Hello All,

The CHAIM Centre will be hosting the 2019 One HEALtH Student Challenge and we are currently seeking graduate student mentors to support the participating student groups. To learn more about the One HEALtH Student Challenge please see the link below.

If you are interested in the applying for the graduate mentor position, please see the attached document. The application information is also accessible through the ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University mySuccess Careers tab. The application deadline is Friday, September 13, 2019 at 11:59 pm.

2019 One HEALtH Student Challenge

2019 Graduate Mentor One HEALtH Challenge Position

2018 One HEALtH Student Challenge

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The mentors come from a variety of backgrounds including cognitive science, psychology, biology, health sciences, and philanthropy and non-profit leadership. Each of these backgrounds bring a compelling perspective to the challenge.

“I think coming from a psychology background has allowed me to have strengths regarding the mental health portion of this challenge – understanding factors that can contribute to stress, mental illness, and even how long it can take the brain to recover from trauma,” Michaela Keogh says.

Roxana Barbu stresses her personal experience and how it integrates with the challenge. She worked as a literary counselor for six weeks with the Peawanuck First Nation, who were evacuated due to the Winisk Flood. “That’s what attracted me to the challenge, the community I worked in was evacuated in ’86.” The challenge “has a focus on First Nations, which is important to me.” Roxana is also inspired by the One Health approach because it is “interdisciplinary, that’s my whole passion, my whole research,” she says.

Sam Petrie enjoys the interdisciplinary aspect of the challenge as well. His graduate research looks at complex adaptive health systems, and he has learned that “whenever you implicate a system, there will always be unintended consequences.” He is using this knowledge to nudge students to think of not only what can go right in their framework, but also what could happen despite well-intentioned plans.

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While all of the mentors bring their own set of skills to the challenge, being a mentor can still be a tricky position as it requires a careful balance of being a peer and a leader. One way to manage this balance is to show vulnerability. “[I] show my ignorance too and willingness to learn,” Roxana says. And, as Caprise Perrineau says, “I have also been a person who has failed a lot. I have made many, many mistakes and have learned to recover from difficult scenarios. The ability to share your failures and learn from others is a skill that is important to mentorship.”

It is also important to let students come up with their own ideas. As Mackenzie Doiron says, “it’s not a mentor’s job to do work for the group, or to get their fingerprints all over the group’s work.” This is also important when it comes to how ideas are evaluated during meetings. As Sam says, “when an idea is brought to the table, you [as a mentor] should offer your thoughts last.”

One of the greatest challenges of being a mentor is time management, which mentors spoke of as requiring creativity to manage. “It’s challenging to want your group to be fully committed (and win) while also watching them become a little stressed over their other responsibilities. It’s also a challenge to make sure that the students know that their course work should come first. I think it’s a bit of a learning curve,” Michaela says. “Be willing to modify your schedule on a weekly basis,” Roxana adds. Even though course work can be a stressor, the challenge has had a positive impact in managing these very stressors. “Especially around this time of the year, students are stressed and feeling a little down so it’s wonderful to be able to be involved in something that ignites the passion in them,” Michaela says.

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This year’s challenge brings an important issue to the forefront. To recap, the mentors have been leading groups of students to create a framework to mitigate the physical and mental health risks, and facilitate community rebuilding following a natural disaster, with a particular focus on First Nations communities in Canada’s northern regions. During the ONE HEALtH launch, guest speakers Craig Linklater and Darrel Shorting provided an account of living through the evacuation of Little Saskatchewan First Nation in Manitoba due to a 2011 manmade flood. Their stories had a strong impact on students and mentors alike.

“I have learned a lot about the initial knowledge, exposure and engagement most students have about and with Indigenous communities. I have also learned sadly that it is very easy for Canadians to be sheltered from and/or ignore the difficulties of others,” Caprise says. Many students and mentors had no prior knowledge of these floods. As Sam realised his lack of knowledge, he felt “shame and disgust and anger” at his not knowing. And as Roxana says, “most student-targeted experiences don’t have this reality check.”

Yet this reality check makes the challenge so impactful. The challenge becomes “not just about improving your CV but about improving yourself as a person and contributing from now on,” Roxana says. And Sam agrees, noting it can be easy to “get caught in the rat race,” but this challenge encourages everyone to “take time out of your day to think of the actual meaning of what you’re doing.”

The challenge stresses the importance of looking at a problem from multiple perspectives. As Mack says, “a swiftly executed solution looks really good on paper, but trying to create a framework where all of the aspects of the problem can be considered is a much more sustainable approach to tackling public health issues.” Indeed, the focus is on the complexity of the issue, rather than a quick solution.

