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The social distancing imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the digitalisation of societies, which also influenced habits related to the consumption and dissemination of news. In this context, older individuals are often blamed for contributing to disinformation, which is associated with the echo chambers fostered by social media. Mass media, social media and personal communication tools act as mass, social or personal intermediaries when it comes to keeping up to date with the news. This paper analyses the preferred intermediaries of older online adults (aged 60 and over) for following the news and how they change over time. We analysed two waves of an online survey-based longitudinal study conducted in Canada and Spain, before Covid-19 pandemic (2016/17), and during Covid-19 (in 2020). We found that most participants exclusively use mass intermediaries or combine mass with social and personal intermediaries to keep abreast of the news. However, only 28% of respondents inform themselves exclusively through the alleged echo chambers of social and personal intermediaries. Results also show that media ecologies evolve in different directions, and, despite the forced digitalisation driven by the pandemic, digital media usage did not always increase or evolve towards newer technologies. This paper contributes to understanding the diverse intermediaries used by older adults to obtain news and how such media ecologies can contribute to contrasting different sources of information beyond the alleged echo chambers of social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews major structural drivers of place-based health disparities in the context of Canada, an industrialized nation with a strong public health system. Likelihood that the COVID-19 pandemic will facilitate rejuvenation of Canada's northern and remote areas through remote working, advances in online teaching and learning, and the increased use of telemedicine are also examined. The paper concludes by identifying some common themes to address healthcare disparities for northern and remote Canadian residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates volatility spillovers between the global crude oil market and the stock markets of the global oil stock markets (Russian, Canada, China, Kuwait, and the USA) pre and after the COVID-19 pandemic. We use wavelet Granger causality methods to study the volatility spillovers between global oil stock markets, mainly from January 1, 2019, to March 31, 2021. Our Results (1) shows that WTI and Brent oil prices had a negative mean return before COVID-19 but a positive mean return during the pandemic spread. Other Results (2) find the positive, significantly lowest, and highest frequency during the COVID-19 outbreak for all selected countries. The results also show that the link between oil WTI & Brent prices and stock markets return in the lowest (33-66 days) and highest frequency range (4-16) before the Covid-19 epidemic, especially in the first quarter of 2020. Before the COVID-19 period, the Russian oil stock market is seriously prejudiced with oil prices on a modest scale, but not after the pandemic's start. This study also perceives direction opposite between the COVID-19 period. The Canadian and United States America oil and stock markets influence the lowest scale in the previous COVID-19 sample for the U.S. market. Moreover, this paper exposed that oil marketing highest oil futures in their portfolios than stock shares for all times. We found that oil price shocks had a more significant impact on the stock markets of the United States and Canada than on the stock markets of other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The procurement and provision of expert-driven, evidence-informed, and independent science advice is integral to timely decision-making during public health emergencies. The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has underscored the need for sound evidence in public health policy and exposed the challenges facing government science advisory mechanisms. This paper is a jurisdictional case study describing (i) the federal science advice bodies and mechanisms for public health in Canada (i.e., the federal science advice "ecosystem"); and (ii) how these bodies and mechanisms have mobilized and evolved to procure expertise and evidence to inform decisions during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. We reviewed publicly accessible Government of Canada documents, technical reports, and peer-reviewed articles available up to December 2021. Canada's federal landscape of science advisory bodies for public health within the Health Portfolio was largely shaped by Canada's experiences with the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome and 2009 H1N1 outbreaks. In parallel, Canada has a designated science advisory apparatus that has seen frequent reforms since the early 2000s, with the current Office of the Chief Science Advisor created within the Science Portfolio in 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic has further complicated Canada's science advice ecosystem, with involvement from departments, expert advisory groups, and partnerships within both the federal Health and Science Portfolios. Although the engagement of federal departments outside the health sector is promising, the COVID-19 experience in Canada supports the need to institutionalize science advisory bodies for public health to improve pandemic preparedness and ensure rapid mobilization of well-coordinated and independent advice in future emergencies. This review also identified pressing areas for further inquiry to strengthen science advice for public health in Canada, including to assess the independence of science advisory actors and the interaction between federal and subnational authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the experiences during COVID-19 of mothers who have young children, are survivors of domestic violence and who share parenting to highlight the further unsafe situations survivors of violence and their children were placed in during the pandemic. Part of a larger mixed methods study, these participants (n = 19) from three Canadian provinces, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario, engaged in virtual individual one-on-one interviews via zoom. Using thematic analysis, four themes emerged from the data: 1) increased use of coercive controlling behaviors; 2) fear of the unknown; 3) lack of supports; and, 4) finding balance. Direct quotes are used to highlight the meaning of each theme. We outline the challenges these women have that are in addition to those experienced by many during COVID-19 times (increased stress, isolation, disconnect from supports, financial challenges). These include managing the shared parenting arrangements with a former abusive partner who used the pandemic as a further opportunity for coercive controlling behaviors under the guise of the public health order. The mothers were left to manage the difficult exchanges with a former abusive partner and unknown circumstances of the pandemic without guidance and support from legal actors. There will need to be a prioritization of the safety of mothers and their children in post-divorce parenting arrangements both during times of a community lockdown such as during the pandemic and also during non-pandemic times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic numerous institutions around the world have surveyed students to gain an understanding of their experiences. While these surveys are valuable at a local institutional level, it is unclear as to which findings from individual surveys reflect the broader higher education environment, and which patterns may be consistent across student surveys. It is worthwhile to synthesize survey findings in order to explore patterns and potentially new understandings that may arise from such analysis. In this paper, we reviewed and synthesized 21 surveys examining the impacts of COVID-19 and emergency remote learning on approximately 155,000 student respondents in Canada. Findings reveal that the impacts of COVID-19 and emergency remote learning on students centered around (1) educational experiences, (2) mental health and wellbeing, (3) financial concerns, (4) impact on future plans, and (5) recommendations for future practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on an extensive review of recent literature about resilience and integration, this paper evaluates a social resilience approach to the integration of international migrants in Canadian cities. We advocate a social resilience approach that acknowledges how institutions of all types play critical roles in newcomers' efforts to establish their lives in new places, especially when faced with unanticipated events such as a global pandemic. Centering research around the concept of social resilience goes beyond the neoliberal idea that integration is primarily an individual affair achieved with support from friends, family, and a nebulous community and draws attention to the social diversity of migrants and the complexity of their migration and settlement histories. Inherently relational, a social resilience approach encourages comparative studies of integration across cities that can reveal how different institutions and their programs affect migrants' trajectories. Detailed examinations of local institutions and their responses to shifting selection and integration policies, especially during a pandemic, also hