Promoting a physically active lifestyle in a fast-paced work environment, such as a call centre, requires creativity and a team effort, according to Sheila Renton, an occupational therapist and faculty member in NOSM’s Division of Clinical Sciences.

According to a recent study conducted by Renton, physical activity promotion in call centre workplaces may be particularly important.  Emerging evidence from other research has shown that prolonged and uninterrupted sitting may have negative effects on health even if counteracted by moderate-intensity physical activity at other times of the day.  The nature of work in call centres, however, poses some challenges due to scheduling and a fast pace.

Managers in ten of the twelve call centres operating in Sudbury at the time of the study participated in in-depth interviews designed to explore employers’ motivation to engage in physical activity promotion in the workplace.  Study participants were asked to describe what barriers exist for the promotion of physical activity in call centres and what help they need for the implementation of initiatives in their workplaces.

“I was pleased to learn that several local call centres currently have some practices in place designed to promote physical activity amongst their employees, such as posting information about the importance of exercise and negotiating corporate discounts at fitness facilities.  Some of the smaller call centres may need more assistance. The Sudbury Contact Centre Network could be a big help for sharing information and resources,” said Renton.

Managers involved in this study had generally positive responses to the Ontario government’s recommendations for physical activity promotion in the workplace as outlined in the 2004 Chief Medical Officer of Health Report: Healthy weights, Healthy lives.  Some of the participants felt they needed fresh ideas and guidance and some knew about the workplace wellness information available through the Sudbury & District Health Unit.  “There are many resources available to help workplaces promote physical activity.  Sometimes it’s just a matter of increasing awareness,” said Renton.

Although this study focused solely on the perspectives of managers, it will be important to include call centre workers in future research and in workplace wellness committees where employees engage in participatory planning alongside senior leaders. The findings were recently published in an international journal, Health Education Research.

Some studies suggest that people who work in primarily sedentary occupations are also more sedentary in their leisure activities than are employees who do more physically demanding jobs.

Undertaken by Renton as part of her Master of Public Health degree from Lakehead University, the study was completed under the supervision of Dr. Nancy Lightfoot with Dr. Marion Maar as committee member, both faculty members in NOSM’s Division of Human Sciences.

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Catherine Cervin as the new Associate Dean of NOSM’s Postgraduate Education portfolio, beginning October 1, 2011. “The Northern Ontario School of Medicine,” said NOSM Dean, Dr. Roger Strasser, “is pleased to have been successful in attracting a high-profile academic physician from a highly regarded Canadian medical school.”

Dr. Cervin, originally from Ontario, began her career practicing family medicine in the Northern Ontario communities of Timmins and Sault Ste. Marie for seven years before embarking on an academic career. From 1997 to 2007, Dr. Cervin facilitated the growth of the residency program from two community sites to five, as residency program director in the Department of Family Medicine at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. She also served as interim department head of Dalhousie Family Medicine from 2009 to 2010. As such, Dr. Cervin is familiar with the advantages and challenges of distributed residency programs.

Recognized by her peers and colleagues, Dr. Cervin received a Certificate of Merit from the Canadian Association of Medical Education in 2009 and also received an Award of Excellence from the College of Family Physicians in 2010. That same year, she completed her Masters of Medical Education.

NOSM’s Postgraduate Education portfolio is responsible for delivering, administering, and supporting residency training programs in Northern Ontario. The School offers residency training in eight major general specialties, as well as the Family Medicine Residents of the Canadian Shield (RoCS) program. The Associate Dean, Postgraduate Education, is responsible for the overall conduct and supervision of Postgraduate Education at NOSM. In addition, this role is accountable alongside the other Associate Deans for the achievement of academic and non-academic goals of the School.

“It is my great pleasure to welcome Dr. Catherine Cervin to her new position as the Associate Dean of Postgraduate Education at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine,” said Dr. Strasser. “Dr. Cervin’s interests are wide ranging and include social accountability, educating for comprehensive primary care, curriculum development, and cultural competency. She brings to the role a range of skills and experience that will contribute to the School’s vision of Innovative Education and Research for a Healthier North.”

