CMAJ News

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National health leaders push for col - Harper’s absence at the premiers’ meet - ommended that a single body be laboration: Leaders from three ing and called for a renewed health assigned the task of coordinating regu - national health care organizations urged accord. — Catherine Cross, CMAJ lation of social media content, states the the country’s provinces and territories report Addressing the Growth of Social to continue working toward a pan- Life after cancer: The United Kingdom Media and Tackling Cyberbullying . Of Canadian collaboration to address the is “woefully underprepared” to help the particular concern are cyberbullying, quality, safety and sustainability of growing number of people who have online harassment, exposure to unsuit - Canada’s health system. The Canadian survived cancer, as some half a million able violent and sexual material and the Nurses Association, the Canadian Med - face disability and poor health after decline of real social interaction. The ical Association and the Health Action treatment ends, a report by Macmillan report makes a number of recommenda - Lobby met July 24 with two premiers Cancer Support warns. The Cured — but tions, including discouraging children from the Council of the Federation, at what cost? report reveals that one in below the allowable age from opening which consists of the 13 provincial and four people diagnosed with cancer — social media accounts, incorporating territorial premiers. The three health some 500 000 in the UK — experience a topics such as cyberbullying and inap - organizations were addressing the wide range of debilitating health condi - propriate use of social media into child efforts of the Council’s Health Care tions caused by the disease or its treat - protection guidelines and placing more Innovation Working Group, which aims ment, including chronic fatigue, sexual emphasis on educating parents, teachers to find and promote shared elements in difficulties, mental health problems, uri - and children on how to safely use social the provinces’ and territories’ health nary and gastrointestinal problems, and media. “There is no doubt that social care systems. In a joint news release, lymphedema. Many of these problems media has immense potential for public the three groups say that while they can persist for at least 10 years after good and civic engagement and the “applaud the pan-Canadian collabora - treatment. The report also estimates that Committee’s primary concern was to tive approach” of the working group, its about 200 000 people who have sur - ensure that it does so without impacting work is not done. “The public needs to vived cancer are left with pain, often as a adversely on people’s individual hear how the next phase of work will result of nerve changes after surgery, rights,” committee vice-chairman John improve health outcomes for Canadi - radiotherapy or chemotherapy. “If we do O’Ma hony said in a press release. ans,” said CMA president Dr. Anna not tackle this issue head on, more and “Underpinning our recommendations is Reid. They urge care providers and more people will continue to suffer in the need for a more coordinated governments to make a multiyear com - silence or, if they do speak up, have approach to tackling the irresponsible mitment to collaborate and improve unhelpful consultations,” Jane Maher, use of social media channels which health care. — Catherine Cross, CMAJ chief medical officer at Macmillan Can - spans State departments and agencies cer Support, stated in the report. The and the social media companies them - Romanow says Harper should talk support network of care providers, advo - selves.” — Roger Collier, CMAJ health with premiers: Prime Minister cates and fundraisers provides practical, needs to meet with medical and financial support, and advo - Mediocre medicine: A review of 14 Canada’s premiers to talk about health cates for better cancer care. It is urging hospital trusts in the United Kingdom care, Roy Romanow told CBC News the National Health Service to offer a with high mortality rates indicates the on July 23. Romanow is the former “cancer recovery package” to all patients organizations “have been trapped in Premier who led the at the end of their treatment, in addi - mediocrity,” according to Dr. Bruce Commission on the Future of Health tion to any required specialist services. Keogh, medical director of the National Care in Canada, which submitted its The report also calls for earlier identifi - Health Service (NHS). “We found recommendations in 2002. Cooperation cation of patients experiencing or at pockets of excellent practice in all 14 of between the first ministers is of greater risk of long-term effects of cancer, and the trusts reviewed. However, we also concern than the amount of money in better reporting of those conditions in found significant scope for improve - health transfers, he said. The premiers patient medical records. — Lauren ment, with each needing to address an met at Niagara-on-the-Lake July 24 for Vogel, CMAJ urgent set of actions in order to raise the Council of the Federation’s summer standards of care,” Keogh wrote in an meeting. The current health accord is Social media and mental health: Inap - overview report of his review. Themes set to expire in 2014, prompting con - propriate use of social media is having a identified as relevant to improving the cern from some public health organiza - negative effect on the mental health of quality of care in the entire health care tions and advocates. The Council of Irish youth, according to the Parliament system include genuinely listening to Canadians, for example, protested of Ireland. A joint committee has rec - patients and staff on how to improve

