Student orientation programs will be in full swing Monday as UBCO’s Create takes place as part of a welcome for students new to campus. Classes for the academic year begin Tuesday.

Next week, after an extraordinary few days in August, classes will resume for the fall at UBC Okanagan.

Students, faculty and staff are gearing up for a busy back-to-school period. More than 12,035 students are registered for classes this September and almost 3,200 are new to UBCO. Move-in day will continue as planned on Sunday, September 3 with more than 1,400 students arriving to move into their on-campus residences.

Create, the new-to-UBCO student orientation, takes place Monday, September 4 and all classes will begin as scheduled and in-person on Tuesday, September 5.

“This summer, more than ever, we have seen the strength, professionalism and values of the UBC Okanagan community on full display,” says Dr. Lesley Cormack, UBCO Principal and Deputy Vice-Chancellor. “When our campus was placed on evacuation order just two weeks ago, the campus rallied together to ensure everyone was able to leave the area quickly and safely. Through this adversity, we saw UBCO’s values as a compassionate community shine through once again—it’s something our incoming students can take pride and comfort in.”

As UBCO looks toward the beginning of a new term, Dr. Cormack also recognizes it has been a trying time for many people. The health and safety of all students, faculty and staff is paramount and UBCO’s Campus Operations and Risk Management team continues to communicate directly with the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations team.

“While classes will begin as planned and it’s clear that campus is safe to welcome students from across Canada and the world, we also acknowledge there are many people within our community still not able to return home. And we’ve all seen the devasting images of homes and properties lost to the wildfire,” she adds. “The arrival of our students to the region has always brought a renewed sense of vibrancy and of the limitless possibilities created by education. I know this will be true this year perhaps more than ever.”

She notes, that the UBCO community bonded as never before with many people reaching out to offer help and support for those who were placed on an evacuation order or alert.

“I continue to be impressed by the calibre and character of the people on this campus,” she adds. “When faced with adversity, we reached out and supported each other in ways that have truly amazed me.”

As the campus begins to get busy as students move in and classes begin, Dale Mullings, Associate Vice-President, Students says the university has many resources for students and help is available for those who may need it.

“We continue to prioritize the wellbeing of our students, whether they live on or off campus,” adds Mullings. “For example, we have a number of initiatives specific to our students and this year, due to the wildfire emergency, we initiated the student emergency fund to help those immediately affected by the wildfires, and an airport welcome booth with a complimentary shuttle Friday, September 1 through Monday, September 4.”

Wellness and Accessibility Services has expanded to provide a health clinic, counselling services, wellness education, disability services and a new multifaith Chaplaincy. Many other services that support the wellbeing of our students such as our on-campus and in-community recreation programs, safe walk program, security phones across campus, a student-led Emergency First Response Team and the 24-hour campus security patrols are also gearing up for the year ahead.

While classes begin next week, Dr. Cormack notes there will be accommodations for those who remain under evacuation orders and alerts and cancelled travel plans.

“We will continue to work closely with those affected by the Kelowna-area wildfires to ensure they have the flexibility they require to start the school year successfully.”

A valuable resource for people returning to the community is the UBCO Campus Alerts page and FAQ which can be found at: ok.ubc.ca/wildfire-response

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New research from UBC Okanagan’s shows that resistance exercise temporarily reduced hunger-inducing hormones among breast-cancer survivors.

A new study by researchers from the University of British Columbia and the University of Colorado has found that weight-lifting may benefit appetite regulation and energy balance in breast cancer survivors.

The study, published in Appetite, involved 16 women who had completed treatment for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer within the past five years. On separate days, the women performed a single bout of resistance exercise, such as lifting weights, or sat quietly. The researchers measured their appetite sensations, appetite-related hormones and energy intake before and after each session.

The results showed that resistance exercise temporarily reduced hunger-inducing hormones and increased appetite-suppressing hormones compared to the sedentary condition.

Dr. Sarah Purcell, the study’s lead author and an investigator with the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management based at UBCO, said the findings suggest resistance exercise may help breast cancer survivors maintain healthy body weight and prevent obesity-related complications.

“Breast cancer survivors are often at increased risk of obesity,” she says. “We know that exercise can suppress appetite in people without previous cancer, at least in the short term, so we tested that in women with previous breast cancer who have low estrogen as part of their treatment. After a single bout of resistance exercise, we found some modest suggestions that exercise changes hormones to promote fullness and decrease hunger.”

About 80 per cent of people with breast cancer have estrogen receptor-positive cancer (ER-positive), and the standard of care after radiation or chemotherapy is five to 10 years of estrogen suppression.

Popular culture may portray cancer survivors as emaciated and lethargic, but weight gain—especially for women fighting breast cancer—can be as much of a worry.

