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Background: Although exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first six months of life, research suggests that breastfeeding initiation rates and duration among Indigenous communities differ from this recommendation. Qualitative studies point to a variety of factors influencing infant feeding decisions; however, there has been no collective review of this literature published to date. Therefore, the objective of this scoping review was to identify and summarize the qualitative literature regarding Indigenous infant feeding experiences within Canada, the United States, Australia, and Aotearoa. Methods: Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses- Scoping Reviews and the Joanna Briggs Institute Guidelines, in October 2020, Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus were searched for relevant papers focusing on Indigenous infant feeding experiences. Screening and full-text review was completed by two independent reviewers. A grey literature search was also conducted using country-specific Google searches and targeted website searching. The protocol is registered with the Open Science Framework and published in BMJ Open. Results: Forty-six papers from the five databases and grey literature searches were included in the final review and extraction. There were 18 papers from Canada, 11 papers in the US, 9 studies in Australia and 8 studies conducted in Aotearoa. We identified the following themes describing infant feeding experiences through qualitative analysis: colonization, culture and traditionality, social perceptions, family, professional influences, environment, cultural safety, survivance, establishing breastfeeding, autonomy, infant feeding knowledge, and milk substitutes, with family and culture having the most influence on infant feeding experiences based on frequency of themes. Conclusions: This review highlights key influencers of Indigenous caregivers' infant feeding experiences, which are often situated within complex social and environmental contexts with the role of family and culture as essential in supporting caregivers. There is a need for long-term follow-up studies that partner with communities to support sustainable policy and program changes that support infant and maternal health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Indigenous populations in Canada and the United States (US) have maintained reciprocal relationships with nature, grounded in respect for and stewardship of the environment; however, disconnection from traditional food systems has generated a plethora of physical and mental health challenges for communities. Indigenous food sovereignty including control of lands were found to be factors contributing to these concerns. Therefore, our aim was to conduct a scoping review of the peer-reviewed literature to describe Indigenous disconnection from Indigenous food systems (IFS) in Canada and the US. Methods: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-SR) and Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines, we searched MEDLINE, SCOPUS, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, Sociological Abstracts, and Bibliography of Native North Americans. Data was extracted from 41 studies and a narrative review completed based on study themes. Results: The overarching theme identified in the included studies was the impact of colonization on IFS. Four sub-themes emerged as causes for Indigenous disconnection from traditional food systems, including: climate change; capitalism; legal change; and socio-cultural change. These sub-themes highlight the multiple ways in which colonization has impacted Indigenous food systems in Canada and the US and important areas for transformation. Conclusions: Efforts to reconnect Indigenous knowledge and values systems with future food systems are essential for planetary health and sustainable development. Traditional knowledge sharing must foreground authentic Indigenous inclusion within policymaking. Highlights: • The main theme identified amongst the SR literature was the lasting impacts of colonization on Indigenous food systems in Canada and the US, which is described through four key areas: climate change; capitalism; legal changes; and socio-cultural changes. • Less than 20% of included papers report author positionality, with only 7% of included papers reporting Indigenous authorship, emphasizing an opportunity for more reporting and Indigenous engagement in the future. • Loss of cultural knowledge and practices was highlighted by many articles reviewed. • Revitalisation of IFS must include authentic Indigenous engagement, support Indigenous knowledge frameworks, community sharing networks, education programs and co-management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In high income countries one in five children still lives in poverty, which is known to adversely shape the life course health trajectory of these children. However, much less is understood on whether social and fiscal policies have the capacity to reverse this damage, which intervention is likely to be most effective and when these interventions should be delivered to maximise their impact. This systematic review attempts to address these questions by looking at the impact of income-support interventions, delivered during the first 1,000 days of life, on cardiovascular, metabolic, respiratory and mental health outcomes. Methods: The review was restricted to experimental or quasi experimental studies conducted in high income countries. Studies were retrieved from multidisciplinary databases as well as health, economic, social sciences-specific literature browsers. All papers retrieved through the search strategy were double screened at title, abstract and full text stage. Relevant data of the selected studies were extracted and collected in tables, then summarised via narrative synthesis approach. Robustness of findings was assessed by tabulating impact by health outcome, type of intervention and study design. Results: Overall, 16 relevant papers were identified, including 15 quasi-experimental studies and one randomized control trial (RCT). Income-support interventions included were unconditional/conditional cash transfers, income tax credit and minimum wage salary policies. Most studies were conducted in United States and Canada. Overall, the evidence suggested limited effect on mental health indicators but a positive, albeit small, effect of most policies on birth weight outcomes. Despite this, according to few studies that tried to extrapolate the results into public health terms, the potential number of negative outcomes averted might be consistent. Conclusions: Income-support interventions can positively affect some of the health outcomes of interest in this review, including birth weight and mental health. Given the large number of people targeted by these programs, one could infer that – despite small – the observed effect may be still relevant at population level. Nonetheless, the limited generalisability of the evidence gathered hampers firm conclusions. For the future, the breadth and scope of this literature need to be broadened to fully exploit the potential of these interventions and understand how their public health impact can be maximised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: On January 31st, 2023, the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada, was granted a federal exemption allowing adults (aged 18 +) to possess up to 2.5 g of select illicit drugs. The exemption will be in place for three years (2023–2026), marking the first formal decriminalization of illicit drug policy reform in Canada. BC's decriminalization initiative is premised on several goals. This project seeks to evaluate each of these goals and their individual and combined contributions to determine the overall success of this policy. Methods: The following protocol paper provides a detailed outline of a five-year (2022-2027) national evaluation of BC's decriminalization initiative, as well as the specific objectives, methodologies, and planned analyses for eight interrelated sub-studies that comprise the evaluation. These sub-studies fall under the following five topical areas of research: 1) people who use drugs (PWUD), 2) the police and the criminal justice system, 3) the general public, 4) the health services system, and 5) an economic analysis. Additional research activities may also be explored. Results: The overall evaluation and specific sub-study designs were informed by intensive stakeholder engagement. The evaluation was developed in collaboration with an international expert committee who came together to undertake a nominal group technique to decide on the final evaluation design and corresponding logic model. The evaluation will also employ an advisory board and individual sub-study working groups comprised of experts and PWUD who will oversee the development and implementation of the overall evaluation as well as each sub-study. Discussion: This evaluation will draw on implementation science research practices to evaluate and understand the full impacts of this novel drug policy experiment. Results will be widely disseminated through manuscripts, reports, presentations, and infographics, which will be adapted and tailored for specific audiences. The protocol identifies several anticipated challenges and limitations. This evaluation's evidence-based findings will be poised to offer pivotal insights that can shape and refine the discourse on drug policy and will serve as a critical resource for understanding the multifaceted impacts of decriminalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: People living in rural and remote communities commonly experience significant health disadvantages. Geographical barriers and reduced specialist and generalist services impact access to care when compared with metropolitan context. Innovative models of care have been developed for people living with chronic diseases in rural areas with the goal of overcoming these inequities. The aim of this paper was to describe the characteristics and outcomes of studies investigating innovative models of care for people living with chronic disease in rural areas of developed countries where a metropolitan comparator was included.Methods: An integrative systematic review was undertaken. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method was used to understand the empirical and theoretical data on clinical outcomes for people living with chronic disease in rural compared with metropolitan contexts and their models of care in Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.Results: Literature searching revealed 620 articles published in English between 1st January 2000 and 31st March 2019. One hundred sixty were included in the review including 68 from the United States, 59 from Australia and New Zealand (5), 21 from Canada and 11 from the United Kingdom and Ireland. 53% (84) focused on cardiovascular disease; 27% (43) diabetes mellitus; 8% (12) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; and 13% (27) chronic kidney disease. Mortality was only reported in 10% (16) of studies and only 18% (29) reported data on Indigenous populations.Conclusions: This integrated review reveals that the published literature on common chronic health issues pertaining to rural and remote populations is largely descriptive. Only a small number of publications focus on mortality and comparative health outcomes from health care models in both urban and non-urban populations. Innovative service models and telehealth are together well represented in the published literature but data on health outcomes is relatively sparse. There is significant scope for further directly comparative studies detailing the effect of service delivery models on the health outcomes of urban and rural populations. We believe that such data would further knowledge in this field and help to break the deadly synergy between increased rurality and poorer outcomes for people with chronic disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change increases the risk of illness through rising temperature, severe precipitation and worst air pollution. This paper investigates how monthly excess mortality rate is associated with the increasing frequency and severity of extreme temperature in Canada during 2000-2020. The extreme associations were compared among four age groups across five sub-blocks of Canada based on the datasets of monthly T90 and T10, the two most representative indices of severe weather monitoring measures developed by the actuarial associations in Canada and US. We utilize a combined seasonal Auto-regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and bivariate Peaks-Over-Threshold (POT) method to investigate the extreme association via the extreme tail index χ and Pickands dependence function plots. It turns out that it is likely (more than 10%) to occur with excess mortality if there are unusual low temperature with extreme intensity (all χ > 0.1 except Northeast Atlantic (NEA), Northern Plains (NPL) and Northwest Pacific (NWP) for age group 0-44), while extreme frequent high temperature seems not to affect health significantly (all χ ≤ 0.001 except NWP). Particular attention should be paid to NWP and Central Arctic (CAR) since population health therein is highly associated with both extreme frequent high and low temperatures (both χ = 0.3182 for all age groups). The revealed extreme dependence is expected to help stakeholders avoid significant ramifications with targeted health protection strategies from unexpected consequences of extreme weather events. The novel extremal dependence methodology is promisingly applied in further studies of the interplay between extreme meteorological