© 2013 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors CMAJ, September 3, 2013, 185(12) E577 News services, using data to drive quality which explored the story of how many ment and to the Minister of Labour. To improvement, grasping the complexity people came to believe vaccines were maintain her surgical credentials, of interpreting aggregate measures of associated with autism, chastised the Leitch volunteers her services at the mortality, recruiting high-quality staff to ABC television network for giving its Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario isolated areas and changing the mindset “imprimatur to someone who has (CHEO) in Ottawa. The hospital’s about using transparency for purposes worked, methodically and relentlessly, CEO, Alex Munter, took to Twitter to of support and improvement rather than to undermine public health.” Other congratulate Leitch on her appoint - blame. — Roger Collier, CMAJ pub lications expressing alarm include ment. “Makes history as 1st CHEO doc Forbes (“Jenny McCarthy Is A Danger - appointed to cabinet,” tweeted Munter. Air ambulance review: An expert ous Medical Celebrity”), Time (“Viruses “Never had to organize OR [operating panel review of 40 deaths in Ontario Don’t Care About Your View: Why room] sked around cabinet meetings that involved Ornge air ambulance ABC Shouldn’t Have Hired Jenny before.” — Roger Collier, CMAJ transport found that five cases were pos - McCarthy”) and Salon (“Dear ABC: sibly impacted by operational issues, Putting Jenny McCarthy on “The New health minister: Canadian one was probably impacted and two View” will kill children”). — Roger Member of Parliament Rona Ambrose were definitely impacted, according to Collier, CMAJ (Edmonton–Spruce Grove, Alberta) is the Office of the Chief Coroner for Canada’s new Minister of Health. Ontario. These findings were released in Digital diapers: A new sensor-embed - Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a report, Review of Ornge Air Ambu - ded diaper can track infant health and the announcement on Twitter on Mon - lance Transport Related Deaths. The alerts parents when to call a doctor. The day, July 15, as part of his cabinet operational issues that contributed to diapers developed by Pixie Scientific shuffle. Ambrose will be leaving her these outcomes fell into eight cate - feature a QR code that changes colour roles as Minister of Public Works and gories: decision-making, response when wet. Parents can scan the codes Government Services and Minister for process, international transports, com - using a companion smartphone app, the Status of Women. “I am looking munication, aircraft/equipment, staffing, which analyzes the data to measure risk forward to serving Canadians as Min - paramedic training/education/certification for urinary tract infection, dehydration ister of Heath,” tweeted Ambrose. and investigation/quality insurance. To and kidney problems. The app tracks First elected to parliament in 2004, prevent deaths in similar circumstances results over time and tells parents when Ambrose became the youngest woman in the future, the panel made 25 recom - to contact a pediatrician. Pixie Scien - ever appointed to cabinet upon becom - mendations, including improving coordi - tific predicts the diapers will eliminate ing the Minister of the Environment in nation of decision-making around mode some of the messier elements of moni - 2006. Outgoing health minister Leona of transport for interfacility transfers, toring the health of children with Aglukkaq has a new job as Minister upgrading communication technology, chronic kidney problems, including of the Environment. “From coast to developing new education programs and manually squeezing diaper contents coast to coast, Canada is a beautiful materials and reviewing policies, proce - onto urine analysis strips. The company country. I’m honoured to serve as dures and practices for paramedic is crowd-sourcing funds to study the Minister of the Environment,” tweeted staffing. — Roger Collier, CMAJ diapers’ performance monitoring chil - Aglukkaq. “Proud to serve as Health dren in pediatric intensive care at the Minister since 2008; have enjoyed Antivaccine platform: Many health University of California San Francisco working with stakeholders, public ser - experts, science writers and advocates Benioff Children’s Hospital. — Lauren vants and Prov-Terr colleagues.” — for evidence-based medicine are voic - Vogel, CMAJ Roger Collier, CMAJ ing their worries over the hiring of actress and prominent antivaccine Surgeon appointed to cabinet: Dr. Supervised injection: Toronto’s Board activist Jenny McCarthy as a cohost of Kellie Leitch, a pediatric orthopedic of Health has thrown its support behind the popular daytime television program surgeon and member of the Canadian safe-injection sites, approving a report “The View.” McCarthy claims her son’s parliament (Simcoe–Grey, Ontario), that recommends a pilot of supervised- autism diagnosis resulted from child - has been appointed by Prime Minister injection services at clinics serving the hood vaccinations. “Jenny McCarthy, Stephen Harper to his cabinet in the city’s drug users. The report recom - who will join “The View” in September, positions of Minister of Labour and mends that Ontario fund the integration will be the show’s first co-host whose Minister of the Status of Women. of supervised-injection services into dangerous views on childhood vaccina - Leitch received the Order of Ontario in existing provincially funded clinical tion may — if only indirectly — have 2010 for her child advocacy work and services for drug users, citing evidence contributed to the sickness and death of was selected one of the country’s “Top from Vancouver, British Columbia, and people throughout the Western world,” 40 under 40” in 2005 for contributions cities in Australia and Europe showing science writer Michael Specter wrote in to medicine and business. Elected in that safe-injection sites reduce overdose The New Yorker . Seth Mnookin, author 2011, Leitch held the role of Parlia - deaths, disease transmission and public of The Panic Virus: The True Story mentary Secretary to the Minister of drug use. It also urges the federal gov - Behind the Vaccine-Autism Controversy , Human Resources and Skills Develop - ernment to withdraw proposed require -

