Emily Jeanne Tetzlaff

• PhD Human Kinetics
• Principal Scientist, EHS at University of Ottawa

Objectives Knowledge and risk perception are driving factors for initiating appropriate health-protective actions during extreme heat events (EHEs). We sought to examine the (1) current knowledge of heat as a health threat, (2) perception of personal vulnerability to heat, (3) role of heat warnings and heat alert and response systems in initiating...

Introduction During the summer of 2021, western Canada experienced a historic and deadly extreme heat event. Simultaneously, toxic drug use and overdoses related to high-risk use of opioids and polysubstance use continued to rise across the country. However, the combined impacts of these intersecting public health crises remain poorly understood as...

An ever-increasing number of workplaces are becoming heat-exposed due to rising temperature extremes. However, a comprehensive review of Canadian safety materials available to support workplaces in managing this critical hazard has not previously been conducted. We undertook a review and a content analysis of heat stress materials on safety-based m...

Introduction Due to rising temperature extremes, workplaces are seeking new solutions, such as using personal cooling garments (PCG) to mitigate and manage workplace heat exposure. This systematic review sought to assess the physiological and perceptual effects of PCGs on workers in standard work clothing performing moderate‐to‐heavy intensity task...

This study assessed whether electric fans limit core temperature increases in adults aged 65 to 85 years exposed to conditions similar to those experienced in homes during heat waves in North America.

The unprecedented 2021 Heat Dome caused wide-ranging and long-lasting impacts in western Canada, including 619 confirmed heat-related deaths in British Columbia, a doubling of emergency medical calls, increased hospitalisations, infrastructure failures and stress on plants and animals. However, such varied socio-economic consequences of extreme hea...

People with schizophrenia have died at disproportionately higher rates during recent extreme heat events (EHEs) in Canada, including the deadly 2021 Heat Dome in British Columbia (B.C.). However, to date, little research has qualitatively focused on how people with schizophrenia experience and respond to EHEs. This study aimed to (i) explore how pe...

The likelihood of exposure to overheated indoor environments is increasing as climate change is exacerbating the frequency and severity of hot weather and extreme heat events (EHE). Consequently, vulnerable populations will face serious health risks from indoor overheating. While the relationship between EHE and human health has been assessed in re...

During extreme heat events (EHEs) the public often learns about health protective actions through the media. Visual news coverage can act as a powerful tool to help convey complex health protective actions to the public. Despite the importance of images in helping the public understand the risk, there has been no systematic analysis to assess what...

Among the most vulnerable to the health-harming effects of heat are people experiencing homelessness. However, during the 2021 Heat Dome, the deadliest extreme heat event (EHE) recorded in Canada to date, people experiencing homelessness represented the smallest proportion of decedents (n = 3, 0.5%)—despite the impacted region (British Columbia) ha...

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with worsening age-related impairments in heat loss, causing higher core temperature during exercise. We evaluated whether these thermoregulatory impairments occur with altered serum protein responses to heat stress by measuring cytoprotection, inflammation, and tissue damage biomarkers in middle-aged-to-older me...

Background During the summer of 2021, a deadly, unprecedented multiday Heat Dome engulfed western Canada. As a result of this extreme heat event (EHE), emergency dispatchers received an unparalleled increase in incoming 911 calls for ambulance, police, and fire (as first responders) services to attend to hundreds of heat‐vulnerable community member...

As the popularity of International Service-Learning (ISL) excursions continues to grow, there is an increasing need for research that explores these types of experiences. This manuscript focuses on the experiences of the lead author (S.L.D.) while participating in an ISL excursion offered by the Health Promotion Without Borders (HPWB) Program as pa...

Context During the summer of 2021, western Canada experienced a deadly heat event. From the first heat alert to postevent reporting, thousands of media articles were published that reference the heat event. However, a gap remains in understanding how this communication chain—from the release of a public heat alert to information shared through medi...

Extreme heat events directly impact worker health and cause additional cascading and transitional workplace impacts. However, current investigations on these impacts often rely on specific datasets (e.g., compensation claims, hospitalizations). Thus, to continue to work towards preventing and mitigating the occupational risks posed by extreme heat...

During the 2021 Heat Dome, 619 people in British Columbia died due to the heat. This public health disaster was made worse by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Few studies have explored the intersection of heat with COVID-19, and none in Canada. Considering that climate change is expected to increase the frequency of extreme heat events, it is importa...

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by chronic intermittent hypoxemia, which is associated with progressive loss of kidney function, where postprandial fluctuations in renal physiology may further compromise oxygen supply and kidney function. Therefore, we measured biomarkers of acute kidney injury (AKI) following a high-fat meal with an...

Introduction: International service-learning (ISL) excursions involve service work with international communities, coupled with academic learning and reflection for the students involved. There are anecdotal descriptions that this can result in cultural dissonance as part of the learning and service provision process. The Health Promotion Without B...

A mandatory outdoor experience program (MOEP), involving a three-to four-day outdoor canoe excursion, has been a compulsory university course for undergraduate students for nearly five decades at a post-secondary institution in Northern Ontario, Canada. However, the experiences and perspectives of students who participated in these excursions have...

COVID-19 screening protocols have become normal practice for employees entering workplaces around the world. However, workplace screening programs that include temperature detection via infrared thermometers or thermal detection cameras often violate many technical specifications for the correct use of these devices. Therefore, this article aims to...

This study examined student experiences participating in a peer-led three-day wilderness canoe excursion in Northern Ontario, Canada. This program is a mandatory outdoor experience program (MOEP) for third-year students and is the final course in a progressive series of outdoor experiences offered at the beginning of the first, second, and third ye...

Workplace temperature screening has become standard practice during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The objective was to determine the consistency of four temperature devices during exposure to simulated and actual environmental conditions reflective of a workplace. An infrared (IR) digital thermometer (accuracy(A)±0.2), IR laser thermometer (A±1), and th...

In this paper, I (S. L. Deibert) share my story of discovering the relationship between reflexivity, autoethnography, and yoga through a meaningful experience. Yoga has been an important influence on my physical and mental well-being for over a decade, but I did not consider its implications in my academic life until I was asked to write a reflexiv...

Background In the mining industry, various methods of accident analysis have utilized official accident investigations to try and establish broader causation mechanisms. An emerging area of interest is identifying the extent to which cultural influences, like safety culture, are acting as drivers in the reoccurrence of accidents. Thus, the overall...

A systematic analysis was conducted using ten occupational health and safety commissioned reports from Canada, New Zealand, United States, United Kingdom, and Australia spanning from 1967 to 2015. The objective was to identify commonalities and differences in the key recommendations across the identified reports. The text-mining software Leximancer...

On June 8th, 2015, Nobel laureate Sir Tim Hunt freely expressed his opinion on mixed-gender labs, while attending a President's lunch at the World Conference of Science Journalists: Let me tell you about my trouble with girls. Three things happen when they are in the lab: You fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticiz...

The objective of the study was to address the recommendations from 10 commissioned occupational health and safety (OHS) reports from the mining industry internationally, spanning the past 50 years. The investigation involved a two-step thematic analysis using Leximancer, a text mining software, to identify the key themes and concepts present in the...