Item: FROM SALMONELLA TO SNOW: APPLYING LESSONS FROM PUBLIC HEALTH, FOOD SAFETY AND OUTBREAK INVESTIGATIONS IN AVALANCHE SAFETY RESEARCH
-
-
Title: FROM SALMONELLA TO SNOW: APPLYING LESSONS FROM PUBLIC HEALTH, FOOD SAFETY AND OUTBREAK INVESTIGATIONS IN AVALANCHE SAFETY RESEARCH
Proceedings: Proceedings, International Snow Science Workshop, Whistler, BC, Canada, 2026
Authors:
- Kate Snedeker
Date: 2026-09-28
Abstract: Avalanche Safety and outbreak investigations & food safety are topics rarely considered alongside each other. However, at their core, both are focused on keeping the public safe(r) through assessing, analyzing, understanding, mitigating/controlling and communicating risk. Furthermore, whether it be avalanche or outbreak, these processes are happening in a highly complex world where practical, political, scientific, jurisdictional, economic, time pressure and communication factors shape the translation of research and knowledge into action to save lives. This study is intended to examine the commonalities between food safety/outbreak investigations & avalanche safety from the perspective of an epidemiologist & researcher with experience in the avalanche safety realm, and examine some areas where approaches from public health could benefit the examination of avalanche safety research and translation from evidence into actions. The realms of avalanche safety and outbreak investigations/food safety have a great deal in common. Whether it’s snow or bacteria & viruses, nature presents a safety threat that ranges from individual harm to wider economic effects. An avalanche that blocks a major highway harms the economy much as an outbreak that closes restaurants and hospitalizes people. Neither pathogens nor avalanches are risks we can eliminate, only mitigate. We depend on gathering knowledge through experience, analysis and research to reduce the risks, and thus the wider burden of avalanches or pathogens on society. It is how we translate that knowledge into action & how effectively we communicate that determines how effectively we can mitigate that risk. In public health (and medicine), this knowledge translation has been the subject of much research, and from that the concepts of evidence-based practice, evidence-informed practice, systematic reviews, data visualization and methods for communicating to various stakeholder groups have developed and continue to evolve. Systematic reviews in avalanche research have been published, but there is room to explore how other concepts and communications methods might be applied in the context of avalanche safety research.
Object ID: ISSW2026_P3.40.pdf
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15788/1790099454
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Kate Snedeker
Keywords: Public Health; Evidence Based Practice, Food Safety, Evidence-Informed Practice
Page Number(s): 1693 - 1700
-