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Problem: The prescription opioid epidemic in the United States is associated with negative health and social outcomes. Examining the association of socio-demographic predictors, BMI, suicidal behavior and health services use in prescription opioid use without misuse (POU), prescription opioid misuse without use disorders (POMU) and prescription opioid use disorder (POUD) samples is important to make necessary intervention in each sample to prevent the expansion of epidemic. Method: A cross-sectional secondary data analysis using the 2016-2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data was conducted. The sample size for the past year POU was 24,400; POMU was 3,771; POUD was 721 and the reference sample who did not have any use of prescription opioid in the past year was 55,304. Result: The prevalence of the past year POU is 32.4 %, POMU is 5.2 % and POUD is 1.0 %. Age ≥ 50 and age 30-49 years have a higher risk of POU [OR 1.37; OR 1.44] and age ≥ 50 has a lower risk of POMU [0.54] than age 18-29 years. Males have a lower risk of POU [0.92] and a higher risk of POMU [1.31] and POUD [1.66] than females. Non-Hispanic Whites have a higher risk of POU [1.33], POMU [1.42] and POUD [3.68] than Hispanics. Single people have a higher risk of POMU [OR 1.27] than married individuals. ‘Medicaid only’ insurance coverage has a higher risk of POU, POMU, POUD than almost all other insurance types. Obesity [OR 1.45] and overweight [OR 1.18] have a higher risk of POU than normal BMI. Suicidal behaviour has a higher risk of POU [1.25] < POMU [2.58] < POUD [3.37]. More than 1 emergency department visit has a higher risk of POMU [2.10] < POU [2.22] < POUD [3.74]; more than 1 overnight hospital stay has a higher risk of POMU [1.40] < POUD [1.70] < POU [2.03] ; more than 1 outpatient department visit has a higher risk of POMU [1.29] < POUD [1.43] < POU [2.38] and mental health services use has a higher association with POU [1.49] < POMU [1.90] < POUD [4.34] when compared with no u

Smoking continues to be a major public health issue worldwide. It is associated with elevated rates of potential years of life lost, mortality, reduced life expectancy and chronic diseases. This dissertation contains three essays on the consequences and control of tobacco in Canada. Essay one (Chapter 2) used the 2009/10 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) to examine the prevalence and the factors associated with smoking behavior during pregnancy. Results from multivariable logistic regression revealed that the odds of smoking during pregnancy were decreased with increasing age, having a regular family doctor, and having highest level of family income. Mothers who reported poor or fair self-perceived health and those who had at least one mental illness had greater odds of smoking during pregnancy. Essay two (Chapter 3) used data from the 2012/13 Canadian Youth Smoking Survey to estimate the elasticity of smoking initiation and intensity. We found that a 1% increase in price leads to a 1.13% reduction in initiation and a 1.02% reduction in intensity; while 1% increase in income leads to a 0.07% increase in initiation and a 0.06% increase in intensity. The effects of pocket money are much smaller in magnitude than the response of smoking to the price of cigarettes. Essay three (Chapter 4) used data from the 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey to examine whether smoking status is associated with a reduction in health related quality of life (HRQoL) as measured by the Health Utility Index (HUI3); to calculate the overall loss of HRQoL over a lifetime and economic burden of loss; and to compare smoking related losses in HRQoL by age and gender. The results demonstrated that smoking was significantly and negatively associated with HRQoL loss and also is associated with substantial individual and societal economic cost. In summary, the findings from this research not only can guide public healthcare providers to promote health within the target population, b

The austerity movement in high-income countries of Europe and North America has renewed calls for a guaranteed Basic Income. At the same time, conditional and unconditional cash transfers accompanied by rigorous impact evaluations have been conducted in low- and middle-income countries with the explicit support of the World Bank. Both Basic Income and cash transfer programs are more confidently designed when based on empirical evidence and social theory that explain how and why cash transfers to citizens are effective ways of encouraging investment in human capital through health and education spending. Are conditional cash transfers more effective and/or more efficient than unconditional transfers? Are means-tested transfers effective? This essay draws explicit parallels between Basic Income and unconditional cash transfers, and demonstrates that cash transfers to citizens work in remarkably similar ways in low-, middle- and high-income countries. It addresses the theoretical foundation of cash transfers. Of the four theories discussed, three explicitly acknowledge the interdependence of society and are based, in increasingly complex ways, on ideas of social inclusion. Only if we have an understanding of how cash transfers affect decision-making can we address questions of how best to design cash transfer schemes.