking (ST). The study’s main contributions are its confirmation that healthcare stakeholde...

Self-perceived Mental Health Status and Uptake of Fecal Occult Blood Test for Colorectal Cancer Screening in Canada: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background While colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most preventable causes of cancer mortality, it is one of the leading causes of cancer death in Canada where CRC screening uptake is suboptimal. Given the increased rate of mortality and morbidity among mental health patients, their condition could be a potential barrier to CRC screening due to greater difficulties in adhering to behaviours...

Prevalence of Allergies and Food Intolerance: a Comparison Between the Persian Community and Canadians of European Descent

Background: The prevalence of reported allergic diseases is higher in North-America than in other countries around the world. Further, certain types of allergies are more common in some geographic regions or amongst different ethnic populations. This phenomenon has not been well studied amongst the Persian population in the Canadian context; therefore, the current study aimed to compare the pre...

The Challenges of Projecting the Public Health Impacts of Marijuana Legalization in Canada; Comment on “Legalizing and Regulating Marijuana in Canada: Review of Potential Economic, Social, and Health Impacts”

A recent editorial in this journal provides a summary of key economic, social, and public health considerations of the forthcoming legislation to legalize, regulate, and restrict access to marijuana in Canada. As our government plans to implement an evidence-based public health framework for marijuana legalization, we reflect and expand on recent discussions of the public health implications of...

Is Play-Dough a Vector for Transporting and Accumulating Lead? A Pilot Study Of Daycares in Greater Vancouver

FULL PROFESSOR LAUCHLAN HUGH FRASER

He received his B.Sc. degree in Biology (1990) from Department of Biology, University of British Columbia, Canada, also M.Sc. in Botany (1993) from Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Canada and Ph.D. in Plant Ecology (1996) from Department of Animal & Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, England.Dr. Fraser's expertise is in grassland and wetland ecosystems, with a focus o...