If you ever wanted to be a part of history, this is your chance! The Museum of Health Care at Kingston is issuing a nation-wide call, urging all Canadians to share their personal COVID-19 stories in an effort to lay the foundation for a future COVID-19 Collection at the Museum. … More Museum of Health Care calls for personal stories from Canadians affected by COVID-19
As the days turned to weeks and weeks into months the hallowed emails reading “in these unprecedented times” grew to become the norm. But, besides what we, individually, remember about those first few “unprecedented” weeks, what have been the most important markers in the pandemic for Canadians? … More COVID-19 In Canada: A Timeline
Apply knowledge of bacterial and viral infections, and demonstrate how immunization can effectively limit the spread of illness and contribute to overall community safety. Learn of ongoing healthcare issues including the spread of vaccine misinformation, and critically analyze health claims using substantiated evidence. … More Activities at Home #4: Infection Inspection (Grades 7-8)
Apply knowledge of bacterial and viral infections, and demonstrate how immunization can effectively limit the spread of illness and contribute to overall community safety. Learn of ongoing healthcare issues including the spread of vaccine misinformation, and critically analyze health claims using substantiated evidence. … More Activities at Home #4: Infection Inspection (Grades 9-11)
Back in the late 1800s, a time where saying yes to drugs might have actually been encouraged, patent medicines promised wild and wonderful cures. These medicines, as opposed to those prescribed by a doctor, were loosely regulated; leading to extravagant claims and dangerous, often unlisted, ingredients. From cure-alls to cough syrup, these medicines promised to treat a variety of ailments for those who could not afford a private doctor’s visit, although they would often do more harm than good. … More The Wild and Wacky World of Drug Advertisements
More so than practically any other healthcare subject, mental health topics have acquired a need in recent decades for routine updating and research to compensate for centuries of misinformation. The infiltration of the Maternal Mental Hygiene movement and Attachment Theory into the minds and maternity manuals of Canada can shed light onto the progression of the treatment of maternal mental health across the decades. … More Maternal Mental Health Care
Canada is no stranger to the threat of large infectious disease outbreaks. Throughout history, people on the land we now call Canada experienced numerous diseases that threatened their ways of life. Cholera, Tuberculosis, 1918 Influenza, Polio, Scarlet Fever, Yellow Fever, Diphtheria, SARS, MERS – to name a few. The way we manage COVID-19 is largely based on what we have done in the past. While our strategies may have evolved and our personal protective equipment may be more effective than other PPE used in the past, there are some things that remain common factors in preventing the spread of disease. Just like the Influenza of 1918, we rely largely on warning signs, mask wearing, and quarantines during COVID-19 to stay safe. … More Pandemic of Past and Present
The history of the masks that we wear have their roots in a few different areas, including both from the medical community, as well as from the Personal Protective Equipment of firefighters and soldiers in the late 19th and early 20th century. The first surgical mask came in 1899 when Carl Flügge (1847-1923) was working on tuberculosis research when he developed his droplet theory of infection. This theory proved that microorganisms can be expelled as droplets from the respiratory tract and reach another person. Flügge, his pupils, and successors conducted further experiments to determine that droplets are especially expelled during activities of talking, coughing, blowing, and sneezing. … More The Face Mask – A Life-Saving Device Pioneered by Dr. Wu Lien-teh
At the time when doctors believed that miasmic fumes were responsible for the transfer illnesses, rather than germ theory, medical professionals developed elaborate outfits to protect against the believed noxious air. The bubonic plague ravaged across Europe and Asia through the 14th to 17th centuries, with the prevailing theory was that it was caused by the miasmic theory of “malignant air”. In reality, the bubonic plague was actually spread when infected fleas from small animals entered into the human system by a flea bite. “The Plague Doctor” uniform was quite useless in assisting to protect against the disease, which killed an estimated 200 million people worldwide. But in many ways, the protective uniform worn by these doctors seems similar to what current medical professionals wear when treating those with infectious diseases. … More The Plague Doctor, Popular Culture, and COVID-19
“Germ theory was not easily accepted. All across Europe and into the USA and Canada, it was heavily contested and challenged by medical professionals who were unwilling to accept the changes to the scientific system.” … More Discovering Diseases: The Beginnings of Germ Theory and Preventative Precautions
