Professor Sekercioglu explores the experiences of environmental public health professionals, contact management and air pollution
Fatih Sekercioglu, a professor at the School of Occupational and Public Health (SOPHe) at the Faculty of Community Services (FCS) and director of the Planetary Health Research Lab became an expert and researcher in public health motivated by prevention and harm reduction. “After my first university degree in chemical engineering, I was seeking educational opportunities to enhance my knowledge and skills. Ryerson University’s public health and safety program presented itself as a new career option. I always felt that preventing harm is the wise option, but it is adopted far too rarely. Unfortunately, we wait until challenges come to the surface and face the consequences, which are often costly and unsustainable. Working in public health provided me with a unique opportunity to design and implement upstream investments to keep the public healthy and safe,” he said.
This year he has focused on several COVID-19 studies in addition to his regular research within the Planetary Health Research Lab. Such focus includes the interconnectedness of people, nature, and the impact of climate change, as well as water quality and safety as it relates to Indigenous health and well-being. Sekercioglu has published results of his first COVID-19 research project, Experiences of Environmental Public Health Professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic response in Canada (external link) . For his second research project, he and his team spent time looking at the people working behind the scenes in case management and contact tracing. Sekercioglu’s third project examines Toronto ambient air quality impacts from COVID-19.
Experiences of Environmental Public Health Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic Response in Ontario
“Environmental public health professionals (EPHPs), namely public health inspectors and environmental health officers, play a crucial role in keeping the Canadian population healthy and safe,” said Sekercioglu. “The roles that these people play have been amplified as they have come to be seen as working on the front lines of the pandemic, with many feeling similar challenges to other frontline health care workers, without the same recognition or appreciation.”
In what is one of the first studies into the lived experiences of this professional group, Sekercioglu highlights the vast array of roles that EPHPs play, including education and enforcement. “The pandemic response necessitated different tasks for EPHPs, including managing cases and contacts and staffing assessment centres. A lack of employer support for training and safety equipment is a concerning outcome of this study,” he said. “To overcome the challenges of pandemic work, mechanisms should be developed to ensure that mental health support is accessible for EPHPs. Further in-depth qualitative research should be conducted to better understand local experiences and the extent of the impacts of COVID-19 after the pandemic is over.”
Collaborators: Ian Young, Richard Meldrum, Jennifer Ramos
Experiences of Case and Contact Management Teams During the COVID-19 Pandemic Response in Ontario
This year Sekercioglu also studied the realities of the many new contact tracing teams set up at the start of the pandemic. “Case and contact management teams are composed of unique public health professionals with comprehensive training to contact COVID-19 cases and their contacts. The pandemic wouldn’t have been kept under control if these teams weren’t working 24/7 from the beginning. The significant majority of these teams’ members were working in other roles in public health and seconded to this task after the pandemic, which required a steep learning curve,” Sekercioglu said. “The pandemic brought unique challenges. The government guidelines change often based on the new knowledge and guidance from the experts, so these teams had to be super flexible and dedicated to their tasks. The stress levels are often high, and workloads are quite heavy with longer shifts.” More details and the results of this study will be published in the fall of 2021 in a peer-reviewed journal, Environmental Health Review (external link) . “There are interesting results for sure, and when the work is published, it will be a great knowledge base for the decision-makers to support this amazing group of public health professionals. Despite the stresses of this year, public health is still a great career for those who have a passion for serving the community; assisting diverse and/or vulnerable populations in reaching the best of their health and well-being, and feeling good about one’s work at the end of each,” he said.
Collaborators: Ian Young, Richard Meldrum and Robyn Haas
Funded by: The Faculty of Community Services
Toronto Ambient Air Quality Impacts from COVID-19
Sekercioglu’s third project investigates variations in air pollutant concentrations before, during, and after implementing movement restrictions related to the pandemic to understand the relative contributions of local sources to air pollution and their relationships with human behaviour and activity. “We just received Research Ethics Board approval for a survey which will be disseminated in all parts of Toronto. The survey questions explore socioeconomic status, health status, residential, workplace, and travel activities, as well as energy use,” he said. Results of this study are expected by the end of 2021.
Collaborators: City of Toronto, Emre Karatas, Greg Evans, Matthew Adams and Christian Hui
Funded by: Mitacs