“We think from experimental studies that estrogen is essential for appetite regulation and energy metabolism,” Purcell says.

Other studies have suggested that people with long-term estrogen suppression may increase their fat mass over the long term and decrease their muscle mass.

“We’re not sure what causes that. We also know that exercise can positively impact appetite in people without previous cancer, decreasing hunger or increasing satiety in certain conditions.”

Purcell said more research is needed to confirm the long-term effects of resistance exercise on breast cancer survivors’ appetite and energy intake and identify the optimal frequency, intensity and duration of activity for this group.

“It’s preliminary. People may not realize that exercise can promote appetite hormones in a way that would, at least theoretically, decrease later energy intake. We saw that a single bout of resistance exercise led to lower amounts of a hormone that promotes hunger—ghrelin—and higher amounts of a hormone that promotes satiety or fullness—peptide-yy.

“Again, the changes were modest, so we need to compare it to people without cancer, which we’re doing now.”

The National Institutes of Health supported the research, which appears in the latest issue of Appetite.

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Yellowknife, pictured here, is one of only four communities in the Northwest Territories that provides maternity care. More than 40 per cent of women in the NWT must travel at least 100 kilometres—often further—to give birth, new research from UBC’s Southern Medical Program shows.

A UBC researcher is looking at how the lack of health-care resources for pregnant women living in the Northwest Territories influences their delivery and overall wellbeing.

Lauren Eggenberger, a third-year Southern Medical Program student based at UBC Okanagan, has recently published research examining the ramifications of maternal evacuation—those who need to travel away from their families to give birth. Only four of the 33 communities in the NWT provide maternity care, meaning more than 40 per cent of women must travel at least 100 kilometres—often further—before the baby arrives.

“For many years, perinatal travel has been an oppressive and isolating process for Dene, Métis and Inuvialuit women in the Northwest Territories,” she says. “Due to a lack of lack of maternity care services, these women move away from their homes and often miss the joy of celebrating traditional birthing practices with family and friends.”

Until 2017 pregnant women travelled alone. That year, the Canadian government created an escort policy, with funding for travel, lodging and food so pregnant women can bring a companion. However, their partner often stayed home with other children, who are not funded to travel, leaving moms to rely on friends or family members.

“This oppressive and essentialist policy continues to be applied to all women outside of the four NTW communities that offer birthing services,” Eggenberger says. “Indigenous women, making the most of a bad situation, are formulating their decisions for choices of escorts on their unique situations, socio-economic circumstances and social supports.”

Eggenberger says lack of insight and research into the escort policy means it is unclear whether it has achieved the desired effect of reducing the emotional and physical hardships women experience while travelling for birth. To examine this issue, her research involved a systematic review of narrative literature from women who experience maternal evacuation.

There are numerous challenges faced by women who are evacuated for birth including loneliness and fear, separation from family and children, and no connection to the community where their child will be delivered.

Eggenberger says there are additional challenges including the financial burden of birthing away from home and the loss of self-determination and choice. She says this is concerning and may reflect ongoing systemic racism towards Indigenous people in the health-care system

Preliminary data show having an escort can alleviate loneliness and isolation, but Eggenberger notes it does not address the core issue of having to leave home to give birth.

“The birthing process for women who must travel is fraught with separation from their loved ones. And without understanding the consequences of the escort policy on the people regulated by it, we are worried about the wellbeing of these women,” she adds. “There is a gap in stakeholder voices within the policy.”

While this study was taking place a maternal child unit at the regional hospital in Yellowknife was closed and 86 women, who normally would have stayed home to deliver, were evacuated from their communities. This exacerbated this situation and Eggenberger says these women, who experienced maternal evacuation for the first time, were outraged. The situation worsened when they were labelled as privileged by the many women who have experienced maternal evacuations for decades.

Study participants are from both cohorts—those who have been mandated for decades to travel for birth and those who travelled during the recent four-month disruption of perinatal service. Eggenberger says while Indigenous and non-Indigenous women faced the same hardships while away for delivery, the decision of escort did differ.

The non-Indigenous women chose their partners as escorts, while Indigenous participants chose friends, fathers, mothers and sometimes a partner.

There continues, she adds, to be little effort to return to community birthing by creating safety for Indigenous families through traditional practices, Indigenous midwifery and community ceremonies. The final goal should be changing the disproportionate burden of poor outcomes experienced by Indigenous women because they need to travel to give birth.

“While women are given an opportunity in decision-making about who will travel with them as an escort, this does little to address the disparity of delivering their babies away from their families and communities, the burden of figuring out who cares for the children at home and the affect their absences have on the health of their families.”

Eggneberger’s research was published recently in the International Journal of Circumpolar Health.

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