Papers by George Harrison
Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 2011
Climate change is arguably the biggest global health threat of the 21 st Century. 1 While the spr... more Climate change is arguably the biggest global health threat of the 21 st Century. 1 While the spread of vector-borne diseases and the health impacts of extreme weather events dominate discussions about health and climate change, there are also a range of other issues that are central to the health promotion community. Concerns such as food security; 2,3 mental health; 2,4,5 Indigenous health; 2 and water quality 2 are increasingly familiar. It is also undeniable that a shared vision of most health promoters to achieve environmental sustainability and to promote health equity is challenged by the threat of climate change. 6-8 Health professionals are well positioned to address this threat, but action needs to be swift and sustained.
ABA Banking Journal, 2001
The Limits to Governance, 2016
This work is dedicated to my family and friends that supported me through this process. To my mom... more This work is dedicated to my family and friends that supported me through this process. To my mom and dad, without you I would not even be here. To Joey, maybe it was your secret plan all along to convince me to pursue this Ph.D., or maybe it was brotherly competition, regardless, your encouragement helped me through this path in my life. No Question. I would like to thank Tony Kornhieser and crew's radio program for the much-needed smart and entertaining escapes from my dissertation process. To all my family and friends (especially Mima, John, G-G ma, Roly and the rest of the Janzen/Sprunger clan) your continued support undoubtedly helped me through this adventure, thank you. I especially dedicate this dissertation to my wife, Maybelle, without your never-ending support through the good times and bad times during this era of our lives I don't know if I would have finished. Thank you so much. To my children, Dylan Edward, Houston James and Evelyn June, whether you knew it or not, I didn't put up with you, you put up with me and I thank you for that. An additional thank you must be expressed towards my examining committee. Thank you for all of your time, comments and guidance. I hope to work with you in the future. A special thanks to Marvin Washington (my supervisor) and Stewart Peterson. I may not have been the prototypical Ph.D. student coming to the University of Alberta in the Fall of 2007, but you took a chance on me anyway and I truly appreciate that. My family and I thank you.
ECHAP : un projet pour identifier les possibilites de reduction de l’utilisation des fongicides e... more ECHAP : un projet pour identifier les possibilites de reduction de l’utilisation des fongicides en utilisant l’architecture des couverts. 45e Congres du Groupe Francais des Pesticides Devenir et impact des pesticides : verrous a lever et nouveaux enjeux
Journal of Migration and Health, 2021
Journal of Migration and Health, 2020
Background: Community participation in health responses in humanitarian crises is increasingly pr... more Background: Community participation in health responses in humanitarian crises is increasingly promoted by humanitarian actors to support adoption of measures that are relevant and effective to local needs. Our aim was to understand the role of community participation in humanitarian health responses for conflict-affected populations (including forcibly displaced populations) in low-and middle-income countries and the barriers and facilitators to community participation in healthcare responses. Methods: Using a systematic review methodology, following the PRISMA protocol, we searched four bibliographic databases for publications reporting peer-reviewed primary research. Studies were selected if they reported how conflict-affected populations were involved in healthcare responses in low-and middle-income settings, and associated changes in healthcare responses or health outcomes. We applied descriptive thematic synthesis and assessed study quality using study design-specific appraisal tools. Results: Of 18,247 records identified through the database searching, 18 studies met our inclusion criteria. Various types of community participation were observed, with participation mostly involved in implementing interventions rather than framing problems or designing solutions. Most studies on community participation focused on changes in health services (access, utilisation, quality), community acceptability and awareness, and ownership and sustainability. Key barriers and facilitators to community participation included political will at national and local level, ongoing armed conflict, financial and economic factors, socio-cultural dynamics of communities, design of humanitarian responses, health system factors, and health knowledge and beliefs. Included studies were of mixed quality and the overall strength of evidence was weak. More generally there was limited critical engagement with concepts of participation. Conclusion: This review highlights the need for more research on more meaningful community participation in healthcare responses in conflict-affected communities, particularly in framing problems and creating solutions. More robust research is also required linking community participation with longer-term individual and health system outcomes, and that critically engages in constructs of community participation.
