JoAnne Arcand

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Other Academic Appointments

Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ontario Tech University (2020 - present)

Scientist, World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre on Nutrition Policy for Non-Communicable Diesase Prevention (2020 - present)

At a Glance

• Dr. Arcand is a nutritional scientist who runs an active research program that aims to improve the nutritional health of the public and patients with chronic diseases, particularly those with cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and heart failure.

About Dr. JoAnne Arcand

Dr. JoAnne Arcand is an Associate Professor and Registered Dietitian in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ontario Tech University. She is a Heart & Stroke National New Investigator who has research expertise in translational and implementation science for nutritional interventions related to chronic disease prevention through the evaluation of health promotion and policy interventions for children and the general population. She also conducts clinical and implementation science research to support the nutritional management of patients with cardiovascular diseases. Her work is recognized by awards such as a Hypertension Canada Young Investigator Award, Ontario Early Researcher’s Award and a CIHR-INMD New Investigator Award.

Research Synopsis

Dr. Arcand has expertise in clinical and population health aspects of cardiovascular disease prevention and management. Her research program is funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the International Development Research Centre. Her current research program:

• Examines the implementation of nutrition recommendations in primary care.
• Evaluates novel tools for the dietary management and prevention of hypertension and heart failure.
• Designs and develops mobile nutrition education apps for school age children in Ontario.
• Evaluates policies to reduce population sodium intakes both nationally and in Latin America.

Dr. Arcand is actively involved in the international Science of Salt research group, affiliated with the World Hypertension League and World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Salt Reduction, and chairs a subcommittee that conducts regular systematic reviews of studies published on dietary sodium and health outcomes. Dr. Arcand is also involved in numerous knowledge translation activities, including the development of novel tools to translate scientific information to the public, patients and clinicians. She volunteers her time to several committees with the Hypertension Canada, Canadian Nutrition Society and Dietitians of Canada. Dr. Arcand’s work has been published in high profile journals and presented to a variety of stakeholder groups including clinicians, academics, food industry and government. She was awarded a Notable Achievement Award from the World Hypertension League for her significant contributions in dietary sodium reduction.

Dr. Arcand developed the Sodium Calculator, an innovative dietary assessment tool to assist the public and clinicians in rapidly determining the amount and sources of sodium in the diet. To keep clinicians, researchers and policymakers informed about the latest salt/sodium research, the Science of Salt research group frequently publishes systematic reviews of new research. Identified articles are also summarized weekly as part of a weekly Science of Salt newsletter.

Recent Awards and Distinctions (Selected)

Jacques de Champlain New Investigator Award, Hypertension Canada (2020)

Early Researcher’s Award, Government of Ontario (2019)

Research Excellence Award – Early Career Researcher Category, Ontario Tech University (2019)

Student Choice Award Nomination (Teaching), Ontario Tech University (2018, 2019)

National New Investigator Award, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (2018)

Canadian Institutes of Health Research-INMD/Canadian Nutrition Society New Investigator Prize (2017)

National and International Committee Memberships (Current)

Full Member, Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), College of Reviewers (2020 - present)

Member, Health Behaviour Subgroup, Canadian Hypertension Education Program (Clinical Practice Guidelines), Hypertension Canada (2017 - present)

Member, Education Committee, Canadian Nutrition Society (2017 - present)

Chair, Health Outcomes Subcommittee, Science of Salt Advisory Group, World Hypertension League (2017 - present)

Co-Chair, Science of Salt Advisory Group. World Hypertension League (2015 - present)

Steering Committee Member and Dietitian Working Group Member, SODIUM-HF Study, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (2013 - present)

