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- Title
Canadian healthcare providers need support to effectively counsel patients about wildfire smoke.
- Authors
LaBossiere, Ryan A.; Henderson, Sarah D.; Shellington, Erin M.; Phuong Nguyen; Caristen, Chris
- Abstract
Wildfire smoke events are increasing in frequency and severity in Canada. There is evidence that exposure to wildfire smoke has a wide range of health impacts, yet there are evidence gaps around the extent to which healthcare providers counsel people in their care about the risks of wildfire smoke, whether they have adequate knowledge on the associated health risks and protective interventions, and how they can be better supported in counselling patients has not been formally assessed. After surveying 51 healthcare providers in Williams Lake, British Columbia, we found that many healthcare providers who believe they should be counselling people on wildfire smoke are not doing so due to a perceived lack of knowledge about the health effects and protective measures. Further, they feel they do not have access to resources or educational opportunities that meet their needs. We recommend that practical clinical guidelines for counselling people on the risks of wildfire smoke be developed, along with educational resources for Canadian healthcare providers to bridge their knowledge gap.
- Subjects
BRITISH Columbia; ENVIRONMENTAL exposure prevention; PILOT projects; COUNSELING; PROFESSIONS; MEDICAL personnel; SMOKE; PSYCHOSOCIAL factors; QUESTIONNAIRES; HEALTH; INFORMATION resources; PATIENT education; MEDICAL practice; WILDFIRES
- Publication
University of Toronto Medical Journal, 2022, Vol 99, Issue 3, p21
- ISSN
0833-2207
- Publication type
Article