Join Nandita and Mila in Episode 32 as they discuss what palliative care is, the importance of quality of life and misconceptions associated with palliative care with our guest expert, Dr. Joyce Cheung. 

Dr Joyce Cheung is a Family Medicine and Palliative Care physician based in Toronto, Ontario. She is the current Chair of the Section of Palliative Medicine at the Ontario Medical Association, and an Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster University and Toronto Metropolitan University School of Medicine. 

Main topics:

- What is Palliative Care?

- Common misconceptions

- Importance of Quality of Life

- Role of a caregiver

- Canadian Policies and Insurance

Resources: https://www.virtualhospice.ca/en_US/Main+Site+Navigation/Home.aspx

https://www.hpco.ca/https://www.advancecareplanning.ca

https://www.advancecareplanningontario.ca

New year, new goals… but why do so many resolutions fade by February? 🤔 In this episode of Healthy & Litty, Nandita and Mila break down the science behind habit formation and why motivation alone is not enough to create lasting change.

Using evidence-based research, we explore how habits form through neuroplasticity, how the brain responds differently to short-term rewards versus long-term goals, and why dopamine is more about anticipation than effort 🎯. We also debunk the “21-day habit” myth and explain what research actually shows about how long habits take to stick ⏳.

Finally, we discuss how stress, sleep, and emotional regulation impact self-control and decision-making, and what this means for building realistic, sustainable goals 🛌🧘‍♀️.

Whether you are a student, healthcare provider, or simply working toward healthier habits, this episode offers science-backed insights to help your goals last beyond January 💚🎙️

Resources & Research Referenced 📚🔍

Habit Formation & Motivation

• Ravel S, et al. (2018). Dopamine and motivation. Trends in Neurosciences. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2018.10.001

• Additional foundational work: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-9568.2006.04905.x

Stress, Sleep & Emotional Regulation

• Arnsten AFT. (2009). Stress signalling pathways and the prefrontal cortex. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(6), 410–422.

• Shields GS, et al. (2017). Effects of acute stress on executive function. Psychological Bulletin, 143(6), 636–675.

• Ding X, et al. (2020). Sleep quality and self-control. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 607548.

• Palmer CA, Alfano CA. (2017). Sleep and emotion regulation. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 11(12).

• Gross JJ. (2015). Emotion regulation: Current status and future prospects. Psychological Inquiry, 26(1), 1–26.

• Pruessner JC, et al. (2022). Stress regulation and resilience. IJERPH, 19(13), 7621.

  
  

  Habit Formation & Motivation

  • Ravel S, et al. (2018). Dopamine and motivation. Trends in Neurosciences. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2018.10.001

  • Additional foundational work: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-9568.2006.04905.x

  Stress, Sleep & Emotional Regulation

  • Arnsten AFT. (2009). Stress signalling pathways and the prefrontal cortex. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(6), 410–422.

  • Shields GS, et al. (2017). Effects of acute stress on executive function. Psychological Bulletin, 143(6), 636–675.

  • Ding X, et al. (2020). Sleep quality and self-control. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 607548.

  • Palmer CA, Alfano CA. (2017). Sleep and emotion regulation. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 11(12).

  • Gross JJ. (2015). Emotion regulation: Current status and future prospects. Psychological Inquiry, 26(1), 1–26.

  • Pruessner JC, et al. (2022). Stress regulation and resilience. IJERPH, 19(13), 7621.

Join Mila and Nandita in Episode 30 as they break down what a family doctor really does and why primary care matters. In this episode, they are joined by special guest Dr. Christopher Haddad, a PGY-1 Family Medicine Resident at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), who is focused on the critical intersection of primary care, patient advocacy, and medical education.

With over seven years of clinical experience across community and academic settings, Dr. Haddad brings a strong foundation in patient-centred medicine, health-system quality improvement, and the application of evidence-based practice.

Together, they discuss the role of a family doctor, what appointments typically look like, and the behind-the-scenes realities of family medicine. The episode wraps up with an insight of what's covered at a visit to the family doctors under OHIP.

Please note that a video version of the episode will also be uploaded.

In this episode, we discuss healthy aging and how to care for older adults with Dr. Alessandra Palombo.

Main Topics:

- Dr. Palombo's journey in family medicine and senior care

- Barriers to accessing memory and aging services

- What healthy aging really means (mobility, cognition, independence, connection)

- Myths about aging and what's actually preventable

- Daily habits in your 20s-40s that protect long-term brain health

- How families can support seniors while preserving autonomy

- Community programs that help seniors age safely at home

- The role of technology in improving senior care and reducing isolation

In episode 28, we chat about social prescribing in the Canadian healthcare system with Dr. Nicole D'Souza, a health systems researcher.

In this episode, we discuss navigating homelessness in the healthcare system with Fred Ellerington, a homeless outreach counsellor.

Resources:

-https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/9790-street-needs-assessment-report-2024.pdf -https://housing-infrastructure.canada.ca/homelessness-sans-abri/resources-ressources/housing-first-logement-abord-eng.html 

In episode 26, Mila and Nandita discuss with Dr. Ripudaman Minhas the impact social media has on children's health literacy.

Resources:

-https://kidshealthnetwork.org/ -https://www.cma.ca/healthcare-for-real

-https://healthydebate.ca/2025/01/topic/health-misinformation-marginalized-communities/

-https://www.cma.ca/healthcare-for-real/how-does-health-misinformation-spread

In this episode of Health and Litty, we delve into how DNA works, where it comes from, why it matters, and how one blurry X-ray photo changed everything.

Join Mila and Nandita as they explore define burnout, how it manifests and ways to cope with it. We obtained information from a poster we created in our capstone course: 10.13140/RG.2.2.35050.84164

Deliverables: https://gecoxcel.weebly.com/deliverables.html

In episode 23, join Mila and Nandita, as they divide into analyzing the primary care access statistics for 2024 on the Canadian Institute for Health Information  website (https://www.cihi.ca/en).

Virtual Care Resources

Ontario: https://health811.ontario.ca/static/guest/home

https://www.ontariohealth.ca/providing-health-care/clinical-resources-education/virtual-care-resources