The Digital Therapist

Two Worlds of Medicine

How do you bring together two philosophies of medicine: Indigenous and Western? And is that even the right question to ask? We talk to two doctors who are re-imaging ways for Canada’s healthcare system to work better for Indigenous patients. They talk about their hard won successes and the challenges they faced along the way. Voices in this episode: Dr. Danièle Behn Smith, British Columbia’s Deputy Provincial Health Officer for Indigenous Health Dr. Barry Lavallee, CEO of Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin

Front and Centre: Filipino Healthcare Workers and COVID

Filipino migrants make up a critical portion of Canada’s healthcare workforce, as nurses and care aides. They also have one of the lowest average employment incomes among groups designated as visible minorities. Conditions such as low wages and precarious migrant status were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We examine what that crisis revealed about labour in Canada’s healthcare system. Voices in this episode: Dolie Anne Bulalakaw, assisted living worker Valerie Damasco, assistant professor of sociology at Trent University. Ethel Tungohan, associate professor of politics at York University

Uninsured: How Universal is Canada’s Healthcare System?

Hundreds of thousands of people are living in Canada without health coverage, according to one [https://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/health/now-is-the-time-improving-access-to-health-care-for-people-without-insurance/] estimate. So what happens when those people get sick, or hurt, or pregnant? We touch down at Doctors of the World’s Montreal clinic, to get an idea of what it’s like for migrants living in Canada without health insurance.   Voices in this episode: Penelope Boudreault, director of national operations and strategic development, Médecins du Monde Canada Thatiana Hernandez Dr. Baijayanta Mukhopadhyay, family doctor

The Inuit Battle Against TB

In the mid-twentieth century, Inuit diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) were taken from their communities and sent to sanitoriums in southern Canada. Many never returned, and their families never learned what happened to them. We explore this crisis and how this history has continued to affect those communities, and why even today, TB rates remain 300 times higher there than in the rest of Canada. Voices in this episode: Louassee Kuniliusee, tuberculosis survivor Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami Beatrice Ikkidlua, daughter of tuberculosis survivor

The Digital Therapist

Voices in this episode: Dalia Ahmed and Akanksha Shelat, two of the co-founders of the Mind-Easy app Dr. Nelson Shen, project scientist with the Digital Innovations Unit within the Centre for Complex Interventions at CAMH.This episode  Please note, this episode deals with issues regarding mental health and suicide. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, you can talk to someone at: https://talksuicide.ca/ or call 1.833.456.4566