Big changes are happening at Healthy Debate!
We are both excited to say that on October 7, Seema Marwaha will take over the reins of Healthy Debate as Editor-in-Chief (on the same date, Andreas Laupacis, our founder will be leaving clinical practice and will start as EIC of the Canadian Medical Association Journal).
Over the last 8 years, Healthy Debate has executed on its mission of providing accurate, accessible information about health care to the public. It has evolved to become a forum for thoughtful deliberation about health care in Canada. And in the last year, has become an important educational vehicle for medical trainees to learn how to write for the public and advocate for the issues that matter to them.
Seema had the privilege of being involved with Healthy Debate since the launch of Faces of Health Care in 2015. As an avid photographer, she took the photos of the individuals as we interviewed them about their health care experiences. After receiving formal journalism training with a Fellowship in Global Journalism, she began to write, sit on the editorial board and produce multimedia projects, like The Opioid Chapters.
Media, politics and the internet have transformed vastly since Healthy Debate’s inception. While information sits at our fingertips, ‘fake news media’ and the plethora of non-evidence based view-points make it difficult to find comprehensive, unbiased information about health and health care. In 2019, it is imperative that we exist and help readers sort through the noise.
In the coming months, we will focus on developing multimedia, accessible content while continuing to do what we think we do best: provide a balanced, evidence-based view into health care issues. We will also seek to understand and hear the multiple perspectives of the many individuals that work in and use health care in Canada. And we will try to grow our audience.
The Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto and the Ontario SPOR Support Unit will continue to be our biggest sponsors. We will continue our elective training experience. And we will continue working with the Fellowship of Global Journalism and certificate program now situated at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
Seema is excited about this opportunity to lead Healthy Debate, and is grateful to our sponsors, our readers and the editorial board for their continued support.