The ONE HEALtH Student Challenge brings together students, mentors, and consultants from a variety of backgrounds to examine an issue and think of potential solutions. “It has been a pleasure getting to know my group, and learning from them as much as they’re learning from me,” Mack says. We are happy to hear that the mentor experience has been a meaningful one. As Roxana says, “you not only grow as a mentor, but as a person.”

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Our senior and graduate mentors are:

Roxana Barbu, MA
PhD Student in Cognitive Science

Mackenzie Doiron, MA
PhD Student in Psychology

Michaela Keogh
Masters Student in Philanthropy and Non-profit Leadership

Caprise Perrineau
Undergraduate Student in Biology

Samuel Petrie
Masters Student in Health Sciences

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Our challenge ends this Friday November 16! We can’t wait to see what our teams have come up with! Stay tuned to hear more about the challenge, and be sure to follow us on Twitter for updates (@CHAIM_Centre)!

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This past Friday, the CHAIM Centre hosted the official launch event for the ONE HEALtH Student Challenge 2018. The event was marked with fabulous speakers, whose personal and professional stories gave the student participants great insight into a One Health perspective, and into the Challenge itself. The One Health approach focuses on the connections between human health, animal/wildlife health, and the health of the environment. Essentially, these are all inextricably connected, and one affects the other. While this may seem intuitive, this approach is often underutilized in problem solving. The challenge this year is for students to design a plan to mitigate the physical and mental health risks, and facilitate community rebuilding following a natural disaster, with a particular focus on First Nations communities in Canada’s northern regions. For students participating, thinking of animal and environmental factors may be the toughest part. As Kim Matheson, director of the CHAIM Centre, pointed out, “it’s going to be way easier to think of the human aspect.” Students must push themselves to think of different perspectives.

A focus of the ONE HEALtH Student Challenge 2018 is to think beyond one’s own discipline. Paul Pechan, from the Lugwig Maximilians Universität Müchen, spoke about his personal experience in a career switch from plant physiology to science communications. (Of course, this simplifies many subtleties and accomplishments in between). Pechan advised students to “bring people together in an environment that can help you move forward with your questions.” He stressed that “you don’t have to be an expert in everything,” as any problem “cannot be solved with just the one perspective.” This was a goal of the launch event: to bring students, project consultants*, and guest speakers together to start thinking of out of the box ways to approach a problem.

What will students gain from this challenge? While an internship in a research lab is at stake, the focus is on the learning experience to be gained. Cathy Edwards, research facilitator and guest speaker at the launch, says she is hoping that students learn “the value of falling in love with a problem.” Moreover, she hopes students are “taking the time to gain empathy and develop insights based on the lived experience.”

The lived experience can only be understood from those who have lived it (of course), and guest speakers Craig Linklater and Darrel Shorting provided a moving account of living through the evacuation of Little Saskatchewan due to a 2011 manmade flood. Shorting spoke of the devastating effects of a twenty-four hour notice of evacuation, and provided a vivid recount as he “literally saw … water rising.” The community is still (seven years later) struggling to get home again. For those who have been able to return, it has been difficult getting used to new living situations which are a stark contrast to their way of life prior to the evacuation. Shorting vividly described damage to the ecosystem, infrastructure, and community gathering spots that have yet to be repaired. This has affected the physical and mental health of evacuees, and the community at large, including elders, councillors, families, youth, and children who have never lived in the community yet as their family is still in evacuation. Shorting said, “this 2011 flood created hardship for our people.” As a councillor, he still continues to “receive phone calls at 1:30 in the morning” from displaced community members. Through listening to Linklater and Shorting speak, we hope students not only gain empathy and insight, but use this lived experience to create an effective framework that can mitigate the harmful and long-lasting effects of a future crisis.

Over the next six weeks, student teams will be working on their frameworks with the help of graduate mentors and project consultants. They will be seeking new perspectives while considering human, animal, and environmental factors of a natural disaster. But most importantly, in considering a problem, as Kim Matheson urged students, it is imperative to “be brave, go beyond the things that you know.”

We look forward to seeing these frameworks develop over the next few weeks, and will be posting updates here.**

*Our project consultants range from faculty in neuroscience, biology, communications and environmental engineering, just to name a few. You can find a list of our consultants here: /chaimcentre/the-2018-challenge/one-health-consultants/

**And on our Twitter account: @CHAIM_Centre

Hello All,

The CHAIM Centre will be hosting the 2018 One HEALTH Student Challenge and we are currently seeking graduate student mentors to support the participating student groups. To learn more about the One Health Challenge please see the link below.