The Limits to Governance, 2016
The European respiratory journal, 2018
The aim of the study was to explore trajectories of breathlessness intensity by function and life... more The aim of the study was to explore trajectories of breathlessness intensity by function and life-limiting illness diagnosis in the last 3 weeks of life in palliative care patients.A prospective, consecutive cohort study obtained point-of-care data of patients of Silver Chain Hospice Care Service (Perth, Australia) over the period 2011-2014 (n=6801; 51 494 data-points). Breathlessness intensity (0-10 numerical rating scale) and physical function (Australia-modified Karnofsky Performance Status (AKPS)) were measured at each visit. Time was anchored at death. Breathlessness trajectory was analysed by physical function and diagnosis using mixed effects regression.Mean±sd age was 71.5±15.1 years and 55.2% were male, most with cancer. The last recorded AKPS was >40 for 26.8%. Breathlessness was worst in people with cardiorespiratory disease and AKPS >40, and breathlessness in the last week of life increased most in this group (adjusted mean 2.92 all others 1.51; p=0.0001). The only...
PloS one, 2018
An estimated 32 million women and girls of reproductive age living in emergency situations, all o... more An estimated 32 million women and girls of reproductive age living in emergency situations, all of whom require sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services. This systematic review assessed the effect of SRH interventions, including the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) on a range of health outcomes from the onset of emergencies. We searched EMBASE, Global Health, MEDLINE and PsychINFO databases from January 1, 1980 to April 10, 2017. This review was registered with the PROSPERO database with identifier number CRD42017082102. We found 29 studies meet the inclusion criteria. We found high quality evidence to support the effectiveness of specific SRH interventions, such as home visits and peer-led educational and counselling, training of lower-level health care providers, community health workers (CHWs) to promote SRH services, a three-tiered network of health workers providing reproductive and maternal health services, integration of HIV and SRH services, and me...
BMJ global health, 2018
Women and girls are affected significantly in both sudden and slow-onset emergencies, and face mu... more Women and girls are affected significantly in both sudden and slow-onset emergencies, and face multiple sexual and reproductive health (SRH) challenges in humanitarian crises contexts. There are an estimated 26 million women and girls of reproductive age living in humanitarian crises settings, all of whom need access to SRH information and services. This systematic review aimed to assess the utilisation of services of SRH interventions from the onset of emergencies in low- and middle-income countries. We searched for both quantitative and qualitative studies in peer-reviewed journals across the following four databases: EMBASE, Global Health, MEDLINE and PsychINFO from 1 January 1980 to 10 April 2017. Primary outcomes of interest included self-reported use and/or confirmed use of the Minimum Initial Service Package services and abortion services. Two authors independently extracted and analysed data from published papers on the effect of SRH interventions on a range of SRH care util...
Conflict and health, 2017
The combination of global demographic changes and a growing number of humanitarian crises in midd... more The combination of global demographic changes and a growing number of humanitarian crises in middle-income countries that have a higher life expectancy has led to an increase in the number of older populations affected by humanitarian crises. The aim of this review was to systematically examine evidence on the health needs of older populations in humanitarian crises, including both armed conflicts and natural disasters, in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). A systematic review methodology was used. The search strategy used terms related to older populations and humanitarian crises in LMICs. Five bibliographic databases were used, along with relevant grey literature sources. Descriptive analysis was used, and a quality assessment conducted using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and CASP instruments. A total of 36 studies were eligible for review. The majority of the studies were cross-sectional, three were cohort studies, and four used qualitative methodologies. The main health outc...
Journal of Food Protection, 2007
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a commonly diagnosed disease characterized by gastrointestinal ... more Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a commonly diagnosed disease characterized by gastrointestinal symptoms that may be associated with psychological illness and emotional problems. The prevalence rate worldwide for IBS ranges from 10 to 20% and is higher for women than for men. IBS imposes a substantial financial burden on both patients and employers because of increased medical costs and decreased work productivity. Recent studies indicate that inflammatory processes involving the gastrointestinal tract are strongly correlated with IBS. Acute bacterial gastroenteritis has been linked with the onset of symptoms in approximately 15% of patients diagnosed with IBS; these cases have been called postinfectious IBS. Organisms commonly associated with postinfectious IBS include the foodborne pathogens Campylobacter, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Shigella. The pathologic changes associated with postinfectious IBS are likely due to inflammatory reactions induced by the infecting organism...
