Current Projects
Creating Sustainable Health Systems in a Climate Crisis
A sustainable health system provides for the care needs of today without compromising the ability to provide for those needs in the future. Climate change and other environmental challenges (biodiversity loss, pollution, soil depletion, etc.) are critical threats to health. Canada has made ambitious commitments to cut emissions, and has articulated a strategy for 2050 of “deep decarbonization” of the economy. The health system has a large role to play in this undertaking, because despite its mission to support health, its practices are actually part of the problem.
Check out the new HealthcareLCA database!
Team: Daniel Rainham, Sean Christie, Gillian Ritcey, Peter Tyedmers, Nathan Ayer, Jono Drew, Meriel Fitzgerald
Partners: Healthy Populations Institute
Funders: Healthy Populations Institute; Department of Surgery
Nova Scotia Health Atlas (Renewal)
As a source of research intelligence for health policy and decision making, a health atlas can offer tremendous opportunities to understand regional variations in how health and medical resources are distributed and used in Nova Scotia, and how these patterns of variations may impact health outcomes. Ideally the atlas serves as a resource to communicate research results, assist in targeting interventions and research, monitor health status and outcomes, and evaluate the policies and programs intended to improve health.
Team: Dr. Mikiko Terashima, Dr. Daniel Rainham, Dr. Nathalie Saint-Jacques, Dr. George Kephart, Marina Hamilton (MSSU)
Partners: Darkhorse Analytics, Department of Health and Wellness, Nova Scotia Health Authority, IWK Health Centre, Dalhousie University
Funder(s): Dalhousie University; Maritime SPOR Support Unit
We developed estimates of environmental quality at the neighbourhood level for 30 cities comprising 55% of the Canadian population.
Team: Zoe Davis, Margaret deGroh and Daniel Rainham
Funder: Public Health Agency of Canada
Estimating Smoking Prevalence in NS
Data from the Canadian Community Health Survey will be pooled to develop small-area level estimates of smoking prevalence for Nova Scotia.
Team: Daniel Rainham and Nathalie Saint-Jacques
Partner: Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN)
Funder: Nova Scotia Lung Association
Nova Scotia Community Cancer Matrix
This study investigates cancers affecting Nova Scotia communities; specifically how their types and rates change between communities and over time and how cancer risk is related to a community’s socioeconomic status.
Team: Nathalie Saint-Jacques (PI), Trevor Dummer, Mikiko Terashima, Daniel Rainham, Patrick Brown, Judith Purcell
Partners: Nova Scotia Health Cancer Care Program; Healthy Populations Institute
Funder: ResearchNS
Outputs: Nova Scotia Community Socio-Economic Status Snapshot