EVENT DETAILS

Title: Climate Change Events, COVID, and Mental Health
Date: Thursday, March 25, 2021
Time: 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM PST
Location: Connect via Zoom here

The School of Population and Public Health (SPPH) welcome and invite those interested in the event to attend virtually.

ABSTRACT

Citizens in British Columbia (BC) are being impacted by multiple intersecting crises: the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, opioid crisis, and racism. Rural communities in BC are inequitably impacted by the same. The goal of this research is to better understand the mental health impacts of climate change events and COVID-19 to facilitate individual and community resilience. Data are being collected in three rural communities: Ashcroft, Burns Lake, and Keremeos via surveys and community consultations. Deliberative dialogues will then be held in each community to share the results and co-create recommendations for actions to foster resiliency. This presentation will provide preliminary results on the survey data.

 

SPEAKER

Dr. Nelly Oelke

Dr. Oelke graduated with her BScN at the University of Alberta. She received both her MN and PhD at the University of Calgary. Dr. Oelke has worked in a variety of areas in nursing practice (medicine, pediatrics, and public health) and nursing education. Prior to coming to UBC Okanagan she worked for the Health Systems and Workforce Research Unit with Alberta Health Services in applied research. She came to UBC Okanagan in 2011. As a health services researcher, her program of research focuses on integrated health systems with a specific focus in the area of primary health care. Specific interests include policy, interprofessional collaborative practice, primary health care teams, mental health and well-being and rural health.

Over the last 5 years she has completed a number of research projects in rural mental health, particularly in the southern interior of BC. With the increase in wildfires, flooding and drought and now COVID-19 there has been an increasing need to focus on the mental health of rural communities experiencing these challenges.

 

MODERATOR

Dr. Daniel Vigo

Dr. Daniel Vigo is an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia, jointly appointed at the Department of Psychiatry and the School of Population and Public Health.  After obtaining a Bachelor’s + Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, an MD, and a University Specialization in Psychiatry, Dr. Daniel Vigo worked in clinical, research, teaching, and leadership positions across sectors (public hospitals, NGOs, and for-profit organizations). He developed the first Assertive Community Treatment Department in Argentina, a collaboration between Proyecto Suma, King’s College (UK) and Columbia University (US). He obtained his Doctorate at Harvard, where he focused on burden of disease estimation, service improvement, and health systems assessment. He has published peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and reports on public health, health systems, global mental health, psychiatric epidemiology, psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, and e-mental health. Of note, his contribution to improving the estimation of the disease burden caused by mental illness is among the most impactful papers in the field of mental health in recent years. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia, a Lecturer at Harvard Medical School, an Advisor to PAHO and WHO, and Chair of the Health Services Workgroup of the WHO-World Mental Health Surveys Initiative, among other roles in organizations of national and global standing. Dr. Vigo leads several projects in BC, Canada, and globally, including on E-mental health for University Students, Needs-Based Planning for Mental and Substance Use Disorder Services, Care Options for People with Severe Substance Use Disorders at Imminent Risk of Death and Disability, Estimating Coverage and Quality of Care for Mental Disorders, and Estimating the Disease Burden of Mental Disorders.

Voices in Health: Future Events – Stay Tuned

The School of Population and Public Health is thrilled to announce a monthly speaker series for the 20/21 academic year called Voices in Health, featuring renowned public and global health experts.

Admission is free to faculty, students and staff.

All events will be held virtually now. Below are the upcoming sessions.

March: Nelly Oelke, University of British Columbia, Okanagan (UBC-O)

April: TBD

 

 

 

 

Past Events & Recordings

View the list of our past recordings uploaded on YouTube.