exposures, social-economic factors and health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected those who face historical and ongoing marginalization. In centering pandemic experience of recent immigrant women in the accommodation and food services sector in Canada, we examine how their precarious work translated to experiences of work precarity and wellbeing. This paper illuminates how pre-existing and ongoing marginalization are reproduced during a health crisis for those at the intersection of gender, race, migration, and labour inequities. Using semi-structured interviews and systematic analysis using the Work Precarity Framework, we found that the pandemic exacerbated pre-existing socio-economic marginalization and resulted in unique experiences of work precarity. The latter was experienced as precarity of work (unpredictable work hours and job or employment insecurity), precarity from work (inadequate incomes), and precarity at work (physical, psychological, and relational unsafety). Work precarity stood out as a social determinant of health in relation to its outcome of degraded mental health and wellbeing. Recognizing the role of policies in producing, reproducing, and distributing precarity, we recommend policy directions to reduce social inequities in pandemic recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The increased scrutiny on public health brought upon by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic provides a strong impetus for a renewal of public health systems. This paper seeks to understand priorities of public health decision-makers for reforms to public health financing, organization, interventions, and workforce. Methods: We used an online 3-round real-time Delphi method of reaching consensus on priorities for public health systems reform. Participants were recruited among individuals holding senior roles in Canadian public health institutions, ministries of health and regional health authorities. In Round 1, participants were asked to rate 9 propositions related to public health financing, organization, workforce, and interventions. Participants were also asked to contribute up to three further ideas in relation to these topics in open-ended format. In Rounds 2 and 3, participants re-appraised their ratings in the view of the group's ratings in the previous round. Results: Eighty-six public health senior decision-makers from various public health organizations across Canada were invited to participate. Of these, 25/86 completed Round 1 (29% response rate), 19/25 completed Round 2 (76% retention rate) and 18/19 completed Round 3 (95% retention rate). Consensus (defined as more than 70% of importance rating) was achieved for 6 out of 9 propositions at the end of the third round. In only one case, the consensus was that the proposition was not important. Proposition rated consensually important relate to targeted public health budget, time frame for spending this budget, and the specialization of public health structures. Both interventions related and not related to the COVID-19 pandemic were judged important. Open-ended comments further highlighted priorities for renewal in public health governance and public health information management systems. Conclusion: Consensus emerged rapidly among Canadian public health decision-makers on prioritizing public health budget and time frame for spending. Ensuring that public health services beyond COVID-19 and communicable disease are maintained and enhanced is also of central importance. Future research shall explore potential trade-offs between these priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With the recent shift in focus to addressing HIV risk within relationships and couple-based interventions to prevent HIV transmission, successful recruitment of individuals involved in HIV-serodiscordant relationships is crucial. This paper evaluates methods used by the Positive Plus One (PP1) study to recruit and collect data on a diverse national sample of dyads and individuals involved in current or past HIV-serodiscordant relationships, discusses the strengths and limitations of the recruitment approach, and makes recommendations to inform the interpretation of study results and the design of future studies.Methods: PP1 used a multi-pronged approach to recruit adults involved in a current or past HIV-serodiscordant relationship in Canada from 2016 to 2018 to complete a survey and an interview. Upon survey completion, index (first recruited) partners were invited to recruit their primary current HIV-serodiscordant partner. We investigated participant enrollment by recruitment source, participant-, relationship-, and dyad-level sociodemographic characteristics, missing data, and correlates of participation for individuals recruited by their partners.Results: We recruited 613 participants (355 HIV-positive; 258 HIV-negative) across 10 Canadian provinces, including 153 complete dyads and 307 individuals who participated alone, and representing 460 HIV-serodiscordant relationships. Among those in current relationships, HIV-positive participants were more likely than HIV-negative participants to learn of the study through an ASO staff member (36% v. 20%, p < 0.001), ASO listserv/newsletter (12% v. 5%, p = 0.007), or physician/staff at a clinic (20% v. 11%, p = 0.006). HIV-negative participants involved in current relationships were more likely than HIV-positive participants to learn of the study through their partner (46% v. 8%, p < 0.001). Seventy-eight percent of index participants invited their primary HIV-serodiscordant partner to participate, and 40% were successful. Successful recruitment of primary partners was associated with longer relationship duration, higher relationship satisfaction, and a virally suppressed HIV-positive partner.Conclusions: Our findings provide important new information on and support the use of a multi-pronged approach to recruit HIV-positive and HIV-negative individuals involved in HIV-serodiscordant relationships in Canada. More creative strategies are needed to help index partners recruit their partner in relationships with lower satisfaction and shorter duration and further minimize the risk of "happy couple" bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Homelessness is becoming an international public health issue in most developed countries, including Canada. Homelessness is regarded as both political and socioeconomic problems warranting broad and consistent result-oriented approaches.Methods: This paper represents the qualitative findings of a project that explored risk factors associated with family homelessness and strategies that could mitigate and prevent homelessness among families using a focused ethnographic study guided by the principles of participatory action research (PAR). The sample includes 36 family members residing at a family shelter who participated in focus groups over two years (between April 2016 and December 2017). Most of the participants were single-parent women.Results: The analysis yielded five major themes including, life challenges, lack of understanding of the system, existing power differentials, escaping from hardship, and a theme of proposed solutions for reducing family homelessness in the community.Conclusion: The findings illustrated the complex nature of family homelessness in Ontario; that the interaction of multiple systems can put families at risk of homelessness. Findings from this study underscore the need for urgent housing protocols aimed at educating homeless families on how to navigate and understand the system, enhance their conflict resolution skills, and develop strategies beyond relocation to help them to cope with difficulties with housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Walkability is a popular term used to describe aspects of the built and social environment that have important population-level impacts on physical activity, energy balance, and health. Although the term is widely used by researchers, practitioners, and the general public, and multiple operational definitions and walkability measurement tools exist, there are is no agreed-upon conceptual definition of walkability.Method: To address this gap, researchers from Memorial University of Newfoundland hosted "The Future of Walkability Measures Workshop" in association with researchers from the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE) in November 2017. During the workshop, trainees, researchers, and practitioners worked together in small groups to iteratively develop and reach consensus about a conceptual definition and name for walkability. The objective of this paper was to discuss and propose a conceptual definition of walkability and related concepts.Results: In discussions during the workshop, it became clear that the term walkability leads to a narrow conception of the environmental features associated with health as it inherently focuses on walking. As a result, we suggest that the term Active Living Environments, as has been previously proposed in the literature, are more appropriate. We define Active Living Environments (ALEs) as the emergent natural, built, and social properties of neighbourhoods that promote physical activity and health and allow for equitable access to health-enhancing resources.Conclusions: We believe that this broader conceptualization allows for a more comprehensive understanding of how built, natural, and social environments can contribute to improved health for all members of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Participation in on-the-land programs that encourage traditional cultural activities may improve health and well-being. The Income Security Program (ISP) - a financial incentive-based on-the-land program - for Eeyouch (Cree) hunters and trappers in Eeyou Istchee was created as a result of the 1975 James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement to help mitigate the effects of hydroelectric development on the Cree people of northern Quebec, Canada. Beyond the ISP's financial incentives, little is known about the health measures of those who are eligible to participate in the ISP (i.e. spent ≥120 days on-the-land during the previous year). Therefore, this paper's objective was to assess the health measures of northern Quebec Cree, who were eligible for participation in the ISP.Methods: Using participant data (n = 545) compiled from the Nituuchischaayihtitaau Aschii Multi-Community Environment-and-Health Study, we assessed 13 different health measures in generalized linear models with the independent variable being the eligibility to participate in the ISP.Results: Participants in the present study who were eligible for the ISP had significantly higher levels of vigorous and moderate activity per week, and higher concentrations of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the blood compared to those ineligible for the ISP (i.e. spent ≤119 days on-the-land during the previous year). Encouragingly, following model adjustment for age and sex, participants eligible for the ISP did not have higher blood concentrations of mercury than those who were not eligible for the ISP.Conclusions: Our results suggest that the participants eligible for participation in the ISP are likely to be healthier than those who are ineligible to participate - and are promising for on-the-land programs for Indigenous peoples beyond a financial incentive - with no apparent higher risk of increasing contaminant body burden through traditional on-the-land-activities (e.g. fish consumption). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lone parents and their children experience higher than average levels of adverse health and social outcomes, much of which are explained by high rates of poverty. Many high income countries have attempted to address high poverty rates by introducing employment requirements for lone parents in receipt of welfare benefits. However, there is evidence that employment may not reduce poverty or improve the health of lone parents and their children.Methods: We conducted a systematic review of qualitative studies reporting lone parents' accounts of participation in welfare to work (WtW), to identify explanations and possible mechanisms for the impacts of WtW on health and wellbeing. Twenty one bibliographic databases were searched. Two reviewers independently screened references and assessed study quality. Studies from any high income country that met the criteria of focussing on lone parents, mandatory WtW interventions, and health or wellbeing were included. Thematic synthesis was used to investigate analytic themes between studies.Results: Screening of the 4703 identified papers and quality assessment resulted in the inclusion of 16 qualitative studies of WtW in five high income countries, USA, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand, covering a variety of welfare regimes. Our synthesis found that WtW requirements often conflicted with child care responsibilities. Available employment was often poorly paid and precarious. Adverse health impacts, such as increased stress, fatigue, and depression were commonly reported, though employment and appropriate training was linked to increased self-worth for some. WtW appeared to influence health through the pathways of conflict and control, analytical themes which emerged during synthesis. WtW reduced control over the nature of employment and care of children. Access to social support allowed some lone parents to manage the conflict associated with employment, and to increase control over their circumstances, with potentially beneficial health impacts.Conclusion: WtW can result in increased conflict and reduced control, which may lead to negative impacts on mental health. Availability of social support may mediate the negative health impacts