Critically ill infants and children often need prolonged sedation for life-saving care, but many survivors experience persistent neurocognitive impairments. The authors of this paper reviewed existing preclinical and clinical studies to examine the associations between sedation practices and these subsequent outcomes.

GaHyun Byeon, A., Mir, M., Jerath, A., Slessarev, M., Lalgudi Ganesan, S., & McKinnon, N. K. (2026). Sedative medications: a potentially modifiable risk factor for improving neurocognitive outcomes after critical illness in infants and children. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2026.1874293   Rishi Ganesan

Starting treatment promptly for hepatitis C, a viral liver infection, reduces virus transmission and long-term health damage. To design a treatment decision tool, researchers conducted focus groups with nurses and surveyed thirty participants with hepatitis C experience.

Masterman, C., Barnett, T., Tryphonopoulos, P., Babenko-Mould, Y., & Biondi, M. J. (2026). Development of a support tool for hepatitis C virus treatment decision making. Canadian Liver Journal. https://doi.org/10.3138/canlivj-2026-0024   Mia Biondi

Children exposed to parental gender-based violence, including abuse and controlling behavior at home, face harmful outcomes compared to their peers. Researchers collected online surveys from parents of 240 Canadian children aged 5 to 12 to measure violence exposure, strengths, and resilience.

Yates, J., Uwizeye, G., Wathen, C. N., & Mantler, T. (2026). The Resilience and Protective Factors of Children Aged 5–12 Years in Canada Previously Exposed to Parental Gender-Based Violence. Developmental Child Welfare. https://doi.org/10.1177/25161032261502492   Nadine Wathen   Tara Mantler

Climate warming is expected to change dissolved organic matter, or dissolved plant material, in peatlands, but differences across wetland types and depths remain unclear. To investigate, researchers conducted a ground-warming field experiment across two different peat wetlands in northern Ontario, Canada.

Sun, T., Branfireun, B. A., Lindo, Z., & Huang, L. (2027). Fen type and depth control dissolved organic matter responses to warming in northern peatlands. CATENA, 276, 110701. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2026.110701   Zoë Lindo

Vaccine hesitancy persists across Canada, but research frequently overlooks people's ethical concerns about vaccines and related policies. To explore this topic, the researchers interviewed twelve participants from across the country.

Ashfield, S., & Smith, M. J. (2027). Ethical concerns of vaccine hesitant Canadians. Vaccine, 96, 129311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2026.129311   Maxwell Smith

The desire to make moral judgments in public health raises the problem of how to define and use coercion, or forcing people to act.

Smith, M. J. (2026). Against Neutralizing Coercion. The American Journal of Bioethics, 26(11), 62-65. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2026.2741300   Maxwell Smith