IC3 Member, Susan Elliott, shares her expertise on the health risks of climate change and comments on the effects of climate change on Canadian youth in Globe and Mail article.
Canadian children face serious risks as a result of climate change, pediatricians’ group says
Canadian children face serious risks as a result of climate change and health-care providers must adopt new practices to mitigate the effects, says a guidance document from a national group of pediatricians.
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Susan Elliott, a medical geographer at the University of Waterloo who studies global environmental health, said many Canadians still don’t realize the health risks of climate change are already being felt across the country. And there are many unanswered questions about how to deal with the risks. For instance, the rates of obesity and asthma are on the rise among Canadian youth, but on days when it is very hot and humid, parents can’t safely send those kids outside to play, Dr. Elliott said.
She added that many physicians may not be able to recognize certain conditions that are becoming more common as a result of climate change, such as Lyme disease. Medical schools need to incorporate more of this information to help prepare the next generation of doctors and the health-care system also needs to do more to address these issues, she said.
Can a physician recognize West Nile virus? Can a physician recognize symptoms of malaria? How are we training our health-care professionals?
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Read the full article in the Globe and Mail.