If you are interested in the applying for the graduate mentor position, please see the attached document. The application information is also accessible through the ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University mySuccess Careers tab. The application deadline is Friday, September 13, 2018 at 11:59 pm.

2018 One HEALtH Student Challenge

Growing up, one of my favourite trips was to the doctor’s office. We would get in the car and drive to the doctor’s. I would sit in the waiting room, eagerly waiting for the moment the receptionist called out my name and said “please follow me to your room”. The doctor would finally come in, ask how I was doing and tell me to explain what I was visiting for. A few checkup procedures and five minutes later, I would walk out with a prescription in one hand, a sticker on the other, and torrent of thoughts in mind.

See, what fascinated me about the doctor’s office wasn’t the stickers (though I absolutely loved them). Rather, I was fascinated by how the doctor could ask me for a list of symptoms, check whatever was hurting me and figure out what was going on with my health. Health. What an awesome word. Five-year-old me was fascinated by health. What exactly was health? What did it encompass? Five-year-old me however, built a definition of health based on doctor visits and medical documentaries on television. I thought health only encompassed the physical human body. I thought that health could only be approached from a medical perspective, and could only be treated by doctors.

As I grew older though, I came across other words. Words like stress, anxiety, depression and eventually, mental health. With this, I learned that health was so much more complex than just the physical human body. The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” I particularly like this definition because it outlines all the other aspects of health I hadn’t been aware of, or really thought about when I pondered health.

The research project we are working on this summer is “Our Pets and Our Health: a photovoice pilot study.” This project is exploring how pets affect the health of people who are vulnerably housed or are dealing with homelessness. I vividly remember my first conversation with Dr. Kim Matheson on the project. During our conversation, she asked me if I’d ever heard of One Health. I hadn’t. When I shook my head and said “No,” she went on to explain what One Health meant. One Health is a multidisciplinary approach to health. It recognizes that human health is interconnected with the health of animals and the environment. It unites multiple fields for the improvement of health. To my great surprise, that one conversation with Dr. Matheson left me with a different understanding of health and many thoughts, insights and curiosity.

Just how closely is human health interconnected with animal health? This is one area of curiosity I just had to satisfy this summer. During the first few weeks of the summer, we spent time reading journal articles and familiarizing ourselves with the literature on this topic. The results of my readings? More insights. Even more curiosity. The benefits people derive from animals is incredible. From their great use in animal assisted therapy to the unconditional love and support they provide to people as pets, their important roles in the lives of people is unrivaled. I am really excited about the Our Pets and Our Health project, as it will provide us with more insights on how pets can positively impact the lives of vulnerable populations.

I never had any pets growing up. Due to this, I never really thought about the ways in which animals played a role in my life. I never thought that animal and human health could be interrelated, especially for someone who had never had a pet. However, working on this research project has allowed me to reflect on how animals have, in fact, played a role in my life. When I look back on my childhood, I have memories of walking to a park by the Rideau River with my family. My dad and I would feed the geese (though we probably shouldn’t have). We would go to hills and watch groundhogs come out. Despite not having a cat ourselves, we would play with the neighbourhood cats. Some of my favourite trips were those to the Agricultural Museum where we would watch horses, cows and other farm animals.

I recently talked to an uncle of mine who had gone on vacation. When I asked for pictures, I didn’t receive pictures of him. I was sent pictures of cats and baby goats. When I go through my camera roll on my phone, I find pictures I’ve taken of animals without giving much thought. Why is that? I’m starting to think it all goes back to One Health. Regardless of whether you’re a pet owner or not, you interact with animals and environment all the time. Ultimately, they do impact your health and play a very important role in your life. This summer has shown me that animals do play a role in our lives and discovering the health benefits we can derive from them is something I’m really looking forward to. I am eager to learn the findings of our research and to continue to expand my definitions, and understanding of health.

At least once a week, I make the mistake of looking at videos of dogs on Instagram and promptly text my boyfriend to tell him that I want a dog. When I drive by someone walking a dog, I seriously consider pulling over and asking to pet the dog. The biggest challenge in moving away from home for university was leaving behind my two dogs and three cats. I am pretty sure one of my parent’s biggest concerns is me adopting a dog or cat that I am not able to take care of. My future plans include raising a puppy and baby goat together so they grow up to become best friends.

So you might say I really like animals. More accurate, though, is that I love animals.