E578 CMAJ, September 3, 2013, 185(12) News ments for health services seeking to combined. Painkiller abuse or misuse Primary health care: The Canadian establish safe-injection sites. The report also accounted for about 200 000 Institutes of Health Research has calls the requirements set out in the emergency department visits by awarded 12 research teams a total of recently tabled Respect for Communi - women in 2010. “Stopping this epi - $29 million to develop innovative solu - ties Act “onerous,” predicting that the demic in women — and men — is tions to improve primary health care. legislation will create unnecessary bar - everyone’s business,” CDC Director Research teams across Canada, as well riers for health services seeking exemp - Dr. Tom Frieden said in a news release. as from Australia and New Zealand, tion from federal drug regulations. — “Doctors need to be cautious about will investigate ways to deliver care to Lauren Vogel, CMAJ prescribing and patients about using seniors with complex needs, how to these drugs.” — Lauren Vogel, CMAJ improve community-based cancer care, Disaster preparedness: The United measures to improve health care for States Department of Health and Syphilis epidemic: The British residents living in remote northern Human Services (HHS) has granted Columbia Centre for Disease Control locations, and ways to improve perfor - more than US$916 million to improve and Vancouver Coastal Health is urg - mance measurement and reporting of disaster preparedness for various health ing sexually active men who have sex community health care outcomes, threats in all states, several territories with men to get tested every three among other projects. “Community- and four of the country’s largest cities. months for syphilis because infection based primary health care is the heart The grant includes some US$332 mil - rates in the region are at their highest of our health care system,” Health Min - lion to upgrade hospital surge capacity levels in more than 30 years. Syphilis ister Leona Aglukkaq said in a news and emergency response infrastructure increases the risk of getting HIV; in the release announcing the grants on June under the Hospital Preparedness Pro - Vancouver Coastal Health Region, 26. “We are committed to strengthen - gram. It also awards more than US$584 60% of all people with syphilis are ing this front-line of care.” — Laura million to public health departments also HIV-positive. In 2012, 80% of the Eggertson, CMAJ under the Public Health Emergency 312 cases of syphilis reported in BC Preparedness cooperative agreement to were in the Vancouver Coastal Health Caregiver stress: Support for family improve responses to threats such as region. “A lot of people believe that caregivers should be assessed and pro - infectious diseases, natural disasters just because they performed oral sex vided at each contact an adult with men - and biological, chemical and nuclear on their partner they’re practicing safe tal illness has with the health care system events. This year, health agencies sex,” says Dr. Rich Lester, medical says the new National Guidelines for a across the US have already responded head of the centre’s Sexually Transmit - Comprehensive Service System to Sup - to eight foodborne outbreaks, two new ted Infections/HIV Division. “But port Family Caregivers of Adults with global diseases and 37 disaster and syphilis spreads easily through any Mental Health Problems and Illnesses . emergency situations. Such events form of sexual contact.” — Laura The Mental Health Commission of “underscore the critical role these pre - Eggertson, CMAJ Canada released the guidelines, which paredness programs play in ensuring include 14 recommendations, in Mon - our health care and public health sys - Lost labs: LifeLabs Medical Labora - tréal, Quebec, on June 27. The guidelines tems are poised to respond success - tory Services in Kamloops, British are directed at service providers and poli - fully,” Dr. Nicole Lurie, HHS assis - Columbia, is dealing with an unhappy cymakers, and stress the importance of tant secretary for preparedness and provincial health minister after a com - family caregivers and the strain such care response, said in a news release. — puter sent for servicing in January was takes on them. Unpaid care and support Lauren Vogel, CMAJ returned without its hard drive. The by family caregivers contributes an esti - hard drive contained the names, mated $3.9 billion to the Canadian health Painkiller overdoses: Some 48 000 addresses, birth dates, health insurance and social service system, the Mental women died of prescription painkiller numbers and electrocardiograms of Health Commission states. “Caring for a overdoses between 1999 and 2010, an 16 100 patients, collected at three loved one with a mental illness can place increase of more than 400% since facilities from 2007–13. The records incredible strain on families,” Senator 1999, according to a Vital Signs report were lost in January, but BC Health said in a news release by the United States Centers for Dis - Minister Terry Lake only learned accompanying the guideline. Former MP ease Control and Prevention (CDC). about the privacy breach in June. He Dave Batters, Denise Batters’ husband, Although men are still more likely to calls the amount of time it took the died from suicide in 2009. “I can speak die of painkiller overdoses (more than company to notify the government with an intimate knowledge of the value 10 000 deaths in 2010, compared to “unacceptable.” LifeLabs says an these Guidelines will bring to thousands 6600 for women), the percentage of internal investigation did not turn up of family caregivers across this country.” increase in deaths for men since 1999, any answers about the whereabouts of — Laura Eggertson, CMAJ at 265%, was much lower. In 2010, the information, which was password painkiller overdoses among women protected. The company is now Conflict zone dangers: Direct attacks accounted for four times as many encrypting the data on its hard drives. on medical providers, clinics and hospi - deaths as cocaine and heroin overdoses — Laura Eggertson, CMAJ tals and restrictions on the movements

