Having accurate and up-to-date health data is essential for Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to make decisions that keep people in Canada healthy. We use health data to promote healthy living, prevent and manage chronic and infectious diseases, respond to health emergencies, prepare for future public health threats, and assess and improve how our health systems are working.

Host Megan Beahan is joined by Chris Allison, PHAC's Chief Data Officer and Director General, Centre for Data Management, Innovation and Analytics, and Elizabeth Toller, Director General of Health Canada's Health Care Strategies. They explore what health data is, how it's shared and break down some misconceptions.

Learn more:

• Public health data - Canada.ca

• Working with partners to modernize public health data - Canada.ca

• Working together to improve health care in Canada: Overview - Canada.ca

• FPT Communique: Federal, Provincial, Territorial Health Ministers' and Ministers Responsible for Mental Health and Addiction - Canada.ca

Toys are a part of everyday life for a lot of people in Canada, and it’s important to make smart and safe choices when choosing the right toy for the kids in your life.

Host Megan Beahan is joined by Ashley Artelle, Compliance and Enforcement Advisor with Health Canada’s Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch. They chat about what to watch for with the toys our kids play with, share important safety tips, and talk about Health Canada's role in toy safety.

Learn more:

• Toy safety – Canada.ca
• Magnet safety – Canada.ca
• Battery safety: Button batteries – Canada.ca
• Advanced search – Recalls, advisories and safety alerts – Canada.ca
• Water beads may pose life-threatening risks to young children - Canada.ca

We love our pets. They are part of the family. But they can sometimes spread bacteria that could cause illnesses. This week on the podcast, we learn about enteric illness and how our pets can spread them.

Host Megan Beahen welcomes Anne-Marie Lowe, Manager of the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Outbreak Assessment and Detection Team. Their conversation aims to raise awareness about how bacteria can spread and what you can do to protect yourself and your animal companions.

Learn more:

• Public Health Notices - Canada.ca

• Pet food and treats - Canada.ca

• Pet food safety - Canada.ca

• Raw pet food safety - Canada.ca

• Salmonella and Reptiles - Canada.ca

• Pets: Healthy animals, healthy people - Canada.ca

• Reptiles and amphibians: Healthy animals, healthy people - Canada.ca

• Rodents: Healthy animals, healthy people - Canada.ca

Many people may not realize they have syphilis. Symptoms can be so mild that they go unnoticed, so regular testing is important if you are sexually active. Rates of syphilis and congenital syphilis are on the rise in Canada.

Host Megan Beahen sits down with Dr. Jared Bullard, Director General of Medical and Scientific Affairs at the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory, and an Associate Professor and Section Head of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, for a conversation about syphilis symptoms, testing, treatment and the importance of normalizing sexual health practices.

Learn more:

• Syphilis cases are on the rise in Canada - Canada.ca

• Syphilis: Symptoms and treatment - Canada.ca

• Syphilis: Infection during pregnancy - Canada.ca

• Syphilis: Prevention and risks - Canada.ca

• Syphilis: Awareness resources - Canada.ca

• A preventable public health crisis: Diagnosing and Managing Congenital Syphilis | Canadian Paediatric Society

• Syphilis – Sex & U

Cosmetics are a part of just about everyone's daily life. From the soap and shampoo in your shower, to putting on deodorant, skin cream and make up products –these are all cosmetics.

Host Megan Beahen is joined by Nibal Saikali, Senior Regulatory Policy and Risk Management Advisor with Health Canada, to talk about cosmetic safety. They chat about what to check for on product labels, share handy safety tips, and talk about what to do if you have a bad reaction.

• Cosmetic safety - Canada.ca

• Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist: Prohibited and Restricted Ingredients - Canada.ca

• Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist - Canada.ca

• Report an incident involving a consumer product or cosmetic: overview - Canada.ca

• Find recalls, advisories and safety alerts - Canada.ca

Concussions can happen when you take a hit to your head, neck, face or even your body. They cause changes in the way you think and feel. One of the tricky things about concussions is that they can’t be seen and diagnosed on routine image scans. The good news is there have been big advances in our understanding of concussions and advice for those who have one.

Host Megan Beahen welcomes neuroscientist Dr. Ryan D’Arcy, Co-Founder of HealthTech Connex Inc., and Stephanie Cowle, Director of Knowledge Translation at Parachute, a Canadian charity dedicated to injury prevention. They discuss new research and tools to detect and treat concussions, recovery and preventing repeat injuries.

• Concussion: Symptoms and treatment - Canada.ca

• Concussion: Prevention and risks - Canada.ca

• HealthTech Connex - How's Your Brain Doing Today?

• Parachute – Preventing Injuries. Saving Lives.

• Concussion resources - Canada.ca

• Brain Health and Cognitive Impairment in Aging Research Initiative - CIHR

• Concussion in Sport - Canada.ca

• After a concussion: Return-to-school strategy

Advance care planning is something you can do while you are healthy and continue to do after a diagnosis of a serious illness.

In part two of our two-part series on serious illness and palliative care, we focus on the importance of planning ahead and navigating the sometimes difficult conversations that come with it.

Hosts Megan Beahen and Alex Newman welcome back Dr. Samantha Winemaker, Palliative Care Physician, Associate Professor at McMaster University and Hsien Seow, PhD, Canada Research Chair in Palliative Care, Professor at McMaster University.

Learn more:

Palliative care: Overview: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-services-benefits/palliative-care.html

Advance Care Planning Canada: https://www.advancecareplanning.ca/

My Grief: https://www.mygrief.ca/

Kids Grief: https://www.kidsgrief.ca/

Youth Grief: https://youthgrief.ca/

Every day, we are exposed to chemicals and pollutants - in our air, food and water. There are chemical substances in the products we use at work, at home and at play. While chemicals play an essential role in our daily lives, some chemical substances can negatively affect our health and the environment if poorly managed.

Hosts Megan Beahen and Alex Newman sit down with Tyler Pollock, PhD, Scientist with the Environmental Health Science and Research Bureau at Health Canada, to discuss lesser-known facts about environmental chemicals and contaminants.

They chat about the chemicals that surround us, potential exposures, and how this all comes into play in our day-to-day lives.

About the Canadian Biomonitoring Dashboard: https://health-infobase.canada.ca/biomonitoring/about.html

Risk assessment of chemical substances: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/chemical-substances/canada-approach-chemicals/risk-assessment.html

Environmental Contaminants: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/environmental-workplace-health/environmental-contaminants.html

Exposure and health effects of chemicals: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-effects-chemical-exposure.html

Human Biomonitoring of Environmental Chemicals: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/environmental-workplace-health/environmental-contaminants/human-biomonitoring-environmental-chemicals.html

Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS): https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/survey/household/5071

MIREC - A research study on early life exposure to environmental chemicals: https://www.mirec-canada.ca/en/

Northern Contaminants Program: https://science.gc.ca/site/science/en/northern-contaminants-program