Publications by authors named "Blake Poland"

There is mounting concern over the potential harms associated with ultra-processed foods, including poor mental health and antisocial behavior. Cutting-edge research provides an enhanced understanding of biophysiological mechanisms, including microbiome pathways, and invites a historical reexamination of earlier work that investigated the relationship between nutrition and criminal behavior. Here, in this perspective article, we explore how this emergent research casts new light and greater significance on previous key observations.

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Reducing disease prevalence rather than promoting health has long been the objective of significant population health initiatives, such as the social determinants of health (SDH) framework. However, empirical evidence suggests that people with diagnosed diseases often answer the self-reported health (SRH) question positively. In pursuit of a better proxy to understand, measure and improve health, this scoping review of reviews examines the potential of SRH to be used as an outcome of interest in population health policies.

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This paper presents insights from the work of the Canadian Community of Practice in Ecosystem Approaches to Health (CoPEH-Canada) and 15 years (2008-2022) of land-based, transdisciplinary, learner-centred, transformative learning and training. We have oriented our learning approaches to Head, Hands, and Heart, which symbolise cognitive, psychomotor, and affective learning, respectively. Psychomotor and affective learning are necessary to grapple with and enact far-reaching structural changes (eg, decolonisation) needed to rekindle healthier, reciprocal relationships with nature and each other.

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Most government emergency/pandemic response plans feature top-down decision making and communication strategies and a focus on 'hard' (physical) infrastructure. There is nothing about the importance of the ideas and communications originating from communities, the social infrastructure that supports their impact locally and their contribution to the central administration. In this study, we found that the 'soft' (social) infrastructure within communities and between communities and formal institutions is key to an inclusive and more equitable response to large-scale crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Background: Realist reviews have shown the effectiveness of participatory action research but the realist approach has not been used in combination with a participatory approach in qualitative data analysis.

Objectives: To study the links between preexisting conditions in neighborhoods and the kind of actions taken at the community level during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in Toronto, a community-university research partnership used a critical realist approach to analyze qualitative interviews with grassroots leaders. This article describes the procedures developed to enable participation of the full community- academic team in the analysis.

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Planetary health provides a perspective of ecological interdependence that connects the health and vitality of individuals, communities, and Earth's natural systems. It includes the social, political, and economic ecosystems that influence both individuals and whole societies. In an era of interconnected grand challenges threatening health of all systems at all scales, planetary health provides a framework for cross-sectoral collaboration and unified systems approaches to solutions.

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The "Earthrise" photograph, taken on the 1968 Apollo 8 mission, became one of the most significant images of the 20th Century. It triggered a profound shift in environmental awareness and the potential for human unity-inspiring the first Earth Day in 1970. Taking inspiration from these events 50 years later, we initiated at our 2020 annual conference of VIVO Planetary Health.

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Urban resilience research is recognizing the need to complement a mainstream preoccupation with "hard" infrastructure (electrical grid, storm sewers, etc.) with attention to the "soft" (social) infrastructure issues that include the increased visibility of and role for civil society, moving from (top-down, paternalistic) government to (participatory) governance. Analyses of past shock events invariably point to the need for more concerted efforts in building effective governance and networked relations between civil society groupings and formal institutions before, during, and after crisis.

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In this commentary, we describe initial learnings from a community-based research project that explored how the relational space between residents and formal institutions in six marginalised communities in Toronto, Ontario, Canada impacted grassroots responses to the health and psycho-social stresses that were created and amplified by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Our research found that grassroots community leaders stepped up to fill the gaps left by Toronto's formal public health and emergency management systems and were essential for mitigating the psycho-social and socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic that exacerbated pre-existing inequities and systemic failures. We suggest that building community resilience in marginalised communities in Toronto can embody health promotion in action where community members, organisational, institutional and government players create the social infrastructure necessary to build on local assets and work together to promote health by strengthening community action, advocating for healthy public policy and creating supportive environments.

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The volume of calls for governments and public health officials to take concerted action on climate change has become almost deafening. Public health researchers and practitioners need to look beyond what we know about the health impacts of climate change, to what we are doing as our part in contributing to holding global temperature rise to under 1.5°C.

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Objectives: This pilot project sought to seed citizen engagement processes for sustainable futures visioning with ideas, perspectives, and processes informed by Indigenous ways of knowing.

Methods: Five circle dialogues were convened with students, faculty, and members of the public, in the spring of 2019, using Indigenous talking circle methodology and intentionally seeded with "disruptive" ideas to encourage reflexivity and open space for "out-of-the-box" thinking. These were complemented by a series of one-on-one dialogues with members of the pan-Canadian research team.

