“It’s critical that this requires cultural change — that just means in policy, in legislative incentives, in terms of giving breaks [to] workers and employees,” he told CBC News.

These programs prepare future health care professionals for exciting and rewarding careers in a variety of settings in health, social services, labour and education.

Students and faculty from all three programs will be on-site to answer questions as well as lead tours and manage displays.

The Open House is taking place Sunday, January 18, at the Bannatyne Campus, Brodie Centre at 727 McDermot Avenue from 12:30 – 3:00 p.m. All are welcome to attend.

“To see everything coming together, it’s so real. I want to thank everyone who has made this possible for me and my family,” said Michelle. “When I became a mother at 15 I didn’t think in 15 years I’d have the opportunity to be a homeowner.”

The exterior of the 864-square-foot bungalow was constructed at the University of Manitoba’s Bannatyne Campus in June. Over 100 volunteers signed-up for the 10-day build, which included staff, students, instructors and faculty members from the Colleges of: Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Rehabilitation Sciences.

What: Habitat for Humanity FHS Build Hope project Key Ceremony
When: Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014, 10 – 11:00 A.M.

The potential impact of this Habitat home for Michelle and her two children is humbling. “As a faculty that is centered on well-being, we know that housing is a social determinant of health and that the impact of inadequate housing can be far-reaching on families and children in particular,” said Dr. Brian Postl, Vice-Provost (Health Sciences) and Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba.

“We laid down the foundation for a safe and healthy home environment and put into action the core principal of social accountability important to all of us in the health care professions,” said the Dean, adding this was the first joint project for all Colleges within the newly integrated Faculty of Health Sciences.

“We live in a wonderful world because Michelle, a Habitat partner family will now have the opportunity to purchase her first home and will experience the pride of homeownership. The partnership between the Faculty of Health Sciences and Habitat for Humanity affords this privilege, and for that we are grateful”, said Sandy Hopkins, CEO Habitat for Humanity Manitoba.

What: Break the Silence: Raising Awareness about Mental Illness Stigma in Health Care
When: Thursday, October 30 from Noon – 1 p.m.
Where: Brodie Centre Atrium, 727 McDermot Ave., Bannatyne Campus, University of Manitoba

Presentations include:

• Welcome by Jane Burpee, Public Education Coordinator, Manitoba Schizophrenia Society
• A Personal Testimony: Living with Schizophrenia
• “1 in 5”: A 20 minute performance about living with the effects of mental illness

For more information contact Ilana Simon, Director of Communications & Marketing, College of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, 204-789-3427, (cell) 204-295-6777 or ilana.simon@med.umanitoba.ca

Kriellaars is a scientist of the Manitoba Institute of Child Health. His research is directed to physical literacy, physical activity, and obesity and he has been awarded national and international awards for scientific research and innovation. He works with Canadian Sport for Life, PHE Canada, the Sport Medicine and Science Council of Manitoba, Cirque du Soleil and the National Circus School, as well as the RCMP on community wellness initiatives.

What happens?

Two students come to your office, conduct a brief interview, observe you at work, take pictures of your set-up and complete a checklist.  The students write a summary of their findings with recommendations to improve your safety and comfort in the office environment.  You receive a copy of their report.

How long does the assessment take?

The students will be in your office for approximately 60 minutes

When does the assessment happen?

Tuesday, March 25, 2014 in the afternoon

If I am interested, but I am not available during these times, is that ok?

No, unfortunately the students’ timetable is very full and they can only complete the assessments on this date.

How much does this amazing service cost?

You won’t be charged a thing.

How do I find out more and sign up?

Please contact Leslie Johnson, Occupational Therapy Faculty, School of Medical Rehabilitation, Leslie.Johnson@med.umanitoba.ca, 204-789-3623.

One often hears that Olympic Games spur on a Nation to become more physically active. However, when looking at the relationship between the prevalence of obesity and Olympic performance one is led to a different conclusion.

Figure 1 below plots the prevalence of obesity and Olympic medals won by Canada at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games combined. This figure reveals little indication that Canada’s Olympic performance has inspired the population to become active. Some actually argue that sporting events such as Olympics have contributed to creating a spectator society which would seem to fit with the amount of time we spend in front of screens of one form or another. One need only to look at the local sports bar to view spectatorship in action, complete with over-­‐consumption of food and excessive consumption of alcohol.

 Figure 1. The prevalence of obesity (blue diamonds) and the combined summer and winter medal count (squares) is plotted annually.

The measured obesity prevalence was used to create a regression equation (y=0.4144x-­‐ 807.18, r=0.977) for estimation of prevalence of obesity values used in Figure 1. The measured obesity prevalence is listed in the table below and derived from the 2011 report entitled “Obesity in Canada: A joint report from the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Research”. The self-­‐reported data was ignored, as a strong systematic bias of under-­‐representing obesity is present.

