SFU Health Sciences Undergraduate Journal

Research Report Interactive Game Intervention to Educate Youth Environmentalists about the Adverse Health Effects of Climate Change

Cary Choo — 2024-08-05

Healing In The Shadow Of Intergenerational Trauma

Rachelle Tri — 2024-08-05

This piece revolves around the topic of mental health, specifically my own experiences with anxiety, intergenerational trauma and my path to healing. Being raised by parents that suffer PTSD from fleeing a war-torn nation and moving to a foreign country, I hadn’t realized how negatively their untreated trauma affected me, until my anxiety started to manifest during my youth. I had a difficult time navigating my mental wellbeing and I didn't reach out for help, until I reached a breaking point during my senior year in highschool. After that event, I started my road to recovery. I reflected on my family's life and what led them to make the harmful choices they did. As I learn more about myself and my family, I'm learning how to forgive and lead a healthier and happier life while hoepfully deviating from the cycle.

My story is not only centered around my struggles with intergenerational trauma, but it also sheds light on my healing process. Furthermore, it underscores my belief that the younger generation in my family can break free from this vicious cycle and achieve a healthier mental health. Ultimately, I hope my piece serves as a source of inspiration, guiding others towards their own paths of healing and breaking free from the shackles of intergenerational trauma

People-Centric Approaches as A Requirement for Charity

gauri bhrigu — 2024-08-05

Needing and providing help is integral to the way we function as a society. This is how we bond, form relationships, and establish a sense of community. While this is seen as an inherent trait in society, our charities and other giving practices do not always reflect this. I believe that giving practices should be created on reciprocity, where the opinions and needs of the receiver inform how giving practices are structured. The need for building a system based on the pillars of equality and solidarity is essential, especially in a world where certain people’s needs are often not taken into consideration. This can take the form of simply respecting each other, taking a non-judgmental stance, or consulting people affected to inform decisions (Cameron et al, 2022). Therefore, in this paper, I will argue that consulting the needs of the recipients of aid is essential to good and effective aid.

No Kids, No Problem: Effects of Feminism on the Effective Population

Nabaa Radhi — 2024-08-05

Cocaine's Legacy in Western Dentistry

Megan Obermayer — 2024-09-15

Cocaine has long been used by different cultures for its psychoactive properties (Meyer & Quenzer, 2019); however, upon purification of the substance by German scientists, cocaine became widely used in medical and dental settings. Within dentistry, cocaine has been used both topically and as an intraoral injection (Calatayud & González, 2003; Meyer & Quenzer, 2019). However, unwanted side effects led to the development of cocaine analogues. This paper works to explore how cocaine became the first local anaesthetic in dentistry and how its powerful influence is still observed within the modern dental field.

The Development of Therapeutic Vaccines to Treat HPV-mediated Cervical Cancers

Emma Machuik — 2024-08-05

This literature review investigates the development of therapeutic vaccines to treat HPV-mediated cervical cancers. Specifically, HPV-16 targeting vaccines are reviewed. Vaccines are grouped by type: vector-based, DNA-based, synthetic plasmids, and long peptide vaccines. The review is based on study endpoints, tolerability, safety, and efficacy. Commonalities seen throughout all studies were the use of E6 and E7 proteins as targets, IFNy response measures, and regression as a marker of efficacy. Each vaccination against HPV-16 mediated cervical cancer showed tolerability and safety. However, they did not all show adequate efficacy. The two DNA/RNA-based vaccinations that showed the most promising results were VB10.16 and VGX-3100. This indicates that further research is needed within this field.

The Challenges of Hearing Disability and Age-Informed Citizen Science During COVID-19

Shruti Wani — 2024-08-05

The World Health Organization estimates that by 2040, one in every ten people will experience a hearing disability (World Health Organization, n.d.). In 2017, 3.6% of working adults and 12.2% of older adults in Canada had a form of hearing disability (Morris, 2017). Older adults are notably affected as hearing disabilities increase with age (Morris, 2017). The built environment creates barriers for those with hearing disabilities, especially in older adults (Kochtitzky, 2011). There is a lack of research examining the effects of the built environment on people with hearing disabilities (Davies et al., 2001; Prescott et al., 2020). Current research tools focus on objective, quantifiable measures of the built environment rather than the subjective perspectives of disability populations who use the built environment (Kan et al., 2020). Researchers often lack disability-specific knowledge when collaborating with disability populations (Kelly-Corless, 2020; McKee et al., 2012; Singleton et al., 2014). The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing environmental barriers for people with hearing disabilities and influenced the process of collaborative research (Tremblay et al., 2021). Future research on people with hearing disabilities and the built environment requires researchers to collaborate with the population of concern to ensure future changes are tailored to their needs.

Impacts of the built environment on public and paratransit accessibility among people with disabilities

Nazafarin Esfandiari — 2024-08-05

Internet-based Addictions and Holding Tech Companies Accountable

Gauri Bhrigu — 2024-08-05

In this digital age, being chronically online is easier than ever before. However, prolonged exposure to the Internet can lead to adverse health outcomes, including anxiety, depression, poor sleep, and psychological distress (Bhargava et al, 2021). In the last couple of years, with the rise in internet usage, we have seen how most mainstream apps have taken to having a shopping platform where users can buy and sell products. Since online shopping addictions and internet addictions are quite similar, we approach online shopping addictions as internet-based addictions (Nyrhinen et al, 2023). Thus, this paper intends to explore how prolonged internet use impacts both online shopping behaviors and health outcomes for users.

The Ethical Challenges of Volunteer Tourism in Orphanages: Nurturing Good Intentions or Harming Vulnerable Children?

Minh Thu Vo — 2024-08-05

National Pharmacare: An Rx for Change?

Jeannine Ho — 2024-08-05

In Canada, five national commissions have recommended national Pharmacare since its original contrivance in the 1960’s. Canada currently pays the third-highest costs for prescription medicine in the world, yet leaves one-fifth of Canadians struggling to pay for prescription medicine (Hoskins, E., 2019, p.7). In the current system, provincial and territorial governments carry the responsibility for funding and administering outpatient prescription drugs through a patchwork of both public and private insurance plans that vary considerably. Healthcare workers, politicians, pharmaceutical companies, and outspoken Canadians continue contentious debate both in favor and opposition of a national Pharmacare program. Despite potential financial challenges and implications associated with the introduction of a universal and single-payer Pharmacare program, the myriad of health and economic benefits and proposed budget solutions provide compelling support for the implementation of such a system.

The Effects of Aromatase Inhibitors and Growth Hormone Therapy on Early Puberty and Height

Nazanin Roughani — 2024-08-05

This study investigates the effectiveness of growth hormone (GH) therapy and aromatase inhibitors (AIs) in managing early puberty and promoting height growth in children aged 6-9 years. Participants are randomized into GH therapy, AIs, or placebo groups. The study's primary outcomes include assessing the delay in puberty onset and measuring height growth through standardized methodologies. The research aims to shed light on these treatments' potential benefits and comparative efficacy in addressing precocious puberty.