Nov 5
Top 5 Papers from the Eighth Annual National Student Paper Competition
Top 5 Submissions from the Eighth Annual Student Paper Competition
The finalists (Top 5) and Grand Prize Winner(s) are selected through a formal adjudication process by a series of judges panels comprised of academics and public servants.
The joint winners of the Grand Prize for the 8th Annual National Student Paper Competition are Bhajan Gill of Western University for the paper Addressing the Need for Culturally competent Cancer Screening services for Indigenous populations living across Northern Canada and Hayden Rasberry of University of Ottawa for the paper Evidence Over Stereotypes: Using Data to Address Indigenous Healthcare Inequalities.
[WINNER] Addressing the Need for Culturally competent Cancer Screening services for Indigenous populations living across Northern Canada
Author: Bhajan Gill, Western University
Abstract
Despite breakthroughs in areas related to cancer research and improved program implementation efforts, marginalized communities, particularly Indigenous populations, experience limited access to cancer screening services and treatment options. These health disparities result in barriers to accessibility, thereby further exacerbating concerns associated with rising cancer rates in Indigenous communities. This paper will argue for a tremendous need to provide culturally sensitive cancer screening programs to Indigenous communities within northern Canada and recommend for establishment of cancer screening programs and health care initiatives through the Northern Indigenous Health Coalition (NIHC) to ensure that northern Indigenous communities receive essential, appropriate, and competent cancer care. Community stakeholder engagement is recommended for ensuring communal trust and effectively tailored services and finally the government and NGO collaboration is recommended to provide long-term funding to ensure program sustainability.
The full paper can be accessed here in English and in Français.
[WINNER] Evidence Over Stereotypes: Using Data to Address Indigenous Healthcare Inequalities
Author: Hayden Rasberry, University of Ottawa
Abstract
Historic colonial policies of assimilation were ultimately ineffective in destroying the cultures of Indigenous peoples in Canada; however, the legacy of those detrimental policies persists today. Canada also stands out among affluent countries with respect to lack of data, along with infrastructural deficiencies, regarding Indigenous population-level health information. This data deficiency can create a substantive barrier to the implementation and evaluation of evidence-based policies and practices. The present paper will argue that in the absence of sufficient Indigenous health data, health care policies and practices may be shaped by negative stereotypes towards Indigenous peoples rather than by evidence. Accurate and culturally relevant data can play a vital role in shattering stereotypes by providing a base of evidence for the design, implementation, and evaluation of health policy. The paper concludes with a policy recommendation to increase funding to the Institute of Indigenous People’s Health to augment the scope, duties, and functions in Indigenous health data infrastructure.
The full paper can be accessed here in English and in Français.
Framing the Right to Digital Privacy
Author: Antoine Baby-Bouchard, Université Laval
Abstract
Digitization is central to any modern state, since it is a new market that redefines the boundaries of privacy by extracting data from individuals’ behaviours in an increasingly intrusive manner. In 2019, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has identify the critical need for a framework based on individuals’ right to privacy and on obligations. A balance need to be strike between an individual’s right to privacy on the Internet and developing the digital economy. The legislative framework needs to re-enable individuals by guaranteeing them power over the use of their data. Digital consent forms need to be redesigned to regulate what businesses are allowed to include in these forms to avoid problematic elements from being included. Establishing a framework for individual digital rights, similar to adopting a charter of human rights, allows what is “sacred” to be ideologically fixed to some extent and reinforces a conception of digital privacy in our society’ social contract.
The full paper can be accessed here in English and in Français.
Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic: Healthy Ageing at Home in a Digitized Age
Author: Angela Nguyen and Kristele Pan, McMaster University
Abstract
While a high life expectancy is a strong indicator of a healthy population, ageing societies face multifaceted challenges, including greater financial burdens on healthcare and social protection systems, a reduced labour force, as well as social challenges on intra- and intergenerational family structures. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the ever-growing vulnerabilities within Canada’s healthcare and social support systems for the elderly, and pushed into public consciousness how poorly equipped the country is to adequately support its present and future ageing population. This paper has highlighted the urgent need to address Canada’s challenges in effectively providing quality care to its older adults. The paper has reviewed the nation’s current health policies and programs for older adults and discussed the existing gaps within Canada’s healthcare system. With aims of enabling older adults to age healthily at home without being left behind in today’s rapidly digitized age, the paper has presented two policy recommendations: establishing Home-based Care as a “Medically Necessary” Service under the Canada Health Act and creation of Governmental Regulatory Bodies to Define and Enforce Standards for Home-based Care and Digital Health Technologies.
The full paper can be accessed here in English and in Français.
Pandemic, Permafrost, and Policy
Author: Sidita Belo and Nicolas Pinsonneault, HEC Montréal
Abstract
This past year has been marked by unprecedented hardship, uncertainty, fear, and costs. The Covid-19 pandemic has made it clear that globalism no longer describes only trade or commercial ties, but broader challenges such as health care. However, there is another global challenge which yields potentially much more devastating consequences: climate change. The risk of a high-impact-low-probability event following an uncontrollable and self-accelerating rise in temperatures highlights the need for Canada, given its predominant role in global emissions, to act as a leader in the reduction of greenhouse gases emittance. Despite facing relatively lower damages, Canada bears a risk specific to northern countries, the thawing of permafrost. In this essay, we will focus on the intersection of health care and climate change, while paying particular attention to such risks related to permafrost. The paper makes recommendation around improving scientific literacy, investing in cutting-edge monitoring agencies, properly compensating for climate-induced losses, and leading the way for global tangible action is the foundation upon which policy must be built.
The full paper can be accessed here in English and in Français.