of WtW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent implementation of public health policies exacerbated multiple intersecting systemic inequities, including homelessness. Housing is a key social determinant of health that played a significant part in the front-line defence against COVID-19, posing challenges for service providers working with people experiencing homelessness (PEH). Public health practitioners and not-for-profit organizations (NFPs) had to adapt existing COVID-19 policies and implement novel measures to prevent the spread of disease within congregate settings, including shelters. It is essential to share the perspectives of service providers working with PEH and their experiences implementing policies to prepare for future public health emergencies and prevent service disruptions. Methods: In this qualitative case study, we explored how service providers in the non-profit sector interpreted, conceptualized, and implemented COVID-19 public health outbreak control policies in Nova Scotia. We interviewed 11 service providers between September and December 2020. Using thematic analysis, we identified patterns and generated themes. Local, provincial, and national policy documents were useful to situate our findings within the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and contextualize participants' experiences. Results: Implementing policies in the context of homelessness was difficult for service providers, leading to creative temporary solutions, including pop-up shelters, a dedicated housing isolation phone line, comfort stations, and harm reduction initiatives, among others. There were distinct rural challenges to navigating the pandemic, which stemmed from technology limitations, lack of public transportation, and service closures. This case study illustrates the importance of flexible and context-specific policies required to support PEH and mitigate the personal and professional impact on service providers amid a public health emergency. Innovative services and public health collaboration also exemplified the ability to enhance housing services beyond the pandemic. Conclusions: The results of this project may inform context-specific emergency preparedness and response plans for COVID-19, future public health emergencies, and ongoing housing crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Canada, 8.1 million people informally provide care without payment, primarily to family members; 6.1 million of them are employed at a full-time or part-time job. Digital technologies, such as internet-based tools, can provide informal caregivers' access to information and support. This scoping review aimed to explore the role of internet-based digital tools in reducing social isolation and addressing support needs among informal caregivers.Methods: A systematic search for relevant peer-reviewed literature was conducted of four electronic databases, guided by Arksey and O'Malley's framework. An extensive search for relevant grey literature was also conducted.Results: The screening process yielded twenty-three papers. The following themes were generated from the reviewed studies: searching for and receiving support; gaining a sense of social inclusion and belonging; and benefits and challenges of web-based support. The studies noted that, to connect with peers and obtain social support, informal caregivers often turn to online platforms. By engaging with peers in online communities, these caregivers reported regaining a sense of social inclusion and belonging.Conclusions: The findings suggest that internet-based digital tools can be a cost-effective and convenient way to develop programs that help unpaid caregivers form communities, gain support, and access resources. Service providers can leverage digital tools to deliver support to caregivers within online communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) framework is a useful tool for evaluating the impact of programs in community settings. RE-AIM has been applied to evaluate individual programs but seldom used to evaluate the collective impact of community-based, public health programming developed and delivered by multiple autonomous organizations. The purposes of this paper were to (a) demonstrate how RE-AIM can be operationalized and applied to evaluate the collective impact of similar autonomous programs that promote health and well-being and (b) provide preliminary data on the collective impact of Canadian spinal cord injury (SCI) peer mentorship programs on the delivery of peer mentorship services.Methods: Criteria from all five RE-AIM dimensions were operationalized to evaluate multiple similar community-based programs. For this study, nine provincial organizations that serve people with SCI were recruited from across Canada. Organizations completed a structured self-report questionnaire and participated in a qualitative telephone interview to examine different elements of their peer mentorship program. Data were analyzed using summary statistics.Results: Having multiple indicators to assess RE-AIM dimensions provided a broad evaluation of the impact of Canadian SCI peer mentorship programs. Peer mentorship programs reached 1.63% of the estimated Canadian SCI population. The majority (67%) of organizations tracked the effectiveness of peer mentorship through testimonials and reports. Setting-level adoption rates were high with 100% of organizations offering peer mentorship in community and hospital settings. On average, organizations allocated 10.4% of their operating budget and 9.8% of their staff to implement peer mentorship and 89% had maintained their programming for over 10 years. Full interpretation of the collective impact of peer mentorship programs was limited as complete data were only collected for 52% of survey questions.Conclusions: The lack of available organizational data highlights a significant challenge when using RE-AIM to evaluate the collective impact of multiple programs that promote health and well-being. Although researchers are encouraged to use RE-AIM to evaluate the collective impact of programs delivered by different organizations, documenting limitations and providing recommendations should be done to further the understanding of how best to operationalize RE-AIM in these contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Human relationships with and connections to nature and the "land" are a commonly accepted Social Determinant of Health. Greater knowledge about these relationships can inform public health policies and interventions focused on health equity among Indigenous populations. Two research questions were explored: (1) what are the experiences of meaningful human-nature relationships among Indigenous youth within central Canada; and (2) how do these relationships function as a determinant of health and wellness within their lives. Methods: Drawing from three community-based participatory research (CBPR) projects within two urban centers in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the integrated qualitative findings presented here involved 92 interviews with 52 Indigenous youth that occurred over a period of nine years (2014–2023). Informed by "two-eyed seeing," this analysis combined Indigenous Methodologies and a Constructivist Grounded Theory approach. Results: Our integrative analysis revealed three cross-cutting themes about meaningful human-nature relationships: (1) promoting cultural belonging and positive identity; (2) connecting to community and family; and (3) supporting spiritual health and relationships. The experiences of young people also emphasized barriers to land and nature access within their local environments. Discussion: Policies, practices, and interventions aimed at strengthening urban Indigenous young peoples' relationships to and connections with nature and the land can have a positive impact on their health and wellness. Public Health systems and healthcare providers can learn about leveraging the health benefits of human-nature relationships at individual and community levels, and this is particularly vital for those working to advance health equity among Indigenous populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Resilience has gained considerable attention in the mental health field as a protective factor that enables individuals to overcome mental health issues and achieve positive outcomes. A better understanding of resilience among Black youth is important for supporting the strengths and capacities within this population. This study seeks to investigate the correlates of resilience among Black youths in Canada. Methods: The survey was conducted online through REDCap between November 2022 and March 2023. The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) was utilized to measure the capacity of participants to recover from or bounce back from stress. The BRS comprises six five-point Likert scale items. Data were analyzed employing a bivariate analysis followed by a multivariable binary logistic regression. Results: A total of 933 Black youths participated in the study across all Canadian provinces, of which 51.8% (483) identified as female and 46.7% (436) as male. Most respondents 51.3% (479) were between the ages of 16 and 20 years, with 28% (261) between the ages of 21 and 25 years, and 20.2% (188) between the ages of 26 and 30 years. In terms of employment, 62.0% (578) were working part-time, 23.7%, (220) were unemployed, and 9.8% (91) were working full-time. Over a third of participants (39.3%, 331) rated their mental health over the last month as good, with 34% (317) giving a rating of poor and 20.9% (195) giving a rating of fair. Black youths who were working part-time had four times greater odds of expressing low resilience (OR: 4.02; 95% CI: 1.82–11.29) than those who were not working. Black youth who ranked their mental health as poor were about nine times (OR: 8.65; 95% CI: 1.826–21.978) more likely to express low resilience. Conclusion: In this study, the Black youth participants reported relatively low resilience scores. Employment, physical health, and mental health status were factors that contributed to low resilience. Further studies are needed to examine the causal link between resilience and its dynamic effect on health outcomes among Black youth. More interventions are needed to make mental health services accessible to Black youth in a more culturally sensitive way with cross-culturally trained professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Canada depends on Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs), also known as migrant workers, to fill labour shortage in agriculture, hospitality, construction, child/senior care, and other low-skilled occupations. Evidence shows that TFWs, especially women live-in caregivers (LC), constitute a vulnerable population. Their health is compromised by the precarious and harsh working and living conditions they encounter. There is a paucity of research on the mental health of LCs, their support systems and access to mental health services.Method: In this community-based exploratory study, we used mixed methods of survey and focus groups to explore the work related experiences and mental health of migrant live-in caregivers in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Convenience and snowball sampling were used to recruit participants. The inclusion criteria were: being 18 years or older, initially migrated to Canada as TFWs under LC program, resided in the Greater Toronto Area, and able to understand and converse in English based on self-report. This paper reports on the focus group results derived from inductive thematic analysis.Results: A total of 30 women LCs participated in the study. Most of them were from the Philippines. A number of key themes emerged from the participants' narratives: (1) precarious migration-employment status (re)produces exploitation; (2) deskilling and downward social mobility reinforce alienation; (3) endurance of hardship for family back home; (4) double lives of public cheerfulness and private anguish; and (4) unrecognized mental health needs. The study results reflected gross injustices experienced by these women.Conclusion: A multi-faceted approach is required to improve the working and living conditions of this vulnerable group and ultimately their health outcomes. We recommend the following: government inspection to ensure employer compliance with the labour standards and provision of safe working and living conditions; change immigration policy to allow migrant caregivers to apply for permanent residence upon arrival; the TFWs Program to establish fair wages and subsidized housing so that caregivers can truly access the live-out option; and local ethno-specific, settlement and faith organizations be leveraged to provide TFWs with social support as well as information about their rights and how to access health and social care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: When seeking care at international hospitals and clinics, medical tourists are often accompanied by family members, friends, or other caregivers. Such caregiver-companions assume a variety of roles and responsibilities and typically offer physical assistance, provide emotional support, and aid in decision-making and record keeping as medical tourists navigate unfamiliar environments. While traveling abroad, medical tourists' caregiver-companions can find themselves confronted with challenging communication barriers, financial pressures, emotional strain, and unsafe environments.Methods: To better understand what actions and activities medical tourists' informal caregivers can undertake to protect their health and safety, 20 interviews were conducted with Canadians who had experienced accompanying a medical tourist to an international health care