I especially find a certain kind of hope and love in rescue animals. Through the years, my family has been able to foster several dogs and several litters of kittens for various rescue organizations. All the pets we’ve owned have been rescued. Sometimes our pets proved challenging. When you have a rescue animal, there can be a lot of curveballs thrown your way. Some animals have had bad experiences with people, and you have to work to gain their trust. They might not have been trained properly or may have developed bad habits along their journey, and you have to train them to have proper manners. You might lose a few pairs of shoes and run outside in your bathrobe calling your pet’s name more often than you’d like, but that love in the animal’s eyes is so worth it in the end.

Growing up with animals, I took their presence for granted. I loved them and used them for support, but I never really considered the effect they had on my life until I moved away. Looking back, I see how my pets helped me through depression and anxiety. They were always there to listen and offer me their paw in support. Other times, I took comfort in seeing them bounce up to me and lick my face all over. Their happiness and love for life was contagious. Honestly, a few tears come to my eyes as I write this. The bond with them was so strong. Having animals that loved me so unconditionally truly gave me a reason to live. They were with me, and I knew I could face the day.

I was excited to move away from home for university. I looked forward to new experiences and challenges. But I underestimated how much I would miss my pets. My parents have even said that I probably miss the pets more than my human family. Facing the stressors of studies and relationship challenges without that constant, non-judgemental support and love was harder than I anticipated. I compensated for this by having pictures of my pets everywhere. When I skyped my family, I always had them bring the dogs and cats to the camera so I could talk to their very confused (and adorable) faces. I also visited the therapy dog in residence several times. My bond with my pets is one of the reasons I am so excited about this research. Given that I hadn’t even realized how they impacted me until I took time to consciously reflect, I am excited to see what data collection and analysis will reveal about the human animal bond.

I am a Neuroscience and Mental Health student. My own battles with mental health have made me extremely passionate about this issue. I want to both directly help people as well as research new ways of helping individuals that struggle. I am also passionate about rescuing animals and giving them the quality of life they deserve. When Dr. Matheson started describing the Pets and Our Health research project, I was beyond excited. I hadn’t heard of the One Health framework, the idea that the health of humans, animals, and the environment are related, or the Community Veterinary outreach, which provides veterinary services to individuals who would otherwise be unable to access animal care while also providing human health services. I didn’t know people were actually researching how animals effect our health.

Knowing the impact that animals have had in my life, even when I had a strong support network around me, I can only imagine how individuals who are homeless or vulnerably housed value their pets. During my internship, I’ve been reading journal articles about the relationship between vulnerable individuals and their pets. My eyes have been opened. For many of these individuals, their pets truly are their only supporters. They value the pets to the extent that it’s common to put the animal’s needs ahead of their own needs.

My hope through this research is that we are able to help to improve the quality of life for both people and their pets. I hope that the data that is collected will fuel further studies and provide a spark for future programs to help people and their pets in new ways. I hope that partnerships will form between different healthcare providers and animal organizations so that new, innovative ways of battling homelessness, mental illness, and animal neglect can be developed.

It’s been said that the best therapists have fur and four legs, and many individuals can provide anecdotal evidence for the healing power of animals. The idea of animals playing a role in human health and well-being has been frequently found in literature and popular culture. In many homes and communities, poor animal welfare is often indicative of poor human welfare, and there is also a link between animal abuse and family violence. The scientific community is also beginning to explore the links between animal and human welfare. Researchers have explored the idea of zoonosis, diseases which can be transmitted to humans from animals. But they are increasingly considering zooeyia, which refers to the positive impact that relationships with animals can have on human health. The concept of One Health considers how humans, animals, and the environment interact to affect human health. The framework of One Health can be utilized to explore how the welfare of animals is related to human welfare as well as how their environmental (or community) can enhance this relationship.

Biophilia, the connection an organism has with other living organisms in nature, is viewed as a basic, biological human need. Isolation and disconnect can result in negative consequences for the health of humans—mentally, physically, and spiritually. In contrast, connection and a sense of belonging can be indicators of good human health. Animals can meet the need for a connection to the natural world, and by doing so, they can improve the health of humans. One study demonstrated that a dog gazing at its owner significantly increased levels of oxytocin, a hormone responsible for feelings of attachment and happiness, in the owner. This increase in oxytocin could be indicative of one mechanism by which companion animals can improve human health. Other studies indicate that pets appear to improve the quality of life for vulnerable youth by reducing the use of drugs and number of arrests. Often the youth reduced their drug use in order to be able to provide a better quality of life for their pets. These studies support the idea that pets provide youth with stability and responsibility while also teaching them about unconditional love and trust.

