Just Medicine

We’re back!

This is the third episode of our podcast series on Food Security and the Gut Microbiome where we continue to discuss the critical overlap of healthcare, community, and connection. We’re grateful to speak with Dr. Morgan Lindsay, a dedicated family physician practicing in British Columbia. 

In this interview, we examine the perspective of both providers and patients that have been historically underserved. Dr. Lindsay shares valuable insights on the importance of maintaining representation of Indigenous people within the healthcare system, as care providers. We also ask deeper questions about why a patient might be considered ‘vulnerable,’ and look beyond the exam room to understand how addressing the social determinants of health can guide more effective advocacy within systems that often perpetuate these inequities.

Finally, we revisit the important topic of food and diet, with a focus on the power of connection. Dr. Lindsay discusses how colonization has disrupted Indigenous peoples’ relationships with their traditional lands and communities, leading to numerous health challenges, and how restoring these connections is key to healing.

If you haven't listened to our other two episodes yet and you’re interested to learn more, I highly recommend you go check them out!

Welcome back to Just Medicine! 

This week, we continue a podcast series that explores the intersections of diet, food security and the gut microbiome, especially for Indigenous folks. 

In our previous episode of the series, we established a fantastic background on the importance of foods and food systems in Indigenous communities, as well as how diets are changing through time. We also discussed some of the adverse health and social outcomes that have disproportionately affected Indigenous communities through generations since colonization. 

In this episode, we’re having a conversation with Dr. Estello Nap Hill, a gastroenterology fellow who attended UBC medical school, with specific expertise in the gut microbiome. He speaks to the composition and factors that shape the gut microbiome, how the gut microbiome impacts health, and how microbes in more traditional hunter/gatherer diets differ from Westernized diets. He shares his clinical and research expertise on the topics to emphasize the importance of food to overall health and wellbeing from a medical standpoint.

Welcome back to Just Medicine!

This week, we begin a podcast series that explores the intersections of diet, food security, and the gut microbiome, especially for Indigenous folks.

In this four part series, Kennedy Graham (UBC MSI 1) speaks to experts to call attention to how colonialism has impacted diet in many Indigenous communities; explore diet’s role in creating and influencing the gut microbiome; highlight existing advocacy projects and approaches that address issues created by colonial practices; and share actionable steps for listeners, towards health equity and cultural preservation in the context of food and land systems for Indigenous communities. 

In this first episode, we are honoured to be joined by Jessie Newman, an Indigenous Health Dietician doing both systems and community work on Vancouver Island. We discuss her journey to becoming an Indigenous Health Dietician, as well as systemic and historical causes of food insecurity among Indigenous populations. We address barriers to food sovereignty such as geographic isolation, colonial policy that disrupts intergenerational knowledge transfer on land and food practices, and lack of access to traditional foods. Jessie also speaks to two projects she created, related to diabetes support and knowledge sharing. 

We are back with another episode! In this podcast, I spoke with Bryan Becker, who is presently working in peer support at the RAAC clinic at St.Pauls Hospital. RAAC stands for rapid access addiction clinic: this service provides addiction medicine assessments for any substance use issue, including alcohol. It serves to maximize treatment support for clients, provide training and distribution of Take Home Naloxone, offer harm reduction services and to facilitate referrals to substance use services. Support Workers like Bryan are individuals with lived experience of mental illness or substance use who have graduated from a Peer Support Worker Training Program. These individuals work on a contracted basis under the supervision of Rehabilitation staff with clients who access Vancouver Mental Health and Substance Use programs and services. On his own time, Bryan enjoys BMX, the beach, 3rd Beach drum circle, movies, reading and helping others.

I am so honoured to have had the chance to speak with Bryan, and I hope everyone listening takes away as much as I did from the stories and advice that he shares.

We're back! In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Althea Hayden, a medical health officer, Ranjit Lehal, a family nurse practitioner, and Dr. Mei-ling Wiedmeyer, a clinician scientist. From navigating cultural barriers to understanding specific health needs, this week's inspiring guests share their insights and experiences in providing and developing accessible health care for refugee patients. Tune in as we explore community resources and the importance of advocacy in delivering equitable health care for refugee patients.

We are back with another episode! I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Elise Jackson, who recently completed her Addictions Medicine Fellowship following an internal medicine residency at UBC. We speak about the protocols surrounding substance use while in hospital, as well as how the importance of hospitalization as a touchpoint for future care coordination. We also delve into the personal difficulties physicians and other HCP can face while caring for populations with complex needs.

Welcome back to Just Medicine! In this episode, I spoke with Dr. Michael Etowa, a post-doctoral research fellow at the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing at Toronto Metropolitan University and an associate scientist at the HIV Treatment Network in Ontario. Dr. Etowa's research on HIV vulnerability and resilience in the black community fueled a truly enriching discussion about the social determinants of health, health literacy, and community-based interventions for marginalized populations. Conversations such as this serve as a reminder of the importance of taking an active role in healthcare to serve those who are often underserved, overlooked, and ultimately more vulnerable to poorer outcomes.

We are back again with another episode! I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Victoria Weaver, one of the only dual infectious diseases and addictions medicine specialists in Canada. She shares her insights on the treatment of infectious diseases in patients with concurrent substance use. In particular, we discussed the challenges that arise in ID treatment, disease severity and continuity of care. Additionally, we delved into the ethical dilemmas that often arise in this line of work and the importance of multidisciplinary healthcare teams to this specific population.

Welcome back, everyone! This week's episode focuses on Refugee Health by highlighting a remarkable medical student-led initiative called the Refugee Health Initiative (RHI).

I had the pleasure of speaking with Nikola Deretic, a third-year medical student at the University of British Columbia and the current co-president of the Refugee Health Initiative. Nikola delves into the RHI's work to engage and support refugee families in Greater Vancouver with the aid of medical students, language interpreters, and other community organizations.

It was truly a meaningful conversation about advocacy and dismantling barriers in health care.

To explore the details of the initiative and learn more about Refugee care in BC, check out these websites:https://globalhealth.med.ubc.ca/service/student-groups/refugee-health-initiati

https://bcrefugeehub.ca/

We are back again with another episode! I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Mary Kestler, an infectious diseases specialist with particular expertise in HIV, TB, Global Health and Tropical Medicine. She shares her insights on HIV care in urban settings, amidst their unique challenges and opportunities. We also delve into the intersection of HIV care with substance use, gender, and sexual orientation, as well as the social stigmatization that can affect these marginalized groups.