Knowledge is power, but only if accurate
Resources & Links
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me to add your own content and make changes to the font.
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me to add your own content and make changes to the font.
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me to add your own content and make changes to the font.
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me to add your own content and make changes to the font.
Canada's Health Care System (Federal & Provincial)
​Did you know that healthcare in Canada is delivered through the provincial/territorial systems of publicly funded healthcare? The healthcare you receive is further guided by the Canadian Health Care Act and is universal. This universal health care system is paid through taxes. With this, there are no direct bill payments attached for seeing a Physician for wellness checks, diagnostic tests or medical procedures (limits of medical necessity) if you have an OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Program) card. For those who are not eligible for an OHIP card or are faced with multiple barriers to access health care, there are public health programs and services available through one of Ontario's 34 Public Health Units. The Health Promotion & Protection Act (1990) is legislation for preventing disease transmission and promoting and protecting Ontario's health and population's well-being. If you would like to read more, please proceed to my blog post “Canada’s Health Care System – A One Size Fits Most?”
Chronic Disease Management & Prevention
Chronic diseases can also be prevented and managed through alterations to lifestyle yet the factors play the largest role in terms of risk for developing chronic diseases. One chronic disease that is near and dear to my heart is HIV prevention and management. As a Sexual Health Nurse, I have delivered positive HIV results for many people and have sat with them for hours as they try and comprehend this virus's impact and what it will have on the rest of their lives. In Canada, estimates indicate that in 2018 just over 62 000 people are living with HIV and the stigma associated with this infection and are coping with a combination of health, social and structural factors. Research shows that better health and quality of life happens when integrated care is received from interdisciplinary teams that address social determinants of health. Public Health recognizes that HIV does not start or end at the diagnosis and advocacy with other community programs and services are vital for accessibility to knowledge, support, tools and technologies to enhance overall health and wellbeing.
CNO Nursing Legislation & Regulation
​The CNO (College of Nurses of Ontario) is the regulatory body for all nurses in Ontario. The college is ultimately responsible for ensuring safety to the public. This is maintained by ensuring nurses practice ethically and with competence through requirements that adhere to professional standards. The professional standards hold Nurses (Registered Nurses, Registered Practical Nurses and Nurse Practitioners) accountable for their own actions. They are the framework for what we can and cannot do legally within our professional practice scope (which is defined by the Nursing Act, 1991).
Content Credibility
We live in a world full of information (or misinformation) at the touch of a button. Sometimes it is very overwhelming to know the difference between what is accurate, credible and reliable information. Whether you are looking for personal or professional information, I have included tools to assist you in finding a trustworthy source. If you would like to read more, please proceed to my blog post "Content Credibility - Anyone With A Broadband Connection & A Resource to Share?"
COVID-19
Since March 2020, I have been responding, supporting and managing the COVID-19 pandemic. There are many myths, opinions and misinformation available to read. I have included accurate, reliable and credible information to keep up to date about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus and ways to reduce transmission to protect yourself and others.
Curated Resources from Multidisciplinary Health Care Team Members - Masters of Health Studies #601
One of the fascinating aspects of this Graduate course is connecting and learning with classmates from a different part of our country or in a different healthcare role than nursing. Together we have had an opportunity to examine Canada's health care system and reflect on our own professional practice, which led to excellent discussions as varying perspectives. Through research, we have curated resources that are pertinent to our practice and expertise.
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In a rapidly evolving Country, health, society, and information, it is exciting to think about current trends that will change our approach to health and healthcare for decades to come. Some exciting and significant healthcare trends that will impact healthcare and have proven efficacy include rapid point-of-care testing for early HIV detection and the use of treatment to prevent transmission. By implementing these, we have changed the healthcare approach from reactive to proactive and are on our way to achieving UNAIDS established goals of 90-90-90. If you would like to read more about my excitement for the future direction of HIV prevention and management, please proceed to my blog post "Early HIV Detection & Treatment as Prevention: Future Direction of Healthcare."