facility for surgery. Interview transcripts were subsequently used to identify inductive and deductive themes central to the advice research participants offered to prospective caregiver-companions.Results: Advice offered to future caregiver-companions spanned the following actions and activities to protect health and safety: become an informed health care consumer; assess and avoid exposure to identifiable risks; anticipate the care needs of medical tourists and thereby attempt to guard against caregiver burden; become familiar with important logistics related to travel and anticipated recovery timelines; and take practical measures to protect one's own health.Conclusion: Given that a key feature of public health is to use research findings to develop interventions and policies intended to promote health and reduce risks to individuals and populations, the paper draws upon major points of advice offered by study participants to take the first steps toward the development of an informational intervention designed specifically for the health and safety needs of medical tourists' caregiver companions. While additional research is required to finalize the content and form of such an intervention, this study provides insight into what practical advice former caregiver-companions state should be shared with individuals considering assuming these roles and responsibilities in the future. In addition, this research draws attention to the importance of ensuring that such an intervention is web-based and readily accessible by prospective caregiver-companions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A large volume of research has been published on both the socio economic and demographic determinants of cancer and on the health of immigrants and minority groups. Yet because of data limitations, little research examines differences in the occurrence of cancer incidence between immigrants and non-immigrants and among immigrants defined by region of birth and time in the host country. In particular it is not known whether a healthy immigrant effect is present for cancer and if so, whether this advantage is lost with additional years of residence in the host country.Methods: This paper uses a large data file from Statistics Canada that links Census information on immigrant status, socioeconomic status including educational attainment, and other person-level information with administrative data on cancer and mortality over a continuous 13 year period of observation. It estimates discrete and continuous time duration models to identify differences in cancer diagnosis by immigrant subgroup after controlling for a variety of potential confounders. Differences in historical smoking behavior are not observable at the individual level in the dataset but are accounted for indirectly using various methods.Results: Results in general confirm the existence of a healthy immigrant effect for cancer in that, overall, recent immigrants to Canada are significantly less likely than otherwise comparable non-immigrant Canadians to be diagnosed with any cancer and the most common forms of cancer by site. As well, this gap appears to decline with additional years in Canada for immigrant men and women, eventually converging to Canadian-born levels. Differentiating among immigrant subgroups by period of arrival and country of birth reveals significant variation across immigrant subgroups, with immigrant men and women from developing countries typically having a lower likelihood of being diagnosed with cancer than immigrants from the US, UK and continental Europe. As well, controlling for immigrant heterogeneity this way weakens the conclusion that the gap narrows with years in Canada. Immigrant men overall continue to exhibit convergence to Canadian-born levels for diagnosis of any cancer and for prostate cancer, while immigrant women exhibit narrowing over time only for breast cancer. Although smoking behavior is not directly observed, controlling for subgroup-specific lifetime smoking behavior using survey data has only a relatively minor effect on the estimated differences.Conclusions: The specificity of the results by cancer type, gender, immigrant status and ethnicity provides useful guidance for future research by helping to narrow the possible channels through which social and economic characteristics may be affecting cancer incidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Canada, there is a growing need to develop community-based, culturally appropriate palliative care for Indigenous people living in First Nations communities. The public health approach to palliative care, which emphasizes community-based initiatives, is especially relevant in First Nations communities because care is grounded in their distinct social and cultural context. Central to the public health approach are educational strategies that strengthen communities' capacity to care for their vulnerable members as they die. This paper presents community-based research conducted with First Nations communities in Canada that aimed to assess and address local palliative care educational needs to improve community capacity in palliative care.Methods: Participatory action research (PAR) was conducted with four First Nations communities in Canada over a six-year period (2010-2016). The research occurred in three phases. Phase 1: focus groups, interviews and surveys were employed to assess community specific needs and resources. Phase 2: recommendations were developed to guide the PAR process. Phase 3: educational resources were created to address the identified educational needs. These resources were implemented incrementally over 4 years. Ongoing process evaluation was employed, and revisions were made as required.Results: Educational needs were identified for patients, families, community members and internal and external health care providers. A wide and comprehensive range of educational resources were created to address those needs. Those culturally appropriate educational resources are available in a very accessible and useable workbook format and are available for use by other Indigenous people and communities.Conclusions: This research provides an example of the public health approach and offers implementation strategies around palliative care education. This paper contributes to the international literature on the public health approach to palliative care by presenting a case study from Canada that includes: conducting a culturally appropriate assessment of educational needs, creating recommendations, facilitating development and implementation of educational resources in the community to improve community capacity in palliative care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: For accessing dental care in Canada, approximately 62% of the population has employment-based insurance, 6% have some publicly funded coverage, and 32% have to pay out-of pocket. Those with no insurance or public coverage find dental care more unaffordable compared to those with private insurance. To support the development of more comprehensive publicly funded dental care programs, it is important to understand the socio-demographic attributes of all those, who find dental care unaffordable. Methods: This study is a secondary analysis of the data collected from Ontarians during the latest available cycle of the Canadian Community Health Survey (2017-18), a cross-sectional survey that collects information on health status, health care utilization, and health determinants for the Canadian population. First, bivariate analysis was conducted to determine the characteristics of Ontarians who lack dental insurance. Afterwards, we employed machine learning (ML) to analyze data and identify risk indicators for not having private dental insurance. Specifically, we trained several supervised ML models and utilized Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) to determine the relative feature importance for not having private dental insurance from the best ML model [the gradient boosting (GBM)]. Results: Approximately one-third of Ontarians do not have private insurance coverage for dental care. Individuals with an income below $20,000, those unemployed or working part-time, seniors aged above 70, and those unable to afford to have their own housing are more at risk of not having private dental insurance, leading to financial barriers in accessing dental care. Conclusion: In the future, government-funded programs can incorporate these identified risk indicators when determining eligible populations for publicly funded dental programs. Understanding these attributes is critical for developing targeted and effective interventions, ensuring equitable access to dental care for Canadians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Public health systems in Canada have undergone significant policy renewal over the last decade in response to threats to the public's health, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome. There is limited research on how public health policies have been implemented or what has influenced their implementation. This paper explores policy implementation in two exemplar public health programs -chronic disease prevention and sexually-transmitted infection prevention - in Ontario, Canada. It examines public health service providers', managers' and senior managements' perspectives on the process of implementation of the Ontario Public Health Standards 2008 and factors influencing implementation.Methods: Public health staff from six health units representing rural, remote, large and small urban settings were included. We conducted 21 focus groups and 18 interviews between 2010 (manager and staff focus groups) and 2011 (senior management interviews) involving 133 participants. Research assistants coded transcripts and researchers reviewed these; the research team discussed and resolved discrepancies. To facilitate a breadth of perspectives, several team members helped interpret the findings. An integrated knowledge translation approach was used, reflected by the inclusion of academics as well as decision-makers on the team and as co-authors.Results: Front line service providers often were unaware of the new policies but managers and senior management incorporated them in operational and program planning. Some participants were involved in policy development or provided feedback prior to their launch. Implementation was influenced by many factors that aligned with Greenhalgh and colleagues' empirically-based Diffusion of Innovations in Service Organizations Framework. Factors and related components that were most clearly linked to the OPHS policy implementation were: attributes of the innovation itself; adoption by individuals; diffusion and dissemination; the outer context - interorganizational networks and collaboration; the inner setting - implementation processes and routinization; and, linkage at the design and implementation stage.Conclusions: Multiple factors influenced public health policy implementation. Results provide empirical support for components of Greenhalgh et al's framework and suggest two additional components - the role of external organizational collaborations and partnerships as well as planning processes in influencing implementation. These are important to consider by government and public health organizations when promoting new or revised public health policies as they evolve over time. A successful policy implementation process in Ontario has helped to move public health towards the new vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Increasing immigration in the world today leads to more intercultural interactions. This is a particularly crucial fact in doctor-patient relationships, which often become more complex and suboptimal within an intercultural context. Since acculturation is a particularly important factor in this process, and the doctor-patient relationship is a key component in patient health outcomes, this study investigates the interrelation of individual immigrant acculturation orientations with the quality of the doctor-immigrant patient relationship, the patients' perceived quality of care, and how this relates to immigrant health behaviours and quality of life of the patients.Methods: 171 immigrant patients of various backgrounds participated in a paper and pencil questionnaire to assess the role of acculturation orientations (AO) on patients' perceived expectations of their doctor, perceived quality of care (PQOC), health behaviours and quality of life. Data were analyzed using ANOVA, regression and correlation procedures with SPSS statistical software.Results: Significant correlations were found between all AOs and measures of the participant feeling connected to the host or home culture, thereby verifying the measure of AO. All four AOs were significantly interrelated directly with the patient's perception of what the doctor expects of him/her, and the patients' quality of life. Patients' perceived expectations of their doctors were significantly related to the patients' PQOC, and PQOC was associated with improved health behaviours (adherence to doctor recommendations, physical activity maintenance self-efficacy).Conclusions: AO may be an important factor in the doctor-immigrant patient relationship, via a complex process involving the patients' perceptions of doctors' expectations and perceived quality of care. This has important implications, since such an understanding can be used to create interventions for both doctors and immigrant patients to learn about their own AO, how it can relate to the quality of their relationship, and ultimately, the quality of care, health and quality of life of the patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lyme disease control strategies may include tick control interventions