More and more research is emerging on the positive effects of human-animal interactions. It appears that pets could be an effective way of helping people from more vulnerable and socially marginalized populations? Yet, understanding the needs of individuals from the populations sometimes requires looking at the world from their perspective, rather than through the administration of rating scales and surveys. Different methodologies can assess needs and impact while also providing opportunities for the individuals to feel comfortable and empowered in their participation in the research. One such methodology is photovoice.

Photovoice is a method that uses photography to allow participants to share their views and use it to enhance their community. According to Wang and Burris (1997), photovoice aims to achieve three goals: a) to allow people to record and reflect on their community’s strengths and concerns, b) to use photography to discuss and critically think about important issues in the community, and c) to forward this information onto policy makers. The process involves providing members of a community with a camera and allowing them to capture images of their community, environment, and everyday health. Participants discuss their photographs with one another, and share them with researchers, policy makers and other community members.

As a qualitative research method, the photovoice method has many useful applications. Photovoice allows researchers to have insights as to how a group of people may perceive the world around them. Photovoice is often used in health research with participants from marginalized populations and youth. The photovoice method allows all members of a group to participate and have a voice as long as they are able to learn to use a camera. It is inclusive and does not require participants to be able to read and write. As a result, it is an effective tool in giving a voice to members of marginalized populations who might feel reluctant or disempowered when pushed to communicate to people perceived to be in positions of power, such as researchers. Furthermore, the photovoice method allows participants to share their thoughts on their community and the world around them through a visual representation. As is often said, a picture can be worth a thousand words. This visual representation allows participants to share and document the world around them using a powerful mode. The photovoice method is also effective for people from cultures where storytelling is a traditional method of conveying information, beliefs and values. The use of photovoice as a research method not only gives participants the opportunity to be listened to, but it can also foster trust and social support.

Our Pets and Our Health: A photovoice pilot study will be looking at the impact of pet ownership on the health of vulnerably housed and homeless people in Ottawa, Ontario through the lens of One Health. Our goal for this research is to understand the perception of pets among this population including what motivates pet ownership and the perceived benefits and costs of owning a pet.

This study will be conducted in partnership with Community Veterinary Outreach. This organization provides pro bono animal care to individuals that may not be able to access health care for their pets. Services include vaccinations, spay and neuter, and general check-ups. Additionally, services to enhance human health are also provided, including dental services, support for those living with HIV, and programs to assist with quitting smoking. For many individuals that use the Community Veterinary Outreach service, they would not otherwise be able to access these human health care services. In this way, the clinic embodies the One Health initiative, by directly linking the health of human owners with the health of their pets.

This study has implications to the One Health research as well as policies of organizations working with homeless and vulnerably housed individuals. Our research is further exploring the concept of zooeyia, and it could open doors for further partnerships between animal health and human health professionals. If the research findings support a link between human and animal health and welfare in this population, this could encourage policy changes in organizations working with these individuals. Some changes could include increasing the number of pet-friendly shelters and housing operations, as well as increasing access to affordable animal care. Organizations might also consider the use of animal assisted therapy for client support.

Sources:

Chalmers, Darlene & Dell, Colleen Anne. (2015). Applying One Health to the Study of Animal-Assisted Interventions. Ecohealth, 12(4), 560-562.

Dell, Colleen & Anna Belle. (2015). Questioning “Fluffy”: A Dog’s Eye View of Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI) in the Treatment of Substance Misuse. Subst Use Misuse, 50(0), 1148-1152.

Hodgson, Kate & Darling, Marcia. (2011). Zooeyia: An essential component of “One Health.”CVJ, 52, 198-191.

Kelly K.J. (2016). Photovoice Capturing American Indian Youths’ Dietary Perceptions and Sharing Behavior-Changing Implications. Social Marketing Quarterly. 23(1), 64-79.Jordan, Tyler & Lem, Michelle. (2014). One Health, One Welfare: Education in practice: Veterinary students’ experiences with Community Veterinary Outreach. CVJ, 50, 1203-1206.

Lem, Michelle, et al. (2013). Effect of Companion Animal Ownership among Canadian Street-involved Youth: A Qualitative Analysis. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 40(4), 285-304.

Wang, C.& Burris, M. (1997). Photovoice: Concept, methodology, and use for participatory needs assessment. Health Education and behavior. 24(3), 369-387.

Wang, C., Cash J.L, Powers L.S. (2000). Who Knows the Streets as Well as the Homeless? Promoting Personal and Community Action Through Photovoice. Health Promotion Practice. 1(1), 81-89.