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Objective: The Lighthouse Project (2017-2018) explored the role that faith-based organizations (FBOs) might play as resilience hubs for climate-related stresses and extreme weather emergencies in disadvantaged urban environments of three cities. This paper discusses the role that public health played in these initiatives and makes an appeal for more participatory, community-engaged public health in light of the persistent gaps in its approach to equitable climate change preparedness.

Methods: Pilots were initiated in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA): Brampton's Emergency Managers offered pre-selected FBO volunteers specialized training to be part of the city's emergency response in establishing FBO sites as emergency muster stations.

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Objectives: Psychosocial adaptation to climate change-related events remains understudied. We sought to assess how the psychosocial consequences of a major event were addressed via public health responses (e.g.

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Retail food environments are an important setting for promoting healthier diets and reducing the global burden of diet-related disease. The purpose of this 2-year community-university partnership was to develop a health promotion intervention for stores in a rural and remote region of British Columbia, Canada. This article reports on the qualitative interviews that were conducted with retail operators as part of an intervention planning process.

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A key goal of programs in health management, policy and research is to transform students into effective leaders. Academic experience can impart knowledge about the skills or competencies required but may not be sufficient to transform students into leaders of health system change.

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As a collective organized to address the education implications of calls for public health engagement on the ecological determinants of health, we, the Ecological Determinants Group on Education (cpha.ca/EDGE), urge the health community to properly understand and address the importance of the ecological determinants of the public's health, consistent with long-standing calls from many quarters-including Indigenous communities-and as part of an eco-social approach to public health education, research and practice. Educational approaches will determine how well we will be equipped to understand and respond to the rapid changes occurring for the living systems on which all life-including human life-depends.

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inVIVO Planetary Health (inVIVO) is a progressive scientific movement providing evidence, advocacy, and inspiration to align the interests and vitality of people, place, and planet. Our goal is to transform personal and planetary health through awareness, attitudes, and actions, and a deeper understanding of how all systems are interconnected and interdependent. Here, we present the abstracts and proceedings of our 8th annual conference, held in Detroit, Michigan in May 2019, themed "From Challenges, to Opportunities".

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A growing number of health authorities around the world are conducting climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments; however, few explore impacts and adaptations related to mental health. We argue for an expanded conceptualization of health that includes both the physiological and psychological aspects of climate change and health. Through a review of the global literature on mental health and climate change, this analytical review explores how mental health can be integrated into climate change and health vulnerability assessments and concludes with recommendations for integrating mental health within climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments.

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This commentary identifies similarities, differences and opportunities for synergy and mutual learning between the Healthy Cities and the Transition movements. We outline what we consider to be the 'pressing issues' facing humanity and the planet in the early 21(st) century; consider the extent to which health promotion has engaged with and addressed these issues; compare Healthy Cities and the Transition movement; and conclude by suggesting possibilities for moving forward.

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The health of whole populations within nations and globally and the implications of climate change are two of the most important challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. Both are components of a complex global crisis that must be acknowledged and addressed. Here we draw the attention of health professionals to some emerging threats and insights from key works of environmentalists in the hope that these may catalyze reflection on the broader challenges facing human health at a time of deep planetary malaise.

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Background: Food banks have emerged in response to growing food insecurity among low-income groups in many affluent nations, but their ability to manage this problem is questionable. In Canada, in the absence of public programs and policy interventions, food banks are the only source of immediate assistance for households struggling to meet food needs, but there are many indications that this response is insufficient. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that facilitate and limit food bank operations in five Canadian cities and appraise the potential of these initiatives to meet food needs.

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Health promotion and social determinants of health approaches, when integrated, can better contribute to understanding and addressing health inequities. Yet, they have typically been pursued as two solitudes. This paper presents the key elements, principles, actions, and potential synergies of these complementary frameworks for addressing health equity.

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Introduction: The creation of supportive environments for health is a basic action principle of health promotion, and equity is a core value. A settings approach offers an opportunity to bridge these two, with its focus on the interplay between individual, environmental and social determinants of health.

Methods: We conducted a scoping review of the literature on theoretical bases and practical applications of the settings approach.

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Homelessness is an experience of being displaced. Once removed from their personal places, homeless people are barred access to healthy places in which to be. Health clinics for people who are experiencing homelessness offer an opportunity to create health-promoting places.

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