in high risk areas. Public authorities may be interested to assess how these types of interventions are perceived by the public which may then impact their acceptability. The aims of this paper are to compare socio-cognitive factors associated with high acceptability of tick control interventions and to describe perceived issues that may explain their low acceptability in populations living in two different regions, one being an endemic region for LD since the last 30 years, the Neuchâtel canton, in Switzerland, and another where the disease is emerging, the Montérégie region, in Canada.Methods: A mixed methods' design was chosen. Quantitative data were collected using web-surveys conducted in both regions (n = 814). Multivariable logistic regressions were used to compare socio-cognitive factors associated with high acceptability of selected interventions. Qualitative data were collected using focus group's discussions to describe perceived issues relative to these interventions.Results: Levels of acceptability in the studied populations were the lowest for the use of acaricides and landscaping and were under 50 % in both regions for six out of eight interventions, but were higher overall in Montérégie. High perceived efficacy of the intervention was strongly associated with high acceptability of tick control interventions. A high perceived risk about LD was also associated with a high acceptability of intervention under some models. High level of knowledge about LD was negatively associated with high acceptability of the use of acaricides in Neuchâtel. Perceived issues explaining low acceptability included environmental impacts, high costs to the public system, danger of individual disempowerment and perceptions that tick control interventions were disproportionate options for the level of LD risk.Conclusion: This study suggests that the perceived efficacy and LD risk perception may be key factors to target to increase the acceptability of tick control interventions. Community-level issues seem to be important considerations driving low acceptability of public health interventions. Results of this study highlight the importance for decision-makers to account for socio-cognitive factors and perceived issues that may affect the acceptability of public health interventions in order to maximize the efficacy of actions to prevent and control LD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Drowning is a significant public health issue, with females accounting for one third of global drowning deaths. The rate of female drowning has not decreased within high-income countries and presentations to hospital have increased. This scoping review aimed to explore adult female unintentional drowning, including risk factors, clinical treatment and outcomes of females hospitalised for drowning.Methods: A systematic search of the literature following the PRISMA-ScR framework was undertaken. The databases OVID MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, OVID Emcare, Web of Science, Informit and Scopus were accessed. Study locations of focus were Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Studies from January 2003 to April 2019 were included. The quality of evidence of included studies was assessed using GRADE guidelines.Results: The final search results included 14 studies from Australia (n = 4), Canada (n = 1), New Zealand (n = 1), United States (n = 6), United Kingdom (n = 1), and one study reporting data from both Australia and United States. Nine studies reported risk factors for female drowning including age, with the proportion of female drowning incidence increasing with age. Although females are now engaging in risk-taking behaviours associated with drowning that are similar to males, such as consuming alcohol and swimming in unsafe locations, their exposure to risky situations and ways they assess risk, differ. Females are more likely to drown from accidental entry into water, such as in a vehicle during a flood or fall into water. This review found no evidence on the clinical treatment provided to females in hospital after a drowning incident, and only a small number of studies reported the clinical outcomes of females, with inconsistent results (some studies reported better and some no difference in clinical outcomes among females).Conclusion: Adult females are a group vulnerable to drowning, that have lacked attention. There was no single study found which focused solely on female drowning. There is a need for further research to explore female risk factors, the clinical treatment and outcomes of females hospitalised for drowning. This will not only save the lives of females, but also contribute to an overall reduction in drowning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper examines school and classroom effects on Daily Physical Activity (DPA) policy implementation in classrooms in Ontario, Canada. In 2005 the Ontario Ministry of Education mandated a policy requiring school boards to "ensure that all elementary students, including students with special needs, have a minimum of twenty minutes of sustained MVPA each school day during instructional time". Based on an adaptation of Chaudoir's conceptual framework, this paper contributes to understanding the extent to which school factors (as reported by administrators) and classroom factors (as reported by teachers) are associated with policy implementation fidelity at the classroom level.Methods: Cross-sectional online surveys were conducted in 2014 with elementary school administrators and teachers, based on representative random samples of schools and classrooms. A measure assessing implementation fidelity was developed from the six required components of the policy and for this paper fidelity at the classroom level is treated as the outcome variable. Several school- and classroom-level measures were also included in the surveys and a number of these were selected for inclusion here. Data from the two surveys were merged and selected variables were included in the multi-level analysis. Two-level logistic regression models were conducted to account for nesting of classrooms within schools and a series of models were conducted to identify factors associated with implementation fidelity.Results: The analytic sample for this study included 170 school administrators and 307 classroom teachers from corresponding schools. Findings from the multi-level logistic regression analyses indicated that only classroom/teacher-level factors were significantly associated with implementation fidelity at the classroom level. None of the school/administrator predictors were significantly related to fidelity. The most parsimonious model included five significant classroom/teacher predictors: teachers' perception of DPA as realistic and achievable; confidence (self-efficacy); scheduling DPA in timetables; lack of space; and lack of time.Conclusions: Findings from the study indicate the theoretical and practical importance of addressing classroom and teacher factors since they are most proximal to implementation fidelity to the policy. Several of these factors also reflect complex structural and organizational contexts, indicating that a systems approach to understanding and supporting DPA implementation fidelity is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Peer influence, peer selection, and health risk awareness are factors in smoking among youth. Despite the numerous studies on the social context, social network, and how youth define themselves and their smoking status in relation to tobacco use, qualitative knowledge about the role of smoking within peer relationships from youth themselves is only emerging. In this paper, qualitative findings describing Canadian youth's perspectives and experiences of smoking within the context of peer relationships are presented.Methods: To examine youth's perceptions, a qualitative research study design was used. Seventy-five Canadian youth aged 11-19 years participated in open-ended interviews, focus groups, and photovoice methods. Data analysis involved several levels of analysis consistent with qualitative research.Results: Youth who smoked were perceived by non-smoking peers as less popular and less socially accepted as represented by the theme: The coolness (not so cool) factor. Non-smoking youth felt that peers who smoked strained relationships and forced them to set boundaries and negotiate friendships as denoted by the theme: Negotiating friendships: Being influenced, but also influencing. Finally, in the theme of Making sense of peers who smoke, youth struggled to understand peers who continued to smoke and why they would start in the first place.Conclusions: As reinforced in this study, Canadian youth increasingly view smoking as unhealthy and uncool. Moreover, youth report resisting peer influence to smoke and in fact, are now influencing their friends who smoke to quit. The self-empowerment stories of non-smoker youth reinforces the idea that the social meaning of smoking with peers is continuing to change from one where youth accepted and participated in the smoking behaviors of their peers, to an environment where youth's perceptions of personal health is paramount. Findings from this study could be used to guide health promotion and smoking prevention programs and campaigns for youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: During the first wave of the H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009, Aboriginal populations in Canada experienced disproportionate rates of infection, particularly in the province of Manitoba. To protect those thought to be most at-risk, health authorities in Manitoba listed all Aboriginal people, including Metis, among those able to receive priority access to the novel vaccine when it first became available. Currently, no studies exist that have investigated the attitudes, influences, and vaccine behaviors among Aboriginal communities in Canada. This paper is the first to systematically connect vaccine behavior with the attitudes and beliefs that influenced Metis study participants' H1N1 vaccine decision-making. Methods: Researchers held focus groups (n = 17) with Metis participants in urban, rural, and remote locations of Manitoba following the conclusion of the H1N1 pandemic. Participants were asked about their vaccination decisions and about the factors that influenced their decisions. Following data collection, responses were coded into the broad categories of a social-ecological model, nuanced by categories stemming from earlier research. Responses were then quantified to show the most influential factors in positively or negatively affecting the vaccine decision. Results: Media reporting, the influence of peer groups, and prioritization all had positive and negative influential effects on decision making. Whether vaccinated or not, the most negatively influential factors cited by participants were a lack of knowledge about the vaccine and the pandemic as well as concerns about vaccine safety. Risk of contracting H1N1 influenza was the biggest factor in positively influencing a vaccine decision, which in many cases trumped any co-existing negative influencers. Conclusions: Metis experiences of colonialism in Canada deeply affected their perceptions of the vaccine and pandemic, a context that health systems need to take into account when planning response activities in the future. Participants felt under-informed about most aspects of the vaccine and the pandemic, and many vaccine related misconceptions and fears existed. Recommendations include leveraging doctor-patient interactions as a site for sharing vaccine-related knowledge, as well as targeted, culturally-appropriate, and empowering public information strategies to supply reliable vaccine and pandemic information to potentially at-risk Aboriginal populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Influenza vaccination is recommended for those at increased risk of influenza complications and their household contacts to help reduce influenza exposure. Adults who require care often experience health issues that could increase the risk of severe influenza and have close contact with caregivers. Assessing influenza vaccination prevalence in caregivers and care recipients can provide important information about uptake. Objectives: We aimed to (1) estimate influenza non-vaccination prevalence and (2) assess factors associated with non-vaccination among caregivers aged ≥ 45 years and among care recipients aged ≥ 65 years. Methods: We conducted an analysis of cross-sectional data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging collected 2015–2018. We estimated non-vaccination prevalence and reported adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals from logistic regression models to identify factors associated with non-vaccination among caregivers and care recipients. Results: Of the 23,500 CLSA participants who reported providing care, 41.4% (95% CI: 40.8%, 42.0%) reported not receiving influenza vaccine in the previous 12 months. Among the 5,559 participants who reported receiving professional or non-professional care, 24.8% (95% CI: 23.7%, 26.0%) reported not receiving influenza vaccine during the same period. For both groups, the odds of non-vaccination were higher for those who had not visited a family doctor in the past year, were daily smokers, and those who identified as non-white. Discussion: Identifying groups at high risk of severe influenza and their close contacts can inform public health efforts to reduce the risk of influenza. Our results suggest sub-optimal influenza vaccination uptake among caregivers and care recipients. Efforts are needed to increase influenza vaccination and highlight the direct and indirect benefits for caregiver-care recipient pairs. Conclusion: The proportions of both caregivers and care recipients who had not been vaccinated for influenza was high, despite the benefits of vaccination. Influenza vaccination campaigns could target undervaccinated, high-risk groups to increase coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale and its short-form were developed in Canada and have been used internationally among numerous maternal populations. However, the psychometric properties of the scales have not been reviewed to confirm their appropriateness in measuring breastfeeding self-efficacy in culturally diverse populations. The purpose of this research was to critically appraise and synthesize the psychometric properties of the scales via systematic review. Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. Three databases (EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO) were searched from 1999 (original publication of the Scale) until April 27, 2022. The search was updated on April 1, 2023. Studies that assessed the psychometric properties of the BSES or BSES-SF were included. Two researchers independently extracted data and completed the quality appraisals. Results: Forty-one studies evaluated the psychometrics of the BSES (n = 5 studies) or BSES-SF (n = 36 studies) among demographically or culturally diverse populations. All versions of the instrument demonstrated good reliability, with Cronbach's alphas ranging from.72 to.97. Construct validity was supported by statistically significant differences in mean scores among women with and without previous breastfeeding experience and by correlations between the scales and theoretically related constructs. Predictive validity was demonstrated by statistically significant lower scores among women who ultimately discontinued breastfeeding compared to those who did not. Conclusion: The BSES and BSES-SF appear to be valid and reliable measures of breastfeeding self-efficacy that may be used globally to (1) assess women who may be at risk of negative breastfeeding outcomes (e.g., initiation, duration and exclusivity), (2) individualize breastfeeding support, and (3) evaluate the effectiveness of breastfeeding interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Food insecurity is a public health issue for many regions globally, and especially Indigenous communities. We propose food budget ratio (FBR)—the ratio of food spending to after-tax income—as an affordability metric that better aligns with health equity over traditional price-focused metrics. Existing census and inflation monitoring programs render FBR an accessible tool for future affordability research. Methods: Public census and food pricing datasets from 2011 to 2021 were analyzed to evaluate food affordability for a cohort of 121 remote Indigenous communities in Canada (n = 80,354 persons as of March 2021). Trends in population-weighted versus community-weighted averages, inflation-adjusted mean price of the Revised Northern Food Basket (RNFB), and distributions of FBR, per-capita price of food, and per-capita after-tax income were calculated and compared to Canada at large. Results: Population-weighted versus community-weighted mean price of the RNFB differed by < 5% for most points in time, peaking at 17%. Mean raw price of the RNFB was relatively stable, while mean inflation-adjusted price of the RNFB decreased 19%. Mean and standard deviation in FBR trended downwards from (0.40; 0.21) in 2011 to (0.25; 0.10) in 2021, while the mean for Canada held stable at 0.10 ± 0.01. Mean and standard deviation in inflation-adjusted per-capita price of food fell from ($5,621; $493) to ($4,510; $243), while the Canada-wide mean rose from $2,189 to $2,567; values for per-capita after-tax income increased from ($17,384; $7,816) to ($21,661; $9,707), while the Canada-wide mean remained between $24,443 and $26,006. Current Nutrition North Canada (NNC) subsidy rates correlate closely with distance to nearest transportation hub (σXY = 0.68 to 0.70) whereas food pricing, after-tax income, and FBR correlate poorly with distance (σXY = -0.22 to 0.03). Conclusions: The FBR approach yields greater insights on food affordability compared to price-based results, while using readily available public datasets. Whereas 19% reductions in RNFB per-capita food price were observed, FBR decreased 63% yet remained 2.5 times the Canada-wide FBR. The reduction in FBR was driven both by the reduced price of food and a 25% increase in after-tax income. It is recommended that NNC consider FBR for performance measurement and setting subsidy rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In this study, the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) was used to examine the determinants of the heat protection intentions and actions of elderly individuals and individuals with chronic health conditions. This is an important topic as understanding the motivations for adapting behaviours to heatwaves can inform the design of warning systems and awareness campaigns by public health authorities to mitigate the adverse effects of weather hazards on health. Methods: Three phone surveys were conducted in 2015 and 2016 to collect data on a large sample of individuals with increased vulnerability to heatwaves in the city of Longueuil, Canada. Prospective and panel fixed effects logit models for ordinal variables were used to analyse the factors that influenced heat protection intentions and actions. Results: Attitudes, norms, and perceived control have positive effects on intentions to adopt heatwave protection actions and intentions on the effective adoption of these preventive measures. The hypothesis according to which perceived control moderates the effect of attitudes and norms on intentions is rejected. In addition, the results suggest that elderly individuals are less likely than individuals in other age groups to adopt heat protection actions. Health conditions related to vulnerability to hot weather do not seem to significantly improve the adoption of heat protection behaviours. Conclusions: The adoption of heatwave protection actions can be improved by public health interventions that influence attitudes and social norms related to heat protection behaviours and facilitate their adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To develop effective public health policies, programs, and services tailored to the unique sexual health needs of migrant populations, it is essential to understand the myriad socio-ecological factors that influence their sexual health. This qualitative community-based participatory study aimed to explore factors influencing migrants' sexual health at different socio-ecological levels in a Canadian setting. Methods: Participants (n = 34) from African, Caribbean, Black; Latin American; South Asian; Middle Eastern, as well as East and Southeast Asian communities were recruited across Manitoba using printed flyers, community organizations, and social media. Individual interviews, conducted in English, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, Arabic, Swahili, and Tigrinya languages, explored questions relating to sexual health and experiences with service providers. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and socio-ecological systems theory. Results: The study uncovered a range of individual, interpersonal, institutional, and socio-structural factors that affect the sexual health of migrants in Manitoba. Individual factors such as sexual health knowledge and testing practices, interpersonal factors like the type of sexual partnerships, institutional factors such as sexual health information needs, language, and service access barriers, and structural-level factors like gender norms and HIV stigma exerted a significant influence on the sexual health practices of study respondents. Sexual health awareness was influenced by various factors including length of time in Canada and involvement in community-based services. Study respondents identified issues related to access to HIV testing and sexual health information, as well as language barriers, racism in healthcare, and HIV stigma. Gender and social norms played a significant role in discouraging communication about sex and safer sex practices. Conclusions: The study highlights the complex interplay of factors that influence the sexual health of migrants, and the need for targeted sexual health awareness campaigns and provision of sexual health information in languages spoken by migrants. Public health interventions focused on improving the sexual health outcomes for migrants should consider the socio-ecological elements identified in this study. These findings can inform public health campaigns to increase access to services and address sexual health inequities among migrant communities in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In spite of past efforts to increase screening uptake, the rates of screening-detectable cancers including breast, cervical, colorectal and lung are rising among Indigenous persons in Ontario compared to other Ontarians. The Ontario Ministry of Health has an equity framework, the Health Equity Impact Assessment (HEIA) Tool, that was developed to guide organizations in the provision of more equitable health and social services. Although the HEIA Tool identifies that the health of Indigenous persons may benefit from more equitable provision of health and social services, it provides very little specific guidance on how to apply the HEIA Tool in a culturally relevant way to policies and programs that may impact Indigenous peoples. Discussion: Guided by the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, an Indigenous Lens Tool was developed through a collaborative and iterative process with stakeholders at Cancer Care Ontario and with representatives from Indigenous community-based organizations. The Indigenous Lens Tool consists of four scenarios, with supporting documentation that provide context for each step of the HEIA Tool and thereby facilitate application of the equity framework to programs and policies. The document is in no way meant to be comprehensive or representative of the diverse health care experiences of Indigenous peoples living in Canada nor the social determinants that surround health and well-being of Indigenous peoples living in Canada. Rather, this document provides a first step to support development of policies and programs that recognize and uphold the rights to health and well-being of Indigenous peoples living in Canada. Conclusions: The Indigenous Lens Tool was created to facilitate implementation of an existing health equity framework within Cancer Care Ontario (now Ontario Health). Even though the Indigenous Lens Tool was created for this purpose, the principles contained within it are translatable to other health and social service policy applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this study was to describe the knowledge, protective behaviours, and psychological impact of COVID-19 on Chinese residents in Canada, as the emotional and behavioural impacts of the pandemic have not been intensively studied amongst these populations. It was important to determine whether having dependent school-age children (DSAC) aged 16 or under was associated with adverse psychological impacts amongst the Chinese residents living in the country. Methods: In April 2020, 757 eligible participants were recruited through a snowball sampling to complete an online survey related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological, behavioural, and sociodemographic variables were collected and first analyzed using descriptive and univariate statistics. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to further confirm the observed significant associations in bivariate analyses for selected psychological outcome variables. Results: Seven hundred forty-two participants who responded to the "dependent school-age children" question were included in the analysis. Most of them identified as females (65.8%) and 77.2% included receiving a university degree or higher. There were no significant differences in COVID-19 knowledge between those living with or without DSAC. However, participants with DSAC were more likely to perceive themselves as being at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 (p =.023); therefore, having a higher chance of adopting protective behaviours (e.g., hand washing, sanitizing frequently or disinfecting work and living spaces (p <.05), elevated risks of depression (p =.007), and stress (p =.010), compared to those without DSAC. Conclusions: Predominantly, the Chinese residents in Canada with dependent school-age children were more likely to report the negative psychological impacts of the pandemic. These findings warrant further investigations that may contribute to informing key stakeholders about the identification and implementation of policies and interventions to support the needs of parents with young children, during and after the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mathematical and statistical models are used to predict trends in epidemic spread and determine the effectiveness of control measures. Automatic regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models are used for time-series forecasting, but only few models of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic have incorporated protective behaviors or vaccination, known to be effective for pandemic control. Methods: To improve the accuracy of prediction, we applied newly developed ARIMA models with predictors (mask wearing, avoiding going out, and vaccination) to forecast weekly COVID-19 case growth rates in Canada, France, Italy, and Israel between January 2021 and March 2022. The open-source data was sourced from the YouGov survey and Our World in Data. Prediction performance was evaluated using the root