Health Sciences in the News

  • 2018 in Review: A year of discovery and impact

    December 20, 2018
    Guided by the four Signature Research Areas of the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS), researchers in FHS made a tremendous impact on defining health and on the health outcomes of people around the world over the past 12 months. Revisit the stories that made 2018 a year to remember.

  • Study shows inclusive primary care improves health outcomes

    December 19, 2018
    Co-led by Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing professor Marilyn Ford-Gilboe, a new study from the University of British Columbia and Western University shows that respectful, inclusive practices in primary care clinics can significantly improve the health of low-income, marginalized people who may have previously experienced trauma or discrimination in society.

  • Nursing professor listed among 2018 Newsmakers of the Year

    December 18, 2018
    Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing professor Abe Oudshoorn, a prominent voice for homeless and health-compromised Londoners, has been named a 2018 Western Newsmaker of the Year.

  • National Centre for Audiology showcases its leadership in the field

    December 03, 2018
    The November issue of Canadian Audiologist - the online magazine of the Canadian Academy of Audiology - featured a series of articles written by members of Western's National Centre for Audiology (NCA), which showcase the NCA's leadership in the field.

  • Brain, body linked to cardiovascular health

    November 26, 2018
    Kinesiology PhD candidate Nárlon C. Boa Sorte Silva and Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and Kinesiology professor Robert Petrella are researching the benefits of exercise for older adults with high blood pressure or hypertension.

  • SPACE study yields insights into physical activity of young children

    November 08, 2018
    With the goal of creating childcare environments that are supportive and encouraging of physical activity, a team of Western researchers are investigating ways to increase the activity behaviours of young children in these settings.

  • Severe breastfeeding pain can impact infant health

    October 30, 2018
    A new study, co-authored by Nursing and Health Studies researchers at Western, has discovered that breastfeeding pain experienced by new mothers is often severe and could have health implications for the feeding child.

  • $1.5 million gift honours pioneer of Special Olympics

    October 24, 2018
    The Faculty of Health Sciences is ‘carrying the torch’ that Special Olympics pioneer Frank Hayden lit so many years ago as it celebrates a $1.5-million donation for research into how sports benefits people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

  • Achieving the Extraordinary

    October 19, 2018
    Thanks to the generosity of our alumni, friends, faculty, staff, students, and volunteers, Western has raised more than $805 million, including more than $20 million for the Faculty of Health Sciences.

  • Physical activity throughout pregnancy enhances physical and mental health

    October 18, 2018
    Physical activity is a critical component of achieving a healthy pregnancy according to a new evidence-based pregnancy & physical activity guideline, co-led by Western University Kinesiology professor Michelle Mottola.

  • Symposium to focus on impact of sport on society

    October 04, 2018
    An elite lineup of athletes, officials and academics will come together this week to provide an in-depth discussion on the milestones, events and people that have shaped human rights in Canada with respect to four areas of sport – Gender equity, Parasport, Indigenous/Aboriginal; and Doping.

  • Study: Authentic leaders can address workplace bullying

    October 04, 2018
    Western Nursing PhD student Edmund Walsh’s latest research has identified possible strategies to address bullying in the nursing profession, as well as potential policy changes in the hiring, training and evaluation of managers.

  • New study shows that familiar voices are easier to understand

    October 01, 2018
    A new study, led by Communication Sciences and Disorders professor Ingrid Johnsrude, shows that familiar voices are easier to understand even if a person doesn’t recognize them as familiar. The findings were published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

  • Study shows wellness app and 'loyalty points' fuel physical activity

    September 20, 2018
    A new study led by Western University Kinesiology professor Marc Mitchell shows that relatively small financial incentives – as little as pennies a day – and goal setting can increase physical activity.

  • Celebrated innovation aids patients in swallowing

    September 14, 2018
    Communication Sciences and Disorders professor Ruth Martin, whose invention - Abilex - helps exercise and strengthen the jaw, tongue and mouth for people who have difficulty swallowing or speaking, has been recognized by WORLDiscoveries with its Innovator of the Year Award.

  • Nursing professor's 'brilliant approach' to homelessness earns federal grant

    September 11, 2018
    A research project aimed at preventing homelessness before it starts has landed Nursing professor Cheryl Forchuk a grant from the federal government to help people who are discharged from medical wards.