The total medal count was obtained from the Wikipedia page.The summer and winter medals were summed per year up to 1992, after this the medal counts were combined in each quadrennial (as the winter and summer Olympics were offset by 2 years after 1992).

The strong association (r=0.88) between medal count and obesity is illustrated in the scatter plot below.

Figure 2. Scatterplot of the obesity prevalence and medal count between 1988 and 2012. The best fit line is shown.

Interestingly, this relationship persists back to the 1972 Olympics, but the strength somewhat weakens (r=0.7) due to an aberrant amount of medals for Canada at the LA Olympics (Figure 3). If the LA data is deleted, the r increases to 0.97 – an almost perfect relationship.

Figure 3. Obesity prevalence and Olympic medal count from 1972 to 2012. The LA Olympics had an aberrant increase in medals (48 medals). Best fit line shown including LA data.

Of interest, is the fact the increase in total medal count over the years can largely (almost entirely) be explained by the increase in the number of events at each Games (data not shown). In other words, we continue to get our fair share of medals. This further highlights the notion, that we are creating a highly disparate culture of the few that are active and an increasing majority that is inactive. Of course, an association between medal count and obesity does not indicate that it is a casual relationship, that “the Olympics is the cause of obesity”. It simply highlights that, despite continued Olympic success, this has not resulted in a reduction of obesity by spurring on a nation of people with active lifestyles. We are truly a spectator society.

About the author

Dean Kriellaars is a faculty member the Department of Physical Therapy. He is a scientist of the Manitoba Institute of Child Health. His research is directed to physical literacy, physical activity, and obesity. Dr. Kriellaars has been awarded national and international awards for scientific research and innovation. Dr. Kriellaars has received two University of Manitoba Presidential Outreach awards for meritorious community work, and recently was awarded the Campbell Award for longstanding community service. He was recently awarded the MPETA builder award for outstanding dedication and promotion of health and physical education in Manitoba. He works with Canadian Sport for Life, PHE Canada, the Sport Medicine and Science Council of Manitoba, Cirque du Soleil and the National Circus School, as well as the RCMP on community wellness initiatives.

In a story reported on CBC.ca, Kriellaars says that the paper is intended to spark discussion. It shows “how Canada’s medal counts and obesity rates among children and adults have coincidentally both increased since 1972,” the story notes.

“I’m a very strong advocate of high performance athletics and high performance artists,” Kriellaars said in an interview.

“I believe it’s an example of great things our society can do. I think we just have to focus much more on one of our big problems, which is the inactivity of our society.”

A research group from the School of Medical Rehabilitation (SMR) at the U of M has developed a video game based rehabilitation platform that provides therapy and outcome monitoring for people living with arthritis of the hands.

Nearly any object, utensil and/or body part can be changed to function exactly as a computer mouse by attaching the motion sensor. This smart device converts signals from miniature motion sensors to signals equivalent to that of a computer mouse.

Nearly any object, utensil and/or body part can be changed to function exactly as a computer mouse by attaching the motion sensor.

Multiple objects with varied sizes, shapes, weights and functional demands for precision can be used for exercise and to practice a variety of gross or fine motor skills – all the while having fun playing computer games. The data is then relayed back to Srikesavan and her team, where evaluations and recommendations are made.

The platform, recently highlighted in a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (CIHR–IMHA) publication titled Celebrating the impact of health research: success stories in arthritis, bone, muscle, musculoskeletal rehabilitation, oral health, and skin, aims to improve hand function in people with arthritis and, in doing so, restore some of the satisfactions of daily life.

Barbara Shay demonstrates the video game rehabilitation platform that provides therapy for people with arthritis, with Cynthia Swarnalatha Srikesavan and Tony Szturm.

Cynthia Swarnalatha Srikesavan, a PhD graduate student in the Applied Health Sciences Program at the U of M, says the platform and application developed by her team will have a unique and long-lasting impact on those living with the joint disorder.

“As it stands right now, there is currently no viable long-term home-based rehab program for people with arthritis of the hands. Typically, home-based programs are difficult to monitor, and often patients lose interest in the programs themselves,” explains Srikesavan.

“This technology is catered and individualized to each person’s preferences, so it remains fun and interesting. We can also monitor each individual session, which helps us evaluate each person’s progress.”

“This technology is catered and individualized to each person’s preferences, so it remains fun and interesting. We can also monitor each individual session, which helps us evaluate each person’s progress.”

The technology for the platform was first developed in 2006. SMR, along with the department of electrical & computer engineering, designed a device that could effectively replace a standard computer mouse when doing exercises to rehabilitate hand function.

According to Srikesavan, this technology will greatly benefit those living in rural and remote areas, where immediate accesses to rehab programs and specialists are limited at best. “Since we can customize the platforms and evaluate the data from a far, we can minimize the frequency of visits arthritis rehab patients make to see specialists, which benefits the rural populations.”