Health of Canadians - Understanding Health & Determinants of Health
In 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) proclaimed the definition of health as "a state complete physical, mental, and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" (WHO, 1948). This definition is still the one used today without considering the changes of advanced management of disease and its association with longer lifespan despite people not meeting "complete" health. If you would like to read more about health and my thoughts, please proceed to my blog post "Progress Not Perfection: Defining Health."
Health promotion and prevention encompassing education that is creating awareness of positive and negative social and environmental health determinants also referred to as Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). These are the factors that influence health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age (WHO, n.d.) and are not medical treatments or lifestyle choices (Raphael et al., 2020). If you would like to read more about SDH, please proceed to my blog post "Social Determinants of Health: An Upstream Approach to Downstream Concerns."
Human Trafficking in Canada
Human Trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery - It is real and exists everywhere in Canada. Often, when many people think about Human Trafficking in Canada, they think of young women and newly immigrated children to Canada. While this may make up a small proportion of the victims and survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, there are many domestic cases, which include men, women and children, all fall victim to this heinous (and hidden) crime. As an advocate for individuals and families affected by human trafficking and sexual exploitation, I believe it starts with creating awareness and education, focusing on recognizing and supporting. Spreading knowledge amongst everyone - parents/guardians, healthcare professionals, teachers, coaches, community organizations, and most importantly, our youth, including both girls and boys.
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Understanding the circumstances and the reasons that can lead to a health problem is crucial in strategizing supportive and effective interventions. When faced with developing or initiating a public health or health promotion program, theories or models can also help identify what information is needed to design an effective intervention strategy and provide insight into creating a program to succeed. It is essential to understand that changing one's behaviour is not merely as easy as informing them of their risks. Different people have different outcomes for the same health problem depending on the multilevel influences. It takes a deeper understanding of the relational, communal and upstream societal context that helps shape individual lives to develop comprehensive and supportive strategies. If you would like to read more about multilevel approaches to understanding health as it applies to substance use, please proceed to my blog post "Knocking Back Too Many "Quarintinis"? The Pandemic and Its Rise in Alcohol Use."
Sexual Health & Harm Reduction
For over a decade, I have been a Public Health Nurse within the Sexual Health & Harm Reduction Program. Our program works with marginalized populations, ensuring access to health care services without barriers and creating common messaging to reduce stigma. I provide supportive/motivational change counselling with high-risk individuals and provide the most accurate and current health education regarding sexual health and harm reduction. Some areas of expertise included assessing individuals based on risk for sexually transmitted and bloodborne infections, free testing & treatment, HIV rapid screening, pre and post-test counselling, low-cost birth control, pregnancy options counselling, and vaccinations. We also have an Exchange Works (mobile and fixed site) Program that offers free harm reduction supplies, including Naloxone kits (overdose prevention).
Vulnerable Populations - Indigenous Peoples and Health in Canada
2016 statistics show that Indigenous people in Canada make up 1.6 million of the population representing 4.9%. I personally identify as an indigenous person – a non-resident member of the NanatuKavut Community Council (Formally known as the Labrador Metis Nation) and often work with survivors and victims of human trafficking. One never wants to admit that this is happening in their backyard, but in all reality, there is an alarmingly high number of murdered, missing and sexually exploited who are indigenous girls and women. Sex traffickers prey on those who may be socially or economically disadvantaged, such as some indigenous girls and women, migrants and new immigrants, youth who are in protection, run away, and those who move to urban centers either by being lured or voluntarily. If you would like to read more about vulnerable groups, please proceed to my blog post "Not a Skim Only Post - Human Trafficking: Indigenous Girls & Women's Vulnerability."
Content Curation
I organize scholarly resources through a program called Zotero. This is a well-known resource used to search, manage resources/references and share research papers with citations. In this day in age, with the wide world of the internet and the various social networking platforms, the information one can obtain is often inaccurate and/or from an unreliable source. Zotero Reference Manager supports me to develop a greater skill set for finding quality resources that are accurate, credible and reliable.