  • Seniors' simple falls prompt costly paramedic visits

    September 07, 2018
    New research led by Health Studies professor Aleksandra Zecevic shows that London-area paramedics are spending at least a month's worth of time each year literally picking up seniors who have called emergency services for help in getting up after a fall.

  • Scollie tapped to lead National Centre for Audiology

    August 21, 2018
    Communication Sciences and Disorders professor Susan Scollie took the helm of Western’s National Centre for Audiology (NCA) this summer. She followed Prudy Allen, who served as director for 13 years, to the role.

  • Study: 'Sound' differences between age groups

    August 21, 2018
    Ingrid Johnsrude, Western Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience, and her collaborator Björn Herrmann, a BrainsCAN Postdoctoral Scholar, examined the auditory cortex responses of participants in their 20s and 60s. What they found was differences in responses to soft and loud sounds. The findings were published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

  • Exercising while attempting to quit smoking can combat weight gain

    July 24, 2018
    According to research out of Western's Exercise and Health Psychology Laboratory, women interested in quitting smoking, who are worried about post-cessation weight gain, can combat the weight gain side effect by incorporating exercise into their quitting attempt. Watch more courtesy of CTV News to learn about the work of Kinesiology professor Harry Prapavessis and PhD student Scott Rollo.

  • 'Recovered' concussed athletes returning to play too soon

    July 05, 2018
    According to research conducted by professors in the School of Kinesiology, doctors who give student-athletes the ‘all clear’ to return to play following a concussion may be under-estimating the lingering cognitive impairment that persists.

  • Collaborative grant backs work offering tremor relief

    June 27, 2018
    Physical Therapy professor and Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences Jayne Garland is collaborating with colleagues from the Faculty of Engineering and Intronix Technologies to investigate the creation of a wearable device that assists the suppression of tremors in Parkinson's patients.

  • Nursing faculty member earns prestigious teaching award

    May 23, 2018
    Barbara Sinclair, the Coordinator for Simulated Clinical Education in the Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, was recently honoured by the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education with the 2018 D2L Innovation Award in Teaching and Learning.

  • Helping divert families from homelessness

    May 08, 2018
    A pilot project, led by Nursing professor Cheryl Forchuk and aimed at keeping families at risk of homelessness off of the streets, is showing promising results thanks to diversion efforts that appear to be an effective measure at combatting the issue long-term.

  • Deb Lucy, Physical Therapy professor, passes away at 69

    May 01, 2018
    Surrounded by her family, Dr. Deborah (Deb) Lucy, associate professor in the School of Physical Therapy, passed away on Saturday, April 28, 2018, after a brief illness.

  • Providing incentives for physical activity can lead to healthier decision making

    April 25, 2018
    Kinesiology professor Marc Mitchell is part of a team that has developed a mobile app that provides small financial rewards to users for participating in physical activity and motivates user to make healthy lifestyle choices.

  • Apples vs. Doctors: Using exercise and lifestyle prescriptions to improve health outcomes

    April 25, 2018
    Kinesiology graduate student Taniya Nagpal delivered a Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) about her research on exercise and lifestyle and placed second in Western's annual 3MT competition.

  • Proposing cutting-edged solutions to combat health inequities

    April 18, 2018
    Health Studies students Erik Elliott, Leah Marsot-Shiffman, Cameron Feil and Dory Abelman developed the winning idea in the annual Health Studies Students' Association Health Care Challenge, which tasks students with coming up with innovative ways to build resilient health systems in Canada and beyond.

  • Breaking the uncomfortable silence

    April 05, 2018
    An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Western, including members from the Faculty of Health Sciences, is using education to prevent domestic violence from impacting people like Dawn and Ed Novak.

  • Berman and Cardy earn prestigious awards recognizing scholarly activities

    March 27, 2018
    Nursing professor Helene Berman and Communication Sciences and Disorders professor Janis Cardy were recently recognized with two of Western's most prestigious awards recognizing research and teaching.

  • Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging develops new fitness opportunities for older adults

    March 27, 2018
    Western University’s Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging (CCAA), in consultation with London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), is pleased to have developed new fitness opportunities at the CCAA as a meaningful option for members of LHSC’s Cardiac Fitness Institute (CFI), which is slated to close on April 27, 2018.

  • Research examines causes and risk factors related to 131 cycling deaths in Ontario

    March 22, 2018
    Health and Rehabilitation Sciences PhD candidate Rebecca Henderson, and professors Jacob Shelley and Andrew Johnson, spent about two years evaluating pre-emptive causes and risk factors related to 131 reported cycling deaths in Ontario between 2010 and 2015.