Lancet (London, England), Jan 7, 2017
Recognition of the need for evidence-based interventions to help to improve the effectiveness and... more Recognition of the need for evidence-based interventions to help to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian responses has been increasing. However, little is known about the breadth and quality of evidence on health interventions in humanitarian crises. We describe the findings of a systematic review with the aim of examining the quantity and quality of evidence on public health interventions in humanitarian crises to identify key research gaps. We identified 345 studies published between 1980 and 2014 that met our inclusion criteria. The quantity of evidence varied substantially by health topic, from communicable diseases (n=131), nutrition (n=77), to non-communicable diseases (n=8), and water, sanitation, and hygiene (n=6). We observed common study design and weaknesses in the methods, which substantially reduced the ability to determine causation and attribution of the interventions. Considering the major increase in health-related humanitarian activities in the ...
The Lancet. Infectious diseases, Feb 1, 2017
(16)30407-8. 3 Falzon D, Gandhi N, Migliori GB, et al; Collaborative Group for Meta-Analysis of I... more (16)30407-8. 3 Falzon D, Gandhi N, Migliori GB, et al; Collaborative Group for Meta-Analysis of Individual Patient Data in MDR-TB. Resistance to fl uoroquinolones and second-line injectable drugs: impact on multidrug-resistant TB outcomes.
Annual Survey of Massachusetts Law, 1969
Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA, Jan 3, 2016
Instability following non-operative treatment of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture in youn... more Instability following non-operative treatment of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture in young children frequently results in secondary chondral and/or meniscal injuries. Therefore, many contemporary surgeons advocate ACL reconstruction in these patients, despite the challenges posed by peri-articular physes and the high early failure rate. We report a novel management approach, comprising direct ACL repair reinforced by a temporary internal brace in three children. Two patients (aged 5 and 6 years) with complete proximal ACL ruptures and a third (aged seven) with an associated tibial spine avulsion underwent direct surgical repair, supplemented with an internal brace that was removed after 3 months. Second-look arthroscopy, examination and imaging at 3 months confirmed knee stability and complete ACL healing in all cases. Normal activities were resumed at 4 months, and excellent objective measures of function, without limb growth disturbance, were noted beyond 2 years. ACL repa...
International journal of public health, Jan 23, 2015
Humanitarian crises continue to pose a significant threat to health; the United Nations estimates... more Humanitarian crises continue to pose a significant threat to health; the United Nations estimates that 144 million people are directly affected by conflict or environmental disasters. During most humanitarian crises, surgical and rehabilitative interventions remain a priority. This review assessed the quality of evidence that informs injury and physical rehabilitation interventions in humanitarian crises. Peer-reviewed and grey literature sources were assessed in a systematic manner. Selected papers were evaluated using quality criteria based on a modified version of the STROBE protocol. 46 papers met the inclusion criteria. 63 % of the papers referred to situations of armed conflict, of which the Yugoslav Wars were the most studied crisis context. 59 % of the studies were published since the year 2000. However, only two studies were considered of a high quality. While there is now a greater emphasis on research in this sector, the volume of evidence remains inadequate given the gro...
Forestry Sciences, 1997
To address questions concerning the effects of naturally occurring or anthropogenically induced s... more To address questions concerning the effects of naturally occurring or anthropogenically induced spatial heterogeneity on forested stands and landscapes, it is necessary to couple spatially explicit simulators with georeferenced data. In this study, we quantified heterogeneity within a forested scene from central Maine by using edge detection algorithms designed for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery. A spatially extended forest gap model that incorporates a three-dimensional solar radiation routine was used to simulate forest stand productivity as a function of edge orientation. The model results were then scaled up to the landscape based on the extent of edge and edge orientations detected in the SAR scene. The estimated increase in productivity, as a function of light-mediated edge effects, averaged ≈26% to ≈4% at the pixel (12.1 × 12.1-m) and scene (≈3600-ha) scales, respectively, over a 120-yr period after the edge was created.
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Papers by George Harrison