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The present paper assesses the causal effects of education on smoking and self-rated health in Canada. Education is instrumented using the changes in compulsory schooling laws. The sample is restricted to cohorts born between 1946 and 1964. The data are from the Canadian General Social Surveys of 1995 and 2016, allowing to observe the evolution of the gradient over the life course. The gradient is confirmed for smoking and self-rated health in correlational estimations, with stronger associations among males in later life. However, the IV regressions produce no evidence for a causal relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The illicit tobacco trade accounts for 10% of the global cigarette market and results in US$31 billion in lost tax revenues annually. Despite legal prosecution of tobacco companies, and the introduction of new policy responses, the trade has reached an all-time high. Previous research documents how transnational tobacco companies have sought to influence government responses to the illicit trade in various countries through multiple means, including influencing of news media framing. This paper extends this analysis to Canada where the illicit trade is particularly problematic in scale and political complexity. Articles in Canadian newspapers, published from 2010–2015, were systematically searched (n = 177) and analysed to identify dominant frames, frame sponsors and policy positions related to the illicit tobacco trade. The results show that the most common frames present the issue in ways favourable to the industry. The most common non-governmental sponsors of these frames frequently have links to the tobacco industry, which are rarely disclosed. Findings indicate the need for Canadian media to be critical in its use of data sources amid industry efforts to shape public policy, and the importance of reframing policy discussions in public health terms based on independent evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence suggests that mainstream media coverage of mental illness tends to focus on factors such as crime and violence. Thus, mental health advocates have argued that alternative portrayals are necessary to reduce stigma. Aim: The aim of this paper is to compare the tone and content of mainstream TV coverage of mental illness with educational videos produced by citizen journalists with mental illness. Methods: We trained three groups of people with mental illness in citizen journalism and participatory video. These groups then produced a series of educational videos about mental illness (n = 26). Simultaneously, we systematically collected TV clips about mental illness from a major Canadian TV station (n = 26). We then compared the tone and content of citizen journalism videos vs. TV clips using content analysis techniques. Results: The citizen journalist videos tended to be more positive and hopeful. For example, over 60% of the citizen journalism videos focused on recovery, compared to 27% of the TV clips. Conversely, over 40% of the TV clips focused on crime, violence or legal issues, in comparison to only 23% of the citizen journalism videos. Conclusion: Citizen journalism by people with mental illness has the potential to educate the public and reduce stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of people with dementia worldwide will reach 115.4 million by 2050. This accelerating crisis has sparked research on how to design neighbourhoods for those with early dementia, and how to empower them through built environment changes to remain in their community for as long as possible. There are numerous benefits for persons with dementia who continue access to their neighbourhood: physical activity, sense of dignity, social interaction, autonomy and psychological wellbeing. In this paper, I examine 17 recommendations (urban design and land use strategies) identified as ‘dementia-friendly’, within dementia design and planning literature. Each is then examined against the planning frameworks for a mid-size suburban municipality in Ontario and assessed for its financial impact on a base case subdivision using pro forma analysis. The effect on the financial return for a developer was minimal, demonstrating that establishing these recommendations as policy is viable, through regulation and incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Culture, Health & Sexuality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Trans Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP), emblematic of the new generation of free trade agreements, is a regional agreement among 12 Pacific Rim countries. This paper reports on a study into how the food industry has framed issues in an effort to influence the TPP. We undertook a thematic analysis of the issues raised in publicly available submissions by the food industry to the trade negotiating bodies of four TPP countries: Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States of America (USA). The food industry is an active player in trade negotiations, mainly through food industry associations and other business associations. The submissions assumed that trade liberalization would result in more exports and investment, as well as raise living standards and benefit the economy and country. There was little mention of food as anything other than a commodity, focusing on types and quantities of food traded and what this meant for revenue generation, with no connection to nutritional health. The TPP could affect food systems and population health in ways that are not readily apparent to governments, policy makers or the public. The written submissions mechanism is one way in which the food industry could have shaped the agreement by framing the issues, influencing the