  • Health Sciences members earn four Western Teaching Awards

    March 16, 2018
    Western's University Awards for Excellence in Teaching are the institution's highest honours for inspiring active and deep learning in students and members of the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) were presented with four of the eight awards handed out in 2018.

  • New study shows that cigarette enjoyment isn’t enhanced during exercise-aided quit attempt

    March 14, 2018
    A new study from Western Kinesiology professor Harry Prapavessis confirms that exercise is an excellent 'gateway' behaviour for setting a smoker up both mentally and physically to quit the highly-addictive habit.

  • OUTSIDE THE GATES: Bringing activism to the community

    March 08, 2018
    Western Nursing professor Abe Oudshoorn’s connection with the London Homeless Coalition has allowed him to advise, shape, and coordinate community responses to homelessness in London.

  • Wise Words program helping bring child literacy to the community

    March 08, 2018
    Communication Sciences and Disorders professor Lisa Archibald is leading an initiative at Western's Child and Youth Development Clinic that is teaching children the logic of the English language and how to make meaningful connections between related words and their spellings.

  • Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging helping seniors maximize independence

    March 08, 2018
    Programs offered through Western's Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging help members of the community minimize chronic disease and maximize physical function, independence and life expectancy.

  • On Thin Ice: Sheldon's Story

    February 16, 2018
    A group of Western scientists, including members from the Faculty of Health Sciences, are at the forefront of discoveries related to concussions and are working to help those who experience a concussion return to, and fully experience daily life.

  • New chair sees health literacy as social justice issue

    February 15, 2018
    Nursing professor Lorie Donelle, whose research addresses issues of health literacy, social justice and digital health, is the new Arthur Labatt Family Chair in Nursing at Western.

  • Russian doping about more than one Olympic Games

    February 15, 2018
    Kinesiology PhD student Mikael Gonsalves shares his views on the Russian Olympic doping scandal that has dominated headlines leading up to and during the 2018 Pyeonchang Olympic Games.

  • Tour answers physio's questions, raises more

    February 09, 2018
    School of Physical Therapy professor Dave Walton hopes the good, bad and the ugly he gleaned from more than 150 physiotherapy clinicians, clients and administrators will have an impact on the practice of physiotherapy in Canada and internationally.

  • Early help at shelters cuts homelessness, study finds

    February 06, 2018
    A new study led by Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing professor Cheryl Forchuk found that catching families just before they head to an emergency shelter - and providing them some intensive help - prevented most from falling into homelessness over the long term.

  • Study shows massive scope of persistent pain experienced by firefighters

    February 01, 2018
    A recently released study by Physical Therapy professor Joy MacDermid is providing an eye-opening look into how physical pain and discomfort have become a way of life for many firefighters across the country.

  • Overdose prevention a key local health tool

    February 01, 2018
    Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing professor Abe Oudshoorn said plans for a permanent supervised-injection site in London – also dubbed an overdose prevention site – is essential for the city in fostering health and preventing overdose deaths.

  • Research project is a sound collaboration

    January 25, 2018
    A new collaboration is bringing together researchers from across Western, with the goal of changing how people hear the world around them.

  • Astronauts’ circulation woes can cue better health for all

    January 19, 2018
    Kevin Shoemaker, Associate Dean of Research in the Faculty of Health Sciences, examined how the lack of gravity for astronauts affects normal circulation and distribution of blood inside the body, and the problems it can cause when they return to Earth. Some of his finding could prevent falls among frail elderly people.

  • Against the Dying Light

    January 16, 2018
    At Western, researchers are working across the spectrum of dementias - from the cellular level, to caregiver support to big questions about end of life. Discover how Western is tackling a disease that could costs the Canadian health-care system more than $16 billion by 2031.

  • Standing up for your health

    January 16, 2018
    Sedentary Canadians can put their prolonged chair-sitting days behind them with a few simple, strategic behavioural changes, says a new study by Western University researchers.

  • How to build better nurses, through smarter tech

    January 15, 2018
    Nursing professor Richard Booth believes introducing greater technology into health care – even robot nurses – is not an ‘if’ but a ‘when.’ He is looking to bring this new technology and nursing students together with the creation of an intelligent, assistive technology home-of-the-future for older adults, to be built in a simulation lab in the School of Nursing.