Presentation title: Extreme heat and schizophrenia: A complex and risky combination
Date & time: Friday, March 27 from 12:30-1:30 PM (PST)
Location: Hybrid
- In-person: Room B151, School of Population and Public Health, 2206 East Mall, Vancouver
Lunch provided for in-person attendees. RSVP required (please respond by Monday, March 23 at 10 AM). If you have any dietary restrictions or food allergies, please email spph.execasst@ubc.ca. - Online: Zoom. Please register to receive the meeting link.
Register/RSVP: https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/Rr3UQIqHSFmxWrsM17u0eQ#/registration
Summary
The western North America extreme heat event in late June 2021 was one of the most intense temperature anomalies ever recorded, and it occurred when public attention was still focused on the COVID pandemic. The event was associated with an estimated 740 excess deaths across British Columbia (BC) over eight days, and 619 deaths were attributed to the extreme temperatures by the BC Coroners Service. Epidemiologic research conducted by the BC Centre for Disease (BCCDC) control rapidly identified schizophrenia as the primary health risk factor for mortality, which led to widespread focus on schizophrenia and extreme heat. This seminar will cover multiple studies led and supported by the BCCDC over the past five years, highlighting complex and overlapping risk factors among people with schizophrenia such as physiological and cognitive effects of the condition, healthcare use, medications, economic marginalization, and social isolation. The seminar will also discuss potentially protective interventions that can be implemented at different scales.
About the speakers
Environmental Health Services (EHS) at the BCCDC is mandated to conduct applied research to support evidence-based public health policy, programs, and practice in BC and across Canada.
Dr. Sarah Henderson is the Scientific Director of EHS and the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health (NCCEH), hosted by the BCCDC. She is also a partner-track professor in SPPH. Dr. Henderson oversees as broad program of applied research, surveillance, knowledge translation, and training aligned with the EHS and NCCEH mandates.
Shirley Chen is an Environmental Health and Knowledge Translation Scientist with EHS, and a PhD trainee in SPPH where her thesis research is focused on the health impacts of climate-related evacuations.
Rachel Zhao is an undergraduate computer science and statistics trainee with EHS, where she has been honing her skills in data science and technical communications.