Six medical students at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) have received NOSM Dean’s Summer Medical Student Research Awards, valued at $6,000 each. This is the sixth year that NOSM has awarded Summer Medical Student Awards to qualifying M.D. students.

NOSM Dean, Dr. Roger Strasser expressed enthusiasm about the opportunity these awards provide the School’s medical students. “Our future physicians are gaining valuable experiences in the field of research, often with exposure to investigations that are directly relevant to health issues impacting people in Northern Ontario. I extend warm congratulations to the student award recipients, and wish them success with their research.”

Student Research Projects 

The following research projects, carried out across Northern Ontario, provide medical students with the opportunity to conduct hands-on research on a broad range of biological and social research topics while working with an established NOSM researcher.

-Award recipient Sean Bryan’s project, entitled, Clinical significance of cathepsin L in diabetes, will be supervised by Dr. Neelam Khaper.

-Supervised by Dr. T.C. Tai, award recipient Matthew Piche’s project is entitled, Protective Effects of Polyphenolic Compounds on Cardiac Myocyte Viability Under Oxidative Stress Conditions.

-The research project, Using Simulation Modelling to Evaluate Strategies for Reducing the Length of Stay of CTAS 3 Patients in the Emergency Department, will be studied by award recipient David Savage under the guidance of Mr. Bruce Weaver.

-Award recipient Leah Scott, supervised by Drs. Geoffrey Hudson and Marion Maar, will work on a project entitled, A historic chart review of chronic illness on Manitoulin 1930-1950.

-Supervised by Dr. T.C. Tai, award recipient William Yates’ project is entitled, Regulation of Adrenaline Biosynthesis by Reactive Oxygen Species.

-Award recipient Pouya Sadeghi Aval, supervised by Dr. Marina Ulanova, will work on the project, Clinical characteristics and epidemiology of invasive Haemophilus influenzae disease in Northern Ontario in the post-Hib vaccine era.

Dr. Greg Ross, NOSM’s Associate Dean of Research, is also enthusiastic about the opportunities provided by the Dean’s Summer Medical Student Research Awards. “The Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s vision is Innovative Education and Research for a Healthier North. The Dean’s Summer Medical Student Research Awards enable our medical students to expand on their education by gaining important research experience.”

A Glimpse into a Summer Medical Student Research Project

One of the 2011 recipients of the Dean’s Summer Medical Student Research Awards is first-year NOSM medical student Pouya Sadeghi Aval. He will work on the project, Clinical characteristics and epidemiology of invasive Haemophilus influenzae disease in Northern Ontario in the post-Hib vaccine era, under the supervision of Dr. Marina Ulanova, an immunologist with NOSM’s Medical Sciences Division.

This project is a part of a large research program, which has been run during the last five years by Dr. Ulanova, in collaboration with NOSM’s Clinical Sciences faculty Drs. William McCready, Len Kelly, Saleem Malik, Malcolm Brigden, Dimitrios Vergidis, and Birubi Biman. Recent collaborative studies at NOSM found an increased incidence of invasive disease caused by Gram-negative bacterial pathogen Haemophilus influenzae Type A in Northern Ontario in 2002 to 2008. This disease is extremely uncommon and its high rate in the region was unexpected. Remarkably, among the patients with severe infections caused by this pathogen, there was a large prevalence of First Nations, as well as individuals with severe underlying conditions causing secondary immunodeficiency.

In collaboration with Drs. Garry Ferroni of NOSM, Raymond Tsang of National Microbiology Laboratory, and Frances Jamieson of Ontario Public Health Laboratories, Dr. Ulanova has recently addressed a question whether patients’ specific immune responses and characteristics of the pathogen could potentially explain the high susceptibility to the disease among Northern Ontario residents, and this research is in progress.

During this summer, Sadeghi Aval will be analyzing health records of all patients admitted to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre with infections caused by Haemophilus influenzae Type A during the last two years. Sadeghi Aval’s summer research project will help to understand what risk factors may predispose to this disease, and hence, what can be done to prevent the infection.

This research is a part of the national Canadian surveillance of invasive H. influenzae disease and will be an important contribution to this national program.