CIPHI Members,
The latest issue of the Environmental Health Review is now available via the Membership Services Centre.
https://pubs.ciphi.ca/toc/ehr/65/3
We have three very interesting technical articles. One paper looks at the very important issue of providing an indigenous perspective on climate change. This paper highlights some of the lessons learned by seeking this perspective, not only when it comes to climate change, but also when addressing the broader social and environmental determinants of health. It presents factors public health authorities must consider to meaningfully engage with Indigenous Peoples and reduce health inequities. This allows the creation of an ethical space where “Two-eyed Seeing” can weave the different streams of evidence.
A second paper looks at how social media has been used by Ontario’s public health units in the early part of 2020. It was determined that engagement varies by region and platform but in general increased posting (especially on Twitter and Facebook) had a small negative effect on engagement. Posting less often but with more original or creative content leads to better engagement. Increased follower counts also accounted for higher engagement across all platforms. PHUs would best use their resources to increase follower count and post less often and include more personalized posts to effectively spread their information.
A third paper examines vector-borne diseases, specifically West Nile virus and how it has been impacted by climate change in the Windsor-Essex area. Increasing maximum January and February temperatures and the number of days in May with temperatures above 30oC demonstrated a positive impact on the number of West Nile Virus positive pools and the annual rate of West Nile Virus. Health units should consider adapting their vector-borne management strategies and risk assessment tools to include these parameters, which can help health units assess vector-borne disease risks for people during the season and develop risk communication strategies to protect public health.
The National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health presents a paper with its assessment on climate change and emerging health hazards within our communities. They report that many interacting elements can affect the presence, proliferation, and likelihood of exposure to OPs in water systems, including climate warming, precipitation, humidity, increased air conditioning and need for cooling, and water efficiency measures.
As usual, we have the very valuable journal summaries prepared by Nelson Fok in this Issue as well.
We always welcome scientific articles, short reports, commentaries and other submissions for publication. Submissions from practicing environmental public health practitioners, educators, and researchers will help to inform the field about current and important issues and continue to make the Environmental Health Review an important read for environmental public health professionals in Canada. Submissions can be sent to ehreditor@ciphi.ca.
I hope you enjoy reading this Issue.
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Andrew Papadopoulos, PhD, CPHI(C)
Editor, Environmental Health Review