CMAJ, September 3, 2013, 185(12) E579 News of ambulances are examples of the vio - research is scientifically sound and the that this expansion could be due to cli - lence patients and health care workers right thing to do.” The NIH did not mate change and that the tick is likely increasingly face in conflict zones. The accept the recommendation that each to infiltrate the most densely populated World Medical Association signed a research chimpanzee needs at least areas of the country within the next memorandum of understanding in 1000 square feet of living space, citing decade. The number of cases of Lyme Geneva on June 26, joining the Interna - “the lack of scientific consensus.” — disease is also expected to increase, tional Committee of the Red Cross and Laura Eggertson, CMAJ with 258 confirmed human cases in the Red Crescent Movement’s four- 2011, a substantial increase from previ - year project to tackle such threats. Childhood obesity: Ottawa will spend ous years. Lyme disease has been a The “Health Care in Danger” project $13 million to finance nine programs nationally reportable disease since involves national medical associations across Canada in an effort to reduce and 2009, which means all diagnosed cases in identifying concrete measures to prevent childhood obesity, Health Minis - of infection should be reported by improve security for patients and ter Leona Aglukkaq announced June 25 health care professionals to the local providers while they deliver impartial in Kelowna, British Columbia. The pro - medical officer of health. — Amelia health care. The initiative will also train jects include a food-security program for Wilkinson, CMAJ health care workers to manage ethical Inuit populations, community food cen - dilemmas during conflicts and will tres in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Violence against women: A new World develop solutions, such as the national green neighbourhood programs in Cal - Health Organization (WHO) report on emblems that medical workers in gary, Alberta; Toronto, Ontario; and the global state of violence against Colombia wear or a government decla - Montr éal, Quebec, healthy start pro - women states that 35% of all women ration securing health care access in grams for three- to five-year-olds in early will experience physical and/or sexual Yemen. In 2012, the Red Cross childhood education programs; and am violence by partners or nonpartners. The recorded more than 900 violence inci - education program about healthy eating report, Global and regional estimates of dents against health care workers for parents in Kelowna. “By working in violence against women: Prevalence and and/or facilities in 22 countries. — partnerships at the local level, these pro - health effects of intimate partner vio - Laura Eggertson, CMAJ jects are helping to improve the health of lence and non-partner sexual violence , our population,” Aglukkaq said in a news summarizes data from hundreds of stud - Retiring chimps: More than 300 chim - release. One in three Canadian children ies worldwide. The most common type panzees currently used in research pro - are obese or overweight, a figure that of violence against women was found to jects will retire to federal sanctuaries, rises in and Inuit communi - be intimate partner violence. It states that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) ties, Aglukkaq said. — Laura Eggertson, “the evidence is incontrovertible — vio - in the United States announced June CMAJ lence against women is a global health 26. The NIH will keep 50 of the pri - problem of epidemic proportions.” The mates for biomedical research, but will Disease-carrying ticks: The geograph - report also highlights the need for better not breed them. The decision follows ical range of Ixodes scapularis , the health care for these women and clinical the recommendations in a report by the blacklegged tick that is the main vector and policy guidelines directed specifi - Institute of Medicine, which concluded for Lyme disease bacteria, is expected cally at improving the response of health in December 2011 that using chimps to continue to increase over the coming care providers to partner and sexual vio - for biomedical research is unnecessary. years. The Public Health Agency of lence against women. These include “Their likeness to humans has made Canada reports that tick populations are women-centred care, mandatory train - them uniquely valuable for certain currently found only in a limited area ing of all health care providers in this types of research, but also demands of Canada: southern Ontario, Nova area and integration of care of women greater justification for their use,” Dr. Scotia and southern Manitoba. How - experiencing violence into existing health Francis Collins, NIH’s director, said in ever, surveillance data indicate that this ser vices. — Amelia Wilkinson, CMAJ a statement. “I am confident that range, as well as the number of ticks, is greatly reducing their use in biomedical increasing. Published research suggests CMAJ 2013. DOI:10.1503/cmaj.109-4567

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