content and direction of the TPP negotiations and agreement itself. If coherence between trade and health goals is to be strengthened, the public health community needs to engage with industry arguments and build a strong counter-argument that gives more prominence to health concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Latin American & Caribbean Studies (Routledge) is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Cultural safety training is a resource that healthcare institutions and staff can rely on to end anti-Indigenous racism in their organisations and to shift service providers' attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge of Indigenous people. The aim of this study was to understand the initial knowledge and interest about Indigenous Peoples that a southern Ontario public health unit's (PHU) staff hold. A cultural safety micro-credential project was developed in consultation with the PHU. An online survey was administered from January to March 2021 to those who were starting the micro-credential during this timeframe (n = 31). Thirty-one staff responded. A majority of the participants indicated that they had some knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and that this knowledge was relevant to their work. The number of interactions with Indigenous Peoples varied by role. Common themes for the open-ended responses included culture, relationships, and supports/services. Many of the open-ended responses highlighted feelings of not knowing enough and wanting to learn more about Indigenous Peoples. These results indicate a shift in attitudes, behaviours, and knowledge of Indigenous Peoples among the PHU staff. Cultural safety training can serve to address knowledge gaps and contribute to creating the systemic change needed to end anti-Indigenous racism in healthcare institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How is HIV/AIDS both exceptional yet no longer worthy of a distinct state response? Reflecting on state efforts in Canada to normalize HIV/AIDS and fold it into a more integrated response to sexually transmitted infections and bloodborne illnesses, we examine how 'end of HIV/AIDS exceptionalism' narratives obscure the new ways in which state power is being deployed such that, at the level of bodies and community organizations, actors are still subjected to exceptional state surveillance and control. In spite of continued efforts to normalize HIV/AIDS and blunt the advocacy of AIDS organizations, we argue that state power has intensified in ways that suggest that HIV/AIDS is still exceptional after all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the 'Spanish Flu' spread to Western Canada, Alberta had in place a Public Health Act authorising Cabinet to pass Orders in Council to deal with any public health issue. Influenced by medical advice and local situation reports, OCs were passed to limit the spread of the 'Spanish Flu'. During autumn 1918, several OCs were passed requiring the wearing of masks and their enforcement. Relying upon digitized government records, newspaper reports, and non-digitized archival records, this study found that the enforcement of mask laws played in important role in reducing the spread of the 'Spanish Flu'. This conclusion is based upon a comparison of the efforts in Alberta's two largest cities, Calgary and Edmonton. Edmonton's delay in enforcement resulted in almost three times the case load and death of that found in Calgary, a city which began enforcement two weeks earlier. A lesson for the future-enforcement saves lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Observing and documenting major shifts in drug policy in a given jurisdiction offer important lessons for other settings worldwide. After nearly a century of prohibition of non-medical use and sale of cannabis, Canada federally legalized the drug in October 2018. Across this geographically large and diverse country, there is a patchwork of cannabis policies as the provinces and territories have developed their own regulatory frameworks. Objectives: As drug policy transitions are often studied well after implementation, we document early stage cannabis regulatory policy planning in the four most populous provinces of Québec, Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. Methods: In June 2018, we systematically searched peer-reviewed and gray literature (such as web content, reports, and policy documents authored by varied authorities and organizations) to identify key aspects of the evolving provincial cannabis legalization frameworks. In the absence of peer-reviewed studies, we reviewed primarily gray literature. Results: For each of the four provinces examined, we provide a succinct overview of early-stage public consultation, plans for cannabis distribution and retail, other key regulatory features, endorsements of a public health approach to legalization, general alignment with alcohol policy, and contentious or standout issues. Conclusions/Importance: Our review clearly illustrates that cannabis legalization in Canada is not unfolding as monolithic policy, despite a federal framework, but with divergent approaches. The public health outcomes that will result from the different provincial/territorial regulatory systems remain to be measured and will be closely monitored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hand hygiene is a long-standing concern in the health sciences literature, but its emergence as a public health issue in the news is a more recent development. Drawing on Alan Hunt’s work on moral regulation and responsibilization, this article analyses 30 years of Canadian newspaper coverage of hand hygiene. Concerns associated with hand hygiene and trends in coverage were identified in a sample of 518 articles, published between 