mean square error (RMSE) and the corrected Akaike information criterion (AICc). Results: A model with mask wearing and vaccination variables performed best for the pandemic period in which the Alpha and Delta viral variants were predominant (before November 2021). A model using only past case growth rates as autoregressive predictors performed best for the Omicron period (after December 2021). The models suggested that protective behaviors and vaccination are associated with the reduction of COVID-19 case growth rates, with booster vaccine coverage playing a particularly vital role during the Omicron period. For example, each unit increase in mask wearing and avoiding going out significantly reduced the case growth rate during the Alpha/Delta period in Canada (–0.81 and –0.54, respectively; both p < 0.05). In the Omicron period, each unit increase in the number of booster doses resulted in a significant reduction of the case growth rate in Canada (–0.03), Israel (–0.12), Italy (–0.02), and France (–0.03); all p < 0.05. Conclusions: The key findings of this study are incorporating behavior and vaccination as predictors led to accurate predictions and highlighted their significant role in controlling the pandemic. These models are easily interpretable and can be embedded in a "real-time" schedule with weekly data updates. They can support timely decision making about policies to control dynamically changing epidemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sexual and gender minority populations experience elevated risks for suicidality. This study aimed to assess prevalence and disparities in non-fatal suicidality and potential protective factors related to social support and health care access among sexual and gender minority youth and adults and their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts in Canada. The second objective was to examine changes in the prevalence of suicidal ideation and protective factors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Pooled data from the 2015, 2016 and 2019 Canadian Community Health Surveys were used to estimate pre-pandemic prevalence of suicidal ideation, plans and attempts, and protective factors. The study also estimated changes in the prevalence of recent suicidal ideation and protective factors in fall 2020, compared with the same period pre-pandemic. Results: The prevalence of suicidality was higher among the sexual minority populations compared with the heterosexual population, and the prevalence was highest among the bisexual population, regardless of sex or age group. The pre-pandemic prevalence of recent suicidal ideation was 14.0% for the bisexual population, 5.2% for the gay/lesbian population, and 2.4% for the heterosexual population. The prevalence of lifetime suicide attempts was 16.6%, 8.6%, and 2.8% respectively. More than 40% of sexual minority populations aged 15–44 years had lifetime suicidal ideation; 64.3% and 36.5% of the gender minority population had lifetime suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Sexual and gender minority populations had a lower prevalence of protective factors related to social support and health care access. The prevalence of recent suicidal ideation among sexual and gender minority populations increased in fall 2020, and they tended to experience longer wait times for immediate care needed. Conclusions: Sexual and gender minority populations had a higher prevalence of suicidality and less social support and health care access compared to the heterosexual and cisgender populations. The pandemic was associated with increased suicidal ideation and limited access to care for these groups. Public health interventions that target modifiable protective factors may help decrease suicidality and reduce health disparities. Highlights: • This study provides population-based pre-pandemic estimates of the prevalence of non-fatal suicidality (suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts) among sexual and gender minority populations in Canada using pooled data from the 2015, 2016, and 2019 Canadian Community Health Survey. • Sexual and gender minority populations had a higher prevalence of suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts, compared with heterosexual and cisgender populations, regardless of sex or age group. Among sexual minority populations the bisexual population had the highest prevalence of suicidality. • More than 40% of sexual minority populations aged 15 to 44 years had lifetime suicidal ideation; two thirds and one third of the gender minority population had lifetime suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, respectively. • Sexual minority populations had a lower prevalence of social support and health care access; the presence of social support and health care access was related to lower prevalence of recent suicidal ideation. • The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increased recent suicidal ideation among the sexual and gender minority populations, especially for males, adolescents, and young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Injection drug use is the primary mode of transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the developed world and guidelines recommend screening individuals with current or history of injection drug use for HCV; however, the majority of those living with HCV in Canada are not aware of their positive status. This low level of HCV status awareness suggests that screening is not effective with current testing strategies. The aim of this review is to determine what barriers and enablers people who inject drugs (PWID) experience surrounding testing for HCV to help inform the development of an engaging testing strategy. Methods: Comprehensive literature searches were conducted using Medline, Embase and CINAHL in February 2021. Included studies investigated the barriers and enablers to testing for HCV in PWID and the experiences of PWID in testing for HCV. Studies were included if they were qualitative or mixed-methods design, involved people with current injection drug use or those with a history of injecting drugs, and were written in the English language. Studies were compared and common themes were coded and analyzed. Results: The literature search resulted in 1554 citations and ultimately nine studies were included. Common barriers included self-perception of low risk for HCV, fear of diagnosis, stigma associated with IV drug use and HCV, antipathy in relation to mainstream health care services, limited knowledge about HCV, lack of rapport with provider, lack of motivation or competing priority of drug use, and limited awareness of new treatment options. Common enablers to testing included increasing awareness of HCV testing and treatment and providing positive narratives around HCV care, positive rapport with provider, accessible testing options and individualized care. Conclusion: While there has been some qualitative research on barriers and enablers to testing for HCV in PWID more research is needed to focus on this research question as a primary objective in order to provide more understanding from the participant's perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To sufficiently house and support persons experiencing homelessness (PEH), deeper understandings of the cultural appropriateness and responsiveness of community resources and the service delivery system is essential. In the case of Metro Vancouver, Canada, the cultural appropriateness and responsiveness of Housing First as a service model for supporting PEH was explored. Methods: Local service providers and stakeholders (n = 52) participated in three full day service-mapping workshops to identify Housing First supports for older adults, youth, and women experiencing homelessness, as part of a municipal-wide participatory and action-oriented study. Data were analyzed using a structured framework thematic analysis approach and cultural safety and humility lenses. Results: We generated three key themes: (i) insufficient built environments create challenges across gender and age, (ii) cultural safety and humility concerns at the intersection of gender and age, and (iii) implications for a culturally-responsive Housing First implementation. Conclusions: Findings informed the development of a Culturally-Responsive Planning resource to support housing, health, and social service providers who are implementing Housing First initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a widespread commitment to implementing anti-Indigenous racism with health organizations in Canada by introducing cultural safety staff training. In partnership with a public health unit in Ontario, Canada, we developed an evaluation tool to assess the performance of staff who completed an online Indigenous cultural safety education course. Aims: To develop an accountability checklist that could be used for annual employee performance reviews to assess the use and level of knowledge received in professional cultural safety training. Intervention: We co-created a professional development accountability checklist. Five areas of interest were identified: terminology, knowledge, awareness, skills, and behaviours. The checklist comprises of 37 indicators linked to our community collaborators' intended goals as defined in our partnership agreement. Outcomes: The Indigenous Cultural Safety Evaluation Checklist (ICSEC) was shared with public health managers to use during regularly scheduled staff performance evaluations. The public health managers provided feedback on the design, checklist items, and useability of the ICSEC. The pilot of the checklist is in the preliminary stage and data is unavailable about effectiveness. Implications: Accountability tools are important to sustain the long-term effects of cultural safety education and prioritize the wellbeing of Indigenous communities. Our experience can provide guidance to health professionals in creating and measuring the efficacy of Indigenous cultural safety education to foster an anti-racist work culture as well as improved health outcomes among Indigenous communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aims to evaluate the impact of socioeconomic status (SES) on the risk of congenital heart disease (CHD) since previous studies have yielded inconsistent results. Methods: We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study, including all singleton live and still births in Ontario hospitals from April 1, 2012, to March 31, 2018. We used linked records from the Better Outcomes Registry & Network Information System, the Canadian Institute for Health Information databases, and the Ontario Marginalization Index (ON_Marg). ON_Marg was estimated at a dissemination area level using Canadian Census 2016 data and categorized into quintiles. Multivariable logistic regression models were performed to examine the relationships between four ON_Marg indices (material deprivation, dependency, ethnic concentration, residential instability), as proxies for maternal SES and the risk of infant CHD. We adjusted for maternal age at birth, assisted reproductive technology, obesity, pre-existing health conditions, substance use during pregnancy, mental health conditions before and during pregnancy, rural residence, and infant's sex in the analysis. Results: Among the cohort of 776,799 singletons, 9,359 infants had a diagnosis of CHD. Of those, 3,069 were severe CHD and 493 cases were single ventricle CHD. The prevalence of all infant CHD types was higher for males relative to females. Compared to mothers living in neighbourhoods with the lowest material deprivation, mothers with highest material deprivation had a 27% (adjusted OR = 1.27; 95% CI: 1.18–1.37) higher odds of having an infant diagnosed with CHD. Mothers living in neighbourhoods with the highest minority ethnic and immigrant concentration tend to have infants with 11% lower odds of CHD (adjusted OR = 0.89; 95% CI: 0.82–0.97) as compared to those living in the least ethnically diverse communities. Maternal dependency and residential stability quintiles were not significantly associated with the risk of CHD. Conclusion: Higher maternal material deprivation was associated with increasing odds of infant CHD, whereas neighbourhood minority ethnic concentration was inversely associated with the odds of infant CHD. Our study further confirms that poverty is associated with CHD development. Future investigations might focus on the causal pathways between social deprivation, immigrant status, ethnicity, and the risk of infant CHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recovery-oriented programs provide individuals with opportunities for well-being through community integration processes that enhance the degree to which individuals could live, work, and recreate in their community. The current evaluation assessed how tenants experience their home environment after the modernization of Homes for Special Care (HSC) to Community Homes for Opportunity (CHO) in Southwest Ontario, Canada. Our study identifies existing policies and practices that could interfere with or promote the modernization process. Methods: We applied ethnographic qualitative techniques to purposefully recruit 188 participants with severe mental illness from 28 group homes. Focus groups were conducted at three time points, i.e., at pre-implementation/Baseline/Time I – spring 2018; Transition/Time II – fall 2018, and Final/Time III – winter 2019. Results: Study findings suggest that the transition of HSC to CHO supports activities that empower tenants towards personal growth and development. Participants were largely satisfied with the support they were getting in relation to the program-related services. Tenants disclosed that their quality of life and well-being had been enhanced through participating