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Tuesday, 23 December 2014

Public Health year in review - top stories from the readers and writers perspectives

As the year rolls to an end what are the biggest stories in public health over the past year? Trite by some standards however a reflection of where we have come from in the past 12 months.  The site having received its 33,000th visitor this week

First your votes based on views of various postings in descending order by number of views.  The list of most popular sites contrasts dramatically with the list of what DrP thinks about the key public health issues for 2014 which follows


  1.       Hookah use:  A Science Update on a widely read subject  Feb 17
  2.       Public health officers under duress.   How well do we stand up for Canadians?Nov 20
3.       Assessing Minister of Health Ambrose's first 8 months in office. Not even close to a passing grade  March 5
4.       One year of Minister what’s-her-name? Ambrose’s first year.   Aug 13
5.       Quebec's public health system under siege  Oct 16
6.       Influenza 2014 - pandemicH1N1 the sequel  Jan 3
7.       Minimum wage, Living wage, Assured Basic Income, and the shift to Part-time work  Jan 19
8.       Positioning public and population health: An optimistic view for the future Aug 5  
From DrPHealth’s perspective, the major Canadian public health stories.
1.       Ebola and its implications July 30 threat analysis ,  Oct 20 Ebola-ied ,  Oct 20 Ebolaphobia 
2.       Appointment of the new Chief Public Health Officer and the immediate stripping of his responsibilities.  Aug 25,  Nov 13
3.       The siege against public health in Canada  Nov 20 ,  Oct 16

4.       The rise of the Oil and Gas sector – and while published in 2013, the series speaks to the very issues that played out in 2014 Dec 27, 2013 summary posting

Exploration, specifically fracking                                   Dec 5, 2013 and Oct 18, 2012
Upstream issues (mining, collection and pumping)          Oct 29, 2013
Pipeline and transport issues                                        Oct 30, 2013
Downstream operations (refining)                                  Nov 4 2013
End user contributions                                                  Nov 6, 2013
Boom- bust economies of rural and remote development Oct 9, 2013
Boom economies and the community left behind            Dec 10, 2013
5.       The rise of Transportation infrastructure as a contributor to health

Part 1 Transportation and health:  Apr 22

Part 2 Cars: Our love and addiction to the vehicle may be making us sick.   Apr 24

Part 3 Moving to active transportation: A Public Health winner: Apr 28

Park 4 Public Transit - moving the masses in a sustainable fashion. Apr 30

Part 5 Mass transit. Which method is healthiest? May 5

Part 6 A Rural Reply. May 12

Part 7 Your role in contributing to the public's health. May 15

6.       Coming of age of public health economics Dec 3

7.       The rise of Generation Squeeze Apr 9

8.       The death of the Canada Health Council and the Canada Health Accord Mar 26,  Mar 24

9.       Chikungunya disease that in one year has infected over 1 Million people and has crossed into the USA Feb 18

10.   The untold story that may belong at the top of the list is the resurgence of discrimination as manifest by racial protests in the US following police shootings, sexual discrimination at University and by own Minister of Health’s (Twitter profile showing her standing among a group of handsome males), persistent policy neglect of Canadian Aboriginal peoples, mistreatment of residents of African countries hit by Ebola, immigration debates in the US, Religious tensions that fuel the tensions between Islamic and Western nations

Please comment on which stories you believe should have made this list, or perhaps those that don’t belong here. 


May the year 2014 close with happy holidays for those who enjoy a break and our heartfelt thanks to those dedicated to serving others who selflessly work during the season so colleagues may spend time with their families and friends, or serve to protect us from others and ourselves during festive times.  

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1 comment:

  1. DrPHealth30 December 2014 at 07:36

    From a dedicated reader and dear friend, two excellent suggestions to add to the list, the Gian Ghomeshi situation adds to the issues flagging in the tenth point on sexual discrimination. Mental Health issues belong on any list of leading public health problems.

    "I would suggest that with mental health issues being a (the?) major cause for workplace absences, decreased productivity and employee turnover, that the Gian Ghomeshi story and the way it has highlighted not only how astonishingly widespread sexual harassment still is in the workplace, but also the two related topics of discrimination against women and bullying in general."

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