Recent Publications

1. Lichtfuss K, Franco-Arellano B, Brady J, Arcand J. An Examination of the Practice Approaches of Canadian Dietitians Who Counsel Higher-Weight Adults Using a Novel Framework: Emerging Data on Non-Weight-Focused Approaches. Nutrients. 2023 Jan 26;15(3):631. doi: 10.3390/nu15030631. PMID: 36771339; PMCID: PMC9921747.
2. Peiris RG, Ross H, Chan CT, Poon S, Auguste BL, Rac VE, Farkouh M, McDonald M, Kaczorowski J, Code J, Duero Posada J, Ong S, Kobulnik J, Tomlinson G, Huszti E, Arcand J, Thomas SG, Akbari A, Maunder R, Grover S, Seto E, Simard A, Pope B, Bains M, McIntyre C, Torbay C, Syed F, Nolan RP. Automated digital counselling with social network support as a novel intervention for patients with heart failure: protocol for randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open. 2022 Sep 5;12(9):e059635. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-059635. PMID: 36691152; PMCID: PMC9445232.
3. Padilla-Moseley J, Blanco-Metzler A, L'Abbé MR, Arcand J. A Program Evaluation of a Dietary Sodium Reduction Research Consortium of Five Low- and Middle-Income Countries in Latin America. Nutrients. 2022 Oct 15;14(20):4311. doi: 10.3390/nu14204311. PMID: 36296995; PMCID: PMC9606855.
4. Sivakumar B, Lemonde M, Stein M, Goldstein S, Mak S, Arcand J. Evaluating Health Care Provider Perspectives on the Use of Mobile Apps to Support Patients With Heart Failure Management: Qualitative Descriptive Study. JMIR Cardio. 2022 Oct 26;6(2):e40546. doi: 10.2196/40546. PMID: 36287588; PMCID: PMC9647459.
5. Jefferson K, Ward M, Pang WH, Arcand J. A feasibility study of a randomized controlled trial protocol to assess the impact of an eHealth intervention on the provision of dietary advice in primary care. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2022 Sep 14;8(1):208. doi: 10.1186/s40814-022-01168-z. PMID: 36104747; PMCID: PMC9472390.
6. Wang NX, Arcand J, Campbell NRC, Johnson C, Malta D, Petersen K, Rae S, Santos JA, Sivakumar B, Thout SR, McLean R. The World Hypertension League Science of Salt: a regularly updated systematic review of salt and health outcomes studies (Sept 2019 to Dec 2020). J Hum Hypertens. 2022 Jun 10. doi: 10.1038/s41371-022-00710-z. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35688876.
7. Campbell NRC, Whelton PK, Orias M, Wainford RD, Cappuccio FP, Ide N, Neal B, Cohn J, Cobb LK, Webster J, Trieu K, He FJ, McLean RM, Blanco-Metzler A, Woodward M, Khan N, Kokubo Y, Nederveen L, Arcand J, MacGregor GA, Owolabi MO, Lisheng L, Parati G, Lackland DT, Charchar FJ, Williams B, Tomaszewski M, Romero CA, Champagne B, L'Abbe MR, Weber MA, Schlaich MP, Fogo A, Feigin VL, Akinyemi R, Inserra F, Menon B, Simas M, Neves MF, Hristova K, Pullen C, Pandeya S, Ge J, Jalil JE, Wang JG, Wideimsky J, Kreutz R, Wenzel U, Stowasser M, Arango M, Protogerou A, Gkaliagkousi E, Fuchs FD, Patil M, Chan AW, Nemcsik J, Tsuyuki RT, Narasingan SN, Sarrafzadegan N, Ramos ME, Yeo N, Rakugi H, Ramirez AJ, Álvarez G, Berbari A, Kim CI, Ihm SH, Chia YC, Unurjargal T, Park HK, Wahab K, McGuire H, Dashdorj NJ, Ishaq M, Ona DID, Mercado-Asis LB, Prejbisz A, Leenaerts M, Simão C, Pinto F, Almustafa BA, Spaak J, Farsky S, Lovic D, Zhang XH. 2022 World Hypertension League, Resolve To Save Lives and International Society of Hypertension dietary sodium (salt) global call to action. J Hum Hypertens. 2022 May 17:1–10. doi: 10.1038/s41371-022-00690-0. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35581323; PMCID: PMC9110933.
8. Ezekowitz JA, Colin-Ramirez E, Ross H, Escobedo J, Macdonald P, Troughton R, Saldarriaga C, Alemayehu W, McAlister FA, Arcand J, Atherton J, Doughty R, Gupta M, Howlett J, Jaffer S, Lavoie A, Lund M, Marwick T, McKelvie R, Moe G, Pandey AS, Porepa L, Rajda M, Rheault H, Singh J, Toma M, Virani S, Zieroth S; SODIUM-HF Investigators. Reduction of dietary sodium to less than 100 mmol in heart failure (SODIUM-HF): an international, open-label, randomised, controlled trial. Lancet. 2022 Apr 9;399(10333):1391-1400. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00369-5. Epub 2022 Apr 2. PMID: 35381194.
9. Arcand J, Campbell NRC. Dietary sodium reduction in Canada: more action is needed to reach the 2025 global targets. CMAJ. 2022 Mar 14;194(10):E387-E388. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.211787. PMID: 35288411; PMCID: PMC8920532.
10. Brown JM, Franco-Arellano B, Froome H, Siddiqi A, Mahmood A, Arcand J. The Content, Quality, and Behavior Change Techniques in Nutrition-Themed Mobile Apps for Children in Canada: App Review and Evaluation Study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2022 Feb 16;10(2):e31537. doi: 10.2196/31537. PMID: 35171100.

In the News

Ontario Tech receives part of $41-million investment in research. Durham Radio News. September 10, 2019.

Do you know how much sodium you're eating? Durham Region. May 2, 2019.