Background
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The University of Ottawa established the R. Samuel McLaughlin
Centre for Population Health Risk Assessment within the Institute
of Population Health in 2001. The goal of the Centre has been
to establish itself as a leading international research centre in population
health risk studies, through the development of a unique academic program
of research and training in risk studies. This is a field that continues
to be underdeveloped in Canada, and the University of Ottawa has been
well-positioned to assume a leadership role in this area.
Risks to population health are of concern to all Canadians. As in other
developed countries, the health status of Canadians has improved steadily
since the turn of the century, with aggregate indicators of health such
as life expectancy continuing to demonstrate progress. These gains |
have
been due to public health practices such as sanitation of drinking water
supplies; to major technological advances in health care, including disease
diagnosis and treatment; to successes in controlling vaccine preventable
disease; and to the identification and control of microbiological radiological,
and chemical hazards present in the environment
Scientific advances have provided us with the technical capacity to identify
previously unsuspected risks to health. In the 1950s, advances in analytical
chemistry permitted the identification of aflatoxin B, one of the most
potent chemical carcinogens known, in peanut butter. More recently, dioxins
have been found and virtually eliminated from a number of paper products,
including those coming into contact with food. Radon gas, which is naturally
released from all rocks and soils and consequently found in small concentrations
in all homes in Canada, was unknown in the 1970s but is now considered
the second leading cause of lung cancer after tobacco smoking. It is
safe to assume that scientific tools such as molecular and genetic epidemiology
will continue to identify new health risks that will demand attention.
Socio-economic factors and personal practices commonly act as mediators
between environmental and genetic factors, and health status. The association
between poverty and ill-health is universal, and underscores the need
to address inequities in population health due to economic disparities
in the Canadian population. Social circumstances influence health behaviours;
despite extensive efforts to reduce tobacco consumption, cigarette smoking
remains the single most important preventable cause of premature mortality
in Canada. Interventions to modify health-related behaviors pose substantive
societal questions requiring a balance between individual rights and
the social good.Recognizing the broad range of determinants of population
health risk, the University of Ottawa has undertaken a major initiative
in population health. A key component of this initiative was the creation
of a Centre for Population Health Risk Assessment which now focuses on
the assessment and management of risks to the health of Canadians. Located
within the Institute of Population Health at the University of Ottawa,
the Centre for Population Health Risk Assessment provides a focal point
for health risk studies in the National Capital Region. Unique in Canada,
the Centre serves as a leading international research centre in the field
of population health risk studies, thereby promoting cost-effective risk
management decision making.
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