This course has been all about balance, with coursework landing during my busiest work season (September to November). My biggest surprise was how many frameworks I already use without naming them. Planning outreach around the Population Health Promotion Model provides the framework and language to explain and justify that work. Studying adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) has been eye-opening. Barriers stack up across every level of the system. This

The claim: An Instagram Reel by @thedailymomma03 (2026) claims that the newborn vitamin K shot carries a “black box warning” and that Merck’s version causes sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). What the literature says: Vitamin K injections carry a boxed warning, but it concerns rare, severe allergic reactions, mostly reported with intravenous use (Merck & Co., 2002). The same label recommends a single intramuscular dose of 0.5 to 1 mg for each newborn, compared with 2.5 to

I will be honest: I started my proposal at the wrong end, with the solution. My original topic was improving cancer screening participation among adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) through accessible health communication resources. It was not until I received feedback that I stepped back and asked whether my research actually showed a problem for the IDD community, and which social determinants of health were behind it. What I know so far is that

Health promotion means accessibility, advocacy, and increasing health literacy. The image below speaks to me as it starts cancer prevention conversations with community members. It allows them to share where they struggle, time, environment, stressors, family responsibilities, and more. In these moments, they begin to advocate for themselves and seek validation. I find that in these times, managing their expectations and validating their barriers helps build trust and lead

To understand the role of the Ottawa Charter, both in Canada and globally, it is worth exploring the Charter's origin story. The Charter was developed out of the Lalonde Report, in which Marc Lalonde formalized the health field concept to include human biology, environment, lifestyle, and health care organization (Lalonde, 1974, pp. 31–33). What I find interesting is that Lalonde was a forward thinker, understanding that alongside medical interventions to aid in disease preve

With over two decades in healthcare, I have seen how personal experiences shape how we perceive and understand our health, healthcare systems, and their impact on communities. While reading this week's resources, I have reflected on this through the lenses of positionality and reflexivity. The video by UCLA Library (2021) describes positionality as the relationship between where we come from, our identities, our understanding of ourselves, and our relationships with others.

The concept of change is a common thread in our course readings and discussions. Change can reflect personal, career, economic, and...

The ecological model of health can help us better understand how to reduce the inequity in accessing cancer prevention initiatives and...

In the article by Gore and Kothari, they analyze the need for Federal and Provincial policy to tackle the structural social determinants...

A current definition of health published by Health Canada defines health beyond one's physical health and incorporates the importance of...

While creating my e-Portfolio, I reflected on my professionalism and social media audit, and what I wanted others to learn about me....

Sourcing and saving digital information depends on what type of information I need. For example, if I am troubleshooting an IT issue, I...

Currently, I am not part of a professional organization. As a Hearing Instrument Practitioner (HIP) I was part of the Association of...