Research stories

University of Waterloo working with Southern Chiefs’ Organization and Manitoba Association of Optometrists to co-develop data governance policies for eye data

Study finds sixty-eight per cent of nursing home residents who used antipsychotics had more behavioural issues than they did pre-medication

Health researchers find 55 per cent of teens feel dissatisfied with their appearance with social media as a major factor.

Dr. Kate Battista, a post-doctoral scholar in the School of Public Health Sciences, shares findings from a COMPASS research study on adolescent groups most likely to participate in smoking and vaping.

Dr. Mark Ferro’s ongoing study supports mental health in children and youth living with physical illnesses across the life span

Waterloo researchers say the incorporation of smartphones could be the key to improving the accessibility of self-service devices.

Dr. David Hammond has been awarded $2 million from the CIHR, leading a new study to examine the health risks of e-cigarettes among young people in Canada.

A UWaterloo study finds that loneliness increases the risk of age-related memory loss and highlights the need for community programs for older adults.

School of Public Health Sciences PhD candidate Amy Nahwegahbow has been awarded the prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship for her research in First Nations Peoples communities to address the environmental exposures, socio-cultural vulnerability and health impacts of industrial pollution.

A School of Public Health Sciences research team will receive more than $1.5 million from the federal government to support their Urban Futures project: Toward health equity, inclusive governance, and climate adaptation in African informal settlements.

Dr. Mark Ferro has received the Addressing Mental Health in Paediatric Rheumatic Diseases Team Grants award, a research funding initiative offered by Brain Canada and Cassie + Friends.

Dr. Zahid Butt has been named Canada Research Chair in Interdisciplinary Research for Pandemic Preparedness.

Dr. Rhona Hanning, a professor emeritus in the School of Public Health Sciences, is one of four to be named a 2024 Canadian Nutrition Society (CNS) Fellow.

Dr. Carrie McAiney leads the Forward with Dementia project to address stigma within diverse cultural and linguistic groups.

Dr. John Hirdes, a professor in the School of Public Health Sciences, has been appointed a member of the Order of Canada among 78 new appointments nationally.

Trust in Government Measure helps gauge trust in government and also aims to help inform better public health policies

Waterloo's Dr. Mahmood Gohari, using survey data from over 5,000 Canadian adolescents, examines changes in mental health from 2018 to 2021.

While most aspects of care quality in long-term care homes did not differ in the first year of the pandemic from pre-pandemic levels, a new study shows that the use of antipsychotic drugs increased in all provinces.

Layered over the pandemic in 2021 was an epidemic. Toxic drug overdoses in Canada spiked that year, with almost 8,000 reported deaths from opioid overdoses alone. In British Columbia, 2,264 people died that year of toxic drug overdoses.

Long COVID is associated with reduced brain oxygen levels, worse performance on cognitive tests and increased psychiatric symptoms such as depression and anxiety, according to new research studying the impacts of the disease.  

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) has funded 23 research projects through an action-based initiative called Women RISE, whose projects aim to better understand the disproportionate impact COVID-19 has had on women’s health and livelihoods. 

High-school students who have a large weekly allowance, friends who smoke and low levels of physical activity are more likely to use multiple substances over time. 

Oluwakemi (Kemi) Amodu is dedicated to advancing the reproductive and sexual health of the Hausa women in displaced persons camps in northern Nigeria. 

Understanding the ways in which workers in precarious employment react to work injury and claims processes they see as unfair can help employers, legal representatives, physicians and others respond appropriately, according to a new study.

Counteracting antimicrobial resistance needs a multipronged approach, including training, labeling food products, working with the media and changing mindsets, according to a new study.

New research has found that people with mild cognitive impairment may not inevitably develop dementia and, in fact, having higher education and advanced language skills more than doubles their chances of returning to normal.

The University of Waterloo is one of the lead institutions in a five-year, $10 million (U.S.) international study funded by the United States’ National Cancer Institute. 

More attention must be paid to improving perceptions of emerging technologies like AI-powered symptom checkers, which could ease the strain on health-care systems, according to a recent study.

Often, when a person is diagnosed with dementia, available supports are not enough. Most people feel overwhelmed, and they don't get the support, resources and help they need.

Restrictive interventions like acute control medications and restraints are more likely to be used in non-emergency situations among older psychiatric inpatients than younger ones, a study shows.

The benefits of consuming traditional foods tend to outweigh the risks of possible mercury contamination, according to a recent study.

Fitness apps that emphasize illness- or death-related messaging are more likely to be effective in motivating participation than are social stigma, obesity or financial cost messaging, according to a recent study.