How medical students are learning to provide safer, more inclusive care for all
“The most important way of reducing discrimination is to see yourself in your health-care system.” That’s how LGBTQ health activist Marni Panas summed up what transgender visibility means to her in episode 47 of The Re:Pro Health Podcast, a show about sexual and reproductive health produced by medical students at the University of Alberta. Panas, 50,…
Researchers urge use of taxation, education and subsidies to encourage better eating habits
Imagine if the real cost to society of the food you buy at the grocery store was built right into each product’s price. Everything with added sugar would cost a whole lot more, according to University of Alberta researchers in a new study in The Canadian Journal of Public Health. They peg the economic burden of excessive…
Centre's mandate is not just about meeting medical needs; it's about a more equitable community
Nearly 700 refugees – half from Afghanistan – have received care at the New Canadians Health Centre in Edmonton, Alta. since it opened in late August 2021. The centre is the result of a partnership between academics, local settlement and health-care organizations, and the provincial government. Family doctors, nurses, specialists, including a pediatrician, psychological therapists,…
Not being able to control your bladder can be embarrassing
You’ve probably seen the ads: A row of women in nothing but their undies. Look closer and you realize they are wearing special panties – extra protection so they don’t leak urine in public. The market for such products is growing as the population ages. In fact, people’s preferences for “absorbent briefs” (no longer known…
For one research participant, the study taught her how to take care of her own health
“You’re stronger than you think,” said diabetes researcher Jane Yardley, as she clinked the 306-pound (138-kg) weight into place on the calf raise machine at the University of Alberta’s Physical Activity and Diabetes Lab. Surprising myself about how much weight I can lift is just one of the personal takeaways I’ve gained as a participant…
New graduate certificate program in climate change and health will prepare students to find solutions
Agricultural policy-makers, wastewater treatment engineers, crisis counsellors and allergists all have something in common, although they may not realize it. Whether it’s planning for food that isn’t as nutritious as it used to be, preventing new waterborne illnesses from infiltrating the water supply, treating traumatized residents returning after an emergency evacuation or helping patients with…
Treatment acts like a Band-Aid for mutations, allowing the body to rebuild muscle tissue
Up to 45 per cent of patients with the most common inherited neuromuscular disease could benefit from a new “cocktail” drug being developed at the University of Alberta, according to research published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The drug could provide an effective and economical treatment to lessen symptoms for the six of…
Hormones alone are not enough to explain the difference
Female astronauts could avoid knee injuries during space flight – and better tests, prevention and treatments could be developed for knee osteoarthritis in women on Earth – based on newly published research on the sex differences in knee meniscus tissue. Knee osteoarthritis is more common in females than in males, but hormones alone are not…
International Women’s Day encourages everyone to ‘Break the Bias’ in health care and research
If you are a woman – or love one – here are some facts that may surprise you: Almost three-quarters of the 750,000 Canadians who have Alzheimer’s are women. Women are 20 per cent more likely than men to develop lung cancer if they smoke the same number of cigarettes. Heart attacks are not recognized…
Algorithm scans pathology, radiology reports for information to aid researchers in improving outcomes
Every time you enter a phrase or a sentence into Google search, algorithms kick in using a technique called natural language processing to understand what you really want to know and then find you an answer. Now University of Alberta researchers will use a similar approach to develop a computer program that can “read” doctors’…
No difference between spinal and general anesthesia in primary outcomes with patients with hip fractures
Spinal anesthesia is not safer or more effective than general anesthesia in patients who undergo surgery for hip fractures, according to a major study. The finding, which challenges the accepted view, offers doctors and patients better information in choosing the method that’s best for them. “The assumption of the anesthesia and surgical communities based on…
Young mentors receive high school credits, job training and post-secondary opportunities
How can volunteering for an after-school program help you finish high school, go to university and even get a job? It’s all through the power of mentorship – having a role model and being one yourself. It promotes leadership skills, builds confidence, and fosters mino-bimaadiziwin (Anishinaabe) or mino-pimâtisiwin (Cree), which means “living in a good…
Understanding drugs and viruses key to being ready for the next pandemic
Understanding exactly how antiviral drugs interact with viruses at a molecular level will be key to developing the broad-spectrum therapies needed to battle against the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and get ready to fight the next one, according to a newly published paper in the The Journal of Biological Chemistry. The paper reveals the inner workings of the…
Partnerships with First Nations needed to overcome systemic racism, researchers say
First Nations patients were less likely to be prioritized for the most urgent treatment than others with the same ultimate diagnosis at emergency departments in Alberta, according to a study published on Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. “We were surprised to see differences for things like long bone fractures, which seem pretty obvious. You would expect…
Indigenous resource management key to ending environmental degradation and loss of culture
When Danika Littlechild was growing up in Maskwacis, Alta., her uncle would pick her up after school and walk her home through the bush to her kôhkom’s (grandmother’s) house. He would show her different plants and fungi along the way, teaching her their names and telling stories about when to harvest and how to use them for…
“The most important way of reducing discrimination is to see yourself in your health-care system.” That’s how LGBTQ health activist Marni Panas summed up what transgender visibility means to her in episode 47 of The Re:Pro Health Podcast, a show about sexual and reproductive health produced by medical students at the University of Alberta. Panas, 50,…
