Dr. Stephen Glazer and Can-Change member Dr. Michael Vallis have undertaken an international survey that will help them learn more about patient needs during the pandemic and help them shape the medical care of people living with obesity as we move forward through this new era of medicine.

Can-Change member Dr. Michael Vallis was awarded the Charles H. Best Award by Diabetes Canada in recognition of his work making a significant difference towards improving the quality of life of individuals living with diabetes.

Recent WHO Bulletin Special Issue on Behavioural and Social Science for better health, featuring articles from the members of the WHO Technical Advisory Group for Behavioural Insights and Science.

Opinion piece on COVID-19 vaccination for medical students by incoming medical student Zhida Shang, and another piece written by one of her professors.

Free public webinar for healthcare practitioners about COVID-19 vaccination addressing topics from vaccine safety and efficacy, vaccine mixing, boosters, and hesitancy.

Episode 5 of the COVID Quotes podcast series, designed to help healthcare practioners (HCPs) help their patients with COPD live better, talks with Dr. Simon Bacon about addressing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.

Can-Change has recently added Vaccine Hesitancy to its list of training program and workshop topics and will be generating resources to help healthcare professionals and trainees promote vaccination adherence. Find here a preview of these resources.

Aimed to create a national network for better researching and responding to the global threat COVID-19 variants pose will enable the real-time assessment of both the immune response to the virus variants and whether these variants are resistant to existing vaccines. The findings will provide decision makers with guidance regarding drug therapy, vaccine effectiveness, and other public health strategies.

The AccessMHA initiative brings together numerous organizations and partners to streamline the process for those seeking help. “We need to make sure that when people are reaching out, that they know where to go," says Dr. Corace.

Dr. Gary Garber, former medical director of infection prevention and control at Public Health Ontario, told the Ontario long-term care commission that the agency had significant infection prevention and control expertise but that they did not go to long-term care homes suffering from the earliest outbreaks in the province — some of which became among the deadliest — over bureaucratic concerns.

Based out of her dedicated research and training centre, the Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre (MBMC), Dr. Lavoie’s research will contribute to generating currently lacking empirical data on efficacy and supporting the development of valid and reliable MC competency assessment tools that are increasingly accessible and easier to administer.

Medicine Matters diabetes highlights the impact of psychosocial issues on diabetes care in a series of seven podcasts. Key areas being discussed include dealing with diabetes distress, the psychological impact of hypoglycaemia, using diabetes technology, optimal and consistent medication taking, disengagement with diabetes, and the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 in patients with diabetes.

NCI’s Behavioral Research Program is accepting letters of interest from scientists interested in joining the Health Behaviors Research Branch as a Program Director.

Une étude observationnelle menée par la Dre Kim Lavoie a montré une forte diminution du risque de troubles cardiaques chez les patients sous antidépresseurs. L’étude avait pour but de favoriser le dépistage systématique des troubles dépressifs chez les personnes avec des troubles en santé cardiaque.

Can-Change trainee Anda Dragomir receives top trainee prize at the CRRN's annual meeting for her work on physician training in behaviour change counselling and motivational communication.

In this study, anxiety disorders were present in subjects without previously diagnosed heart disease yet they were the ones with more ischemia. This suggests that these women likely HAD heart disease that just hadn’t been diagnosed yet. The reason might have been because their anxiety disorder may have been masking symptoms of heart disease because many of them overlap (e.g., fatigue, decreased energy, heart palpitations, sweating, chest discomfort, hyperventilation, and fear/worry). This could lead physicians to misinterpret symptoms of real heart disease as those of anxiety in women >>> via MedicalResearch.com - February 26, 2016

Watch Drs. Kim Lavoie and Simon Bacon speak during the Montreal March for Science held in April 2017 (videos)

Video interview posted by Royal Talks in March 2015. Dr. Kim Corace demonstrates how research and science inform clinical practice and lead to improved quality of care. >>> via YouTube - March 2015

Les maladies chroniques ont beaucoup de facteurs de risque comportementaux et psychologiques communs, dont le tabagisme, la mauvaise alimentation, l’inactivité physique, la sédentarité, la surconsommation d’alcool et le stress. Extrêmement répandues à l’échelle planétaire, les maladies chroniques sont des affections de longue durée qui évoluent avec le temps. D’après l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS), elles sont responsables du plus haut taux de mortalité dans le monde. >>> via Le Devoir - 8 avril 2017

Entretien (fil audio) avec Dre Kim Lavoie en février 2017 diffusé sur Canal M.

Ignoring symptoms of a disease with a high mortality rate is a surprisingly common phenomenon, says Dr. Kim Lavoie. “People will cognitively avoid things they don’t want to be real; it’s a natural defense mechanism,” she says. Studies have shown the different ways it manifests – from using humour, to outright refusal to acknowledge that an illness might exist. >>> via Chatelaine - January 16, 2017

Écoutez le court vidéo-reportage avec un entretien avec la Dre Kim Lavoie publié le 5 décembre 2016 >>> via YouTube

Facteur de stress considérable, la maladie chronique peut avoir plus d'impact sur l'état psychologique du patient que sur sa santé physique. Scientifique du Centre de recherche de l'Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Kim Lavoie connaît les facteurs de risques et les moyens d'éviter la dépression chronique. Écouter le fil audio. >>> via Radio-Canada.ca - 3 avril 2016

In women, blood flow to the heart during exercise testing may be influenced by anxiety, while the same does not appear to be true for men, according to results reported in the annual women’s themed issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. Overall, reduced blood flow – called ischemia – was more common in men than in women, and anxiety disorders weren’t generally linked to higher or lower risk of ischemia. >>> via Reuters - February 23, 2016

Women with an anxiety disorder may have less blood going to their heart when exercising, according to a new study -- and researchers suggest doctors may sometimes miss signs of heart disease in these women. Study author Kim Lavoie says the findings may indicate that anxiety symptoms such as chest discomfort or palpitations -- which can overlap those of heart disease -- may mask heart disease in women. >>> via HealthDay News - February 23, 2016

The idea behind the 12-week Acceleration Program is to employ the tools of cardiac rehab, primarily education and exercise, before an illness develops, a sort of pre-hab, rather than rehab. It steers away from a didactic, just “do it,” approach, explains behavioural change expert Simon Bacon. Instead, it focuses on participants’ reasons for wanting to change. It emphasizes small achievable goals. “Success breeds success,” says Bacon. >>> via The Toronto Star - January 11, 2016