Tag: InfoScan

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This is the first in a series of posts highlighting what’s been in the news on various topics of interest to HC Link and anyone interested in Healthy Communities Fund priorities. I may not cover all priorities in each post — it will vary depending on what’s in the news.

Substance and Alcohol Misuse

The big story of the past while has been Ontario’s decision to de-list OxyContin, a prescription painkiller, from the drug benefit program because it is commonly abused. OxyContin’s new replacement, OxyNEO, designed to be harder to abuse (it resists crushing and so on) was also delisted. Several other provinces have followed suit.

The theory is that this will make it harder for people to acquire the drug, as presumably fewer pills will be prescribed and therefore in circulation. However, high addiction levels in some populations have some people worried about mass withdrawal or whether those populations will simply turn to alternative, potentially even more dangerous drugs.

Sample news stories:

• Ontario delisting OxyContin and its substitute from drug benefit program
• Expect OxyContin health crisis, warns First Nations leader

• OxyContin will soon be pulled from Canadian pharmacies

Other substance- and alcohol-related health promotion news:

• Colder States = More Binge Drinking (The Atlantic)

• Early Intervention May Curb Dangerous College Drinking (ScienceDaily)

• Homeless Heavy Drinkers Imbibe Less When Housing Allows Alcohol, Study Finds (ScienceDaily)

• Drinking in Assisted Living (New York Times)

• Addiction is a disease: We must change our attitudes toward addicts (CMAJ Editorial)

• After-School Program Can Reduce Alcohol Use Among Middle School Students, Study Finds (ScienceDaily)

Mental Health / Mental Health Promotion

Some initial studies suggest ketamine might work very quickly on some people’s depression:

• Could A Club Drug Offer ‘Almost Immediate’ Relief From Depression? (NPR)

Other mental health / mental health promotion stories of interest:

• Overtime Work as a Predictor of Major Depressive Episode: A 5-Year Follow-Up of the Whitehall II Study (PLoS ONE) – the answer was yes, long overtime does dispose one to major depressive episodes

• Paper: ‘Getting back to normal’: the added value of an art-based programme in promoting ‘recovery’ for common but chronic mental health problems (Chronic Illness)

• On peer counselling: Who better to guide the ‘walking wounded’ than someone who’s been there? (Globe and Mail)
• Susceptibility of people with long term illness to depression and anxiety is not recognised, report says (BMJ [requires subscription])

• Mentally ill win right to challenge their lawyer’s performance (Toronto Star) – “It is the first time a court has said the right to effective legal representation applies to those involved in legal proceedings in the mental health system.”

Injury Prevention

Aside from the usual raft of warnings and food/toy recalls this month, there’s been increasing attention paid to concussions:

• How connected are concussions and depression? (Globe and Mail)

• Computerized Tests For Concussions May Be Unreliable (NPR)
• Many Hits, Rather Than A Big One, Pose Greatest Concussion Risk (NPR)

Other injury prevention stories:

• Fighters Need Padded Gear to Cut Head Injury (MedPage Today)

• A nice piece on building in safety features: Making City Streets Safer (New York Times)

• Ski Helmets Not Best for Sledding (MedPage Today)

• Many Strategies to Increase Physical Activity for Kids Lack Injury Prevention Measures (ScienceDaily)

And my favourite thought-provoking piece this month:

• New Playgrounds Are Safe—and That’s Why Nobody Uses Them (The Atlantic)”The problem with safety guidelines is that they make most playgrounds so uninteresting as to contribute to reduced physical activity.”

Healthy eating

No major stories recently, but here are a few interesting bits:

• Is Universal Access to Good, Healthy Food Really a Problem? (The Atlantic)

• Healthy menus hurting school cafeteria profit (CBC) – the notion that the kids aren’t eating / won’t eat the new healthy menus did have reasonably widespread news coverage.

• Nutrition North food subsidy program under fire (CBC)

• A Report on Low-Income Families’ Efforts to Cook Healthy Meals (The Atlantic)

Physical activity, sports and recreation

Winter doesn’t seem to be a prime time for stories in this area. Still, some items of interest:

• Paper: Developing a Physical Activity Education Curriculum for Adults With Intellectual Disabilities (Health Promotion Practice)
• Paper: When Physical Activity Participation Promotes Inactivity – Negative Experiences of Spanish Adolescents in Physical Education and Sport (Youth and Society)
• Physical Activity Yields Feelings of Excitement, Enthusiasm (ScienceDaily)
• Does outdoor play help keep the doctor away? (BBC)
• Exercise Trumps Sitting Time for Kids’ Health (MedPage Today): “No matter how much time children and teens sit around, exercising improves their cardiometabolic risk profile, researchers found.”

And last, some light amusement:

A.J. Jacobs: How healthy living nearly killed me

“For a full year, A.J. Jacobs followed every piece of health advice he could — from applying sunscreen by the shot glass to wearing a bicycle helmet while shopping. Onstage at TEDMED, he shares the surprising things he learned.”