in the program, and that their social interaction and support for each other had also improved. Most tenants demonstrated autonomy in terms of personal and financial independence. The enhanced financial support for tenants did not only improve their quality of life, but also helped to raise their purchasing power, decision making, sense of responsibility and accountability towards healthy spending of their resources. Despite tenants' good impression about the CHO, some still encountered problems and provided suggestions to further improve the program. Conclusion: It is expected that a more effective and expanded CHO will lead to tenant empowerment and successful social integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Understanding public perceptions of the health risks of climate change is critical to inform risk communication and support the adoption of adaptive behaviours. In Canada, very few studies have explored public understandings and perceptions of climate impacts on health. The objective of this study was to address this gap by exploring perceptions of the link between climate change and health. Methods: We conducted a survey of Canadians (n = 3,014) to address this objective. The 116-question survey measured prior consideration of the link between climate change and health, affective assessment of climate health impacts, unprompted knowledge of climate health impacts, and concern about a range of impacts. ANOVA tests were used to assess differences among sociodemographic groups. Results: Overall, Canadian's have a similar level of concern about health impacts of climate change compared with concern about other impacts (e.g. biophysical, economic, and national security). Among health-related impacts, respondents were more concerned about impacts on water, food and air quality, compared with impacts on mental health, infectious diseases and heat-related illnesses. There were differences among sociodemographic groups; women were significantly more concerned than men about all of the health-related impacts; respondents with a high school level of education were significantly less concerned about all health-related impacts compared with respondents with more education; and respondents on the political left were more concerned with those in the political centre, who were more concerned than those on the political right. Conclusion: There is emerging literature suggesting that framing communication around climate change in terms of the health risks it poses may increase perceptions of the proximity of the risks. These results suggest that it is important to be specific in the types of health risks that are communicated, and to consider the concerns of the target sociodemographic groups. The differential knowledge, awareness, and concern of climate health impacts across segments of the Canadian population can inform targeted communication and engagement to build broader support for adaptation and mitigation measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Partner notification (PN) after a sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnosis is being promoted as a means to interrupt transmission chains. We investigated whether Internalised Homonegativity (IH) is associated with PN among men having sex with men (MSM). Methods: PN, defined as notifying at least one partner after diagnosis of syphilis and gonorrhoea, was queried in two internet-based self-completion surveys conducted between Oct 2017 and May 2018 in 68 countries in Europe, Latin America, Canada, and the Philippines. IH is defined by a man's level of agreement or disagreement with negative social beliefs about male homosexuality. Covariates included in a multivariate regression model with a random intercept at country level were age, HIV diagnosis, partnership status, sexual self-efficacy, HIV serostatus communication during last sex with a non-steady partner, place where this partner was met, and PN-related socio-historical background of the country of residence. We grouped countries in three areas: North- and Central-Western European countries plus Canada, former socialist countries, and Latin-American/Mediterranean countries plus the Philippines. In each of the three areas individuals were assigned to 4 subgroups based on IH quartiles and PN rates were determined for each subgroup. Results: PN rates were calculated for 49 countries (excluding countries with less than 10 diagnoses). Mean proportions of MSM notifying their partners were 68.1% and 72.9% after syphilis and gonorrhoea diagnoses, respectively. PN rates were lower in Latin American countries and the Philippines compared to European countries. Within Europe, a North–South divide with lower PN rates in Mediterranean countries was observed. In each of the three regions we mostly observed a stepwise increase of PN rates with decreasing IH. Regression analysis showed lower IH scores associated with higher PN rates. Higher perceived self-efficacy, living in a partnership, and HIV status communication were positively associated with PN. Men who had met their last partner in a gay social venue were more likely to have notified their partners of a syphilis diagnosis compared to men who had met this partner online. Men with diagnosed HIV were less likely to report PN. Conclusions: We could demonstrate that IH was associated with PN among MSM across all countries included in our analysis. Reducing cultural homophobia and ensuring inclusive policies may contribute to STI prevention and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The paper presents two-year findings from a study investigating the effectiveness of Housing First (HF) with assertive community treatment (ACT) in helping individuals with serious mental illness, who are homeless or precariously housed and living in a small city, to become stably housed.Methods: The research design was a parallel group non-blinded RCT with participants randomly assigned after the baseline interview to receive HF with ACT (N = 100) or treatment as usual (TAU; N = 101). Participants were interviewed every 3 months over 21/24 months to investigate changes on a range of housing and psychosocial outcomes. The primary outcomes were housing stability (as defined by a joint function of number of days housed and number of moves) and improvement in community functioning. Secondary predicted outcomes were improvements in self-rated physical and mental health status, substance use problems, quality of life, community integration, and recovery.Results: An intent-to-treat analysis was conducted. Compared to TAU participants, HF participants who entered housing did so more quickly (23.30 versus 88.25 days, d = 1.02, 95% CI [0.50-1.53], p < 0.001), spent a greater proportion of time stably housed (Z = 5.30, p < 0.001, OR = 3.12, 95% CI [1.96-4.27]), and rated the quality of their housing more positively (Z = 4.59, p < 0.001, d = 0.43, 95% CI [0.25-0.62]). HF participants were also more likely to be housed continually in the final 6 months (i.e., 79.57% vs. 55.47%), χ2 (2, n = 170) = 11.46, p = .003, Cramer's V = 0.26, 95% CI [0.14-0.42]). HF participants showed greater gains in quality of life, (Z = 3.83, p < 0.001, ASMD = 0.50, 95% CI [0.24-0.75]), psychological integration (Z = 12.89, p < 0.001, pooled ASMD = 0.91, 95% CI [0.77-1.05]), and perceived recovery (Z = 2.26, p = 0.03, ASMD = 0.39, 95% CI [0.05-0.74]) than TAU participants.Conclusions: The study indicates that HF ends homelessness significantly more rapidly than TAU for a majority of individuals with serious mental illness who have a history of homelessness and live in a small city. In addition, compared to TAU, HF produces psychosocial benefits for its recipients that include an enhanced quality of life, a greater sense of belonging in the community, and greater improvements in perceived recovery from mental illness.Trial Registration: International Standard Randomized Control Trial Number Register Identifier: ISRCTN42520374 , assigned August 18, 2009. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Workplace Health Promotion Programs (WHPP) have been shown to be an efficient way of improving workers' health. These programs can be incorporated in the worker's daily schedule and improve their productivity at work. Improving employees' health also benefits the employers by increasing their return on investment and lowering healthcare costs. The Activate Your Health program, created by Capsana in 2015, is a WHPP targeting multiple lifestyle habits for a three-year period. This WHPP includes tailored web-based interventions and the support of different health professionals throughout the years. We hypothesize that this approach will yield long-term lifestyle changes. The objective of the current paper is to describe the Activate Your Health program's design.Methods/design: Eleven companies are taking part in this WHPP and had to choose among five different options of this program and all their employees were encouraged to participate. Each option differs by the number and type of interventions included. The limited option, which is considered the control group, only consists in completing a questionnaire regarding their health status, lifestyle habits and behaviors. On the other end, the extensive option receives a combination of multiple interventions: online menus, health challenges, support in creating a healthy work environment, coaching by health professionals (nurse, nutritionist, and kinesiologist), health screening and flexibility assessment, online resources, social health platform, and activity tracking. The remaining options are in between these options and vary by the amount of intervention. Baseline data are already gathered; two other data collection periods will take place after one and 2 years into the program. The primary outcomes of the current program are physical activity and fitness measures, nutritional data, smoking habits, stress and intention to change.Discussion: The Activate Your Health program will allow us to compare which combinations of interventions are the most effective. It is expected that the extensive option will be the most advantageous to improve lifestyle habits. The results will indicate the strength and weakness of each intervention and how it could be improved.Trial Registration: Clinicaltrails.gov, registration number: NCT02933385 (updated on the 26th of March 2019, initially registered on the 5th of October 2016). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Income and housing are pervasive social determinants of health. Subsidized housing is a prominent affordability mechanism in Canada; however, waitlists are lengthy. Subsidized rents should provide greater access to residual income, which may theoretically improve health outcomes. However, little is known about the health of tenants who wait for and receive subsidized housing. This is especially problematic for New Brunswick, a Canadian province with low population density, whose inhabitants experience income inequality, social exclusion, and challenges with healthcare access. Methods: This study will use a longitudinal, prospective matched cohort design. All 4,750 households on New Brunswick's subsidized housing wait list will be approached to participate. The survey measures various demographic, social and health indicators at six-month intervals for up to 18 months as they wait for subsidized housing. Those who receive housing will join an intervention group and receive surveys for an additional 18 months post-move date. With consent, participants will have their data linked to a provincial administrative database of medical records. Discussion: Knowledge of housing and health is sparse in Canada. This study will provide stakeholders with a wealth of health information on a population that is historically under-researched and underserved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Colonially imposed jurisdictional boundaries that have little meaning to Indigenous peoples in Canada may confound tuberculosis (TB) prevention and care activities. This study explores how inter-jurisdictional mobility and the current accommodation of mobility through policies and programming sustain a regional TB epidemic in northwestern Saskatchewan, and northeastern Alberta. Methods: A qualitative instrumental case study was performed using a community based participatory approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with First Nations peoples from a high-incidence community in Canada including community-based healthcare workers. These interview data are presented in the context of a multi-level document analysis of TB program guidelines. Results: The location of the community, and related lack of access to employment, services and care, necessitates mobility across jurisdictional boundaries. There are currently no formal federal or provincial guidelines in place to accommodate highly mobile patients and clients within and across provincial TB prevention and care programs. As a result, locally developed community-based protocols, and related ad-hoc strategies ensure continuity of care. Conclusion: Indigenous peoples living in remote communities face unique push/pull factors that motivate mobility. When these motivations exist in communities with increased risk of contagion by communicable infectious diseases such as TB, public health risks extend into increasingly large areas with competing jurisdictional authority. Such mobility poses several threats to TB elimination. We have identified a gap in TB services to systematically accommodate mobility, with specific implications for Indigenous peoples and reconciliation. We recommend clearly defined communication paths and inter-jurisdictional coordination to ensure maintenance of care for mobile populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]