1986 and 2015. Although the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and H1N1 influenza epidemics emerged as important triggers, healthcare-associated infection (HAI) was the dominant trigger for hand hygiene coverage. The articles tend to present hand hygiene as a unidimensional approach to infection control. They tend to responsibilize individuals-first members of the general public, then healthcare providers and increasingly patients-for managing the risk of infection, rather than focus upon social, cultural, political and economic factors that would promote a more broad-based and structural response to HAI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive agri-food policy includes food waste reduction as an important policy goal. Food bank donor indemnification is codified in law in several countries to support the charitable food sector. Other policy instruments to address waste reduction have emerged recently, among them tax measures to incentivize private sector action. These have been increasingly linked to the discourse on hunger in many jurisdictions. We asked 17 Canadian food insecurity policy entrepreneurs to comment on a vignette scenario featuring a hypothetical proposal for food waste diversion as a policy response to household food insecurity; the polarization in responses – ‘Not human garburators,’ vs. ‘everyone wins’ – was remarkable. This case of an unexpected divergence in the response to a policy idea in the food insecurity realm provides an opportunity to understand fundamental differences in societal perspectives that might be relevant to public health more generally. In particular we address the parallel humanist and ecological imperatives at work in contemporary public health practice. It appears that objections to food waste diversion for human consumption could be crystallized in terms of Mary Douglas’s theory of morality within particular worldviews. From a humanist viewpoint, the proposal was an indignity; for those with an ecological worldview, it was sensible and pragmatic. Public health has embraced ecosystem thinking and takes for granted that its ecological approach is sensitive to humanist perspectives but the two worldviews may differ and humanist ideals of dignity may raise moral rancor when considered in the context of ecological good. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

New permanent residents to Ontario can experience difficulties accessing health services due to the 3-month residency requirement for provincial healthcare coverage. This scoping literature review, which included peer-reviewed articles and gray literature from 1993-2013, examined the effects of the 3-month waiting period on the health of new permanent residents to Ontario, public health, and the health-care system. At the individual level, issues of affordability, pre-existing conditions, and quality of care were prominent throughout the literature. At a systems level, the policy was found to constrain various health-care settings, pose a risk to public health, and compound health-care system costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used data from the 1991–2006 Canadian Census Mortality and Cancer Follow-up Study to compare all-cause mortality for immigrants with that of the Canadian-born population. The study addressed two related questions. First, do immigrants have a mortality advantage over the Canadian-born? Second, if immigrants have a mortality advantage, does it persist as their duration of residence increases? The analysis fitted sex-stratified hazard regression models for the overall sample and for selected countries of birth (UK, China, India, Philippines, and the Caribbean). Predictors were assessed at baseline. Mortality was lower among immigrants than the Canadian-born even after adjusting for a selected group of socio-demographic and socio-economic factors. The mortality differences persisted even after long residence in Canada, but appeared to be dependent on the age of the individual and the country of origin. Interpreted in light of known explanations of immigrant mortality advantage, the results mostly reflect selection effects. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Canada has been home to comparatively extreme developments in prescription opioid (PO) availability and related harms (e.g. morbidity, mortality) post-2000. Following persistent pan-Canadian increases in PO use, select control measures were implemented and PO dispensing levels—while only inconsistently by province—inverted, and began to plateau or decrease post-2012. We examined annual PO dispensing levels in Canada up until 2018, based on representative prescription sample data from community-based retail pharmacies. Annual prescription-based dispensing data were converted into defined daily doses/1000 population/day by province, and mainly categorized into 'weak' and 'strong' opioids. All provinces indicated decreasing trends in strong PO levels in most recent years, yet with inter-provincial differences of up to one magnitude in 2018; in about half the provinces, dispensing fell to below-2005 levels. British Columbia had the largest decline in strong PO dispensing from its peak rate (− 48.5%) in 2011. Weak opioid dispensing trends remained more inconsistent and bifurcated across Canada. The distinct effects of individual—including many provincially initiated and governed—PO control measures urgently need to be evaluated. In the meantime, recent reductions in general PO availability across Canada appear to have contributed to shortages in opioid supply for existent, sizable (including non-medical) user populations and may have contributed to recent marked increases in illicit opioid use and harms (including rising deaths). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]