Editor's Note, Volume 11 Issue 5

D’Arcy Little, MD, CCFP, FCFP, FRCPC Medical Director, JCCC and HealthPlexus.NET

I am pleased to introduce the next issue of the Journal of Current Clinical Care.

Dr. Eugene Wai and Ted Findlay present Social Determinants of Health and Low Back Pain. It has long been recognized that, following an intervention, two patients with very similar or even identical pathophysiology can have dramatically different outcomes. There is increasing recognition of the role and importance of the social determinants of health as a factor in explaining these differences. This article reviews several recent studies that explain the impact of these social determinants, specifically in chronic pain and low back pain. It includes commonly used screening tools and advice for interventions.

Dr. Alykhan Abdulla an Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine from the University of Ottawa offers a discussion on Exercise and Dementia: A Step-by-Step Approach to Prescribing Exercise. Although dementia cannot be reversed, there is evidence that physical exercise can improve activities of daily living, balance, quality of life, function, strength, and mental function through various parameters. This article will focus on aerobic training, resistance training, and flexibility training.

Dr. Michael Gordon, Emeritus Professor of Medicine from the University of Toronto presents an interesting conversation on The Heart and Heartlessness of Triage. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought to the public awareness the terrible dilemma of the process of triage. Using the ethics lens is one process that has been helpful in parsing the components of how decisions are made. Ultimately it will be a combination of the best efforts of scientists, ethicists and practitioners with input from the public and the passage of time for the pandemic to be quelled with as little damage to communities and their populations as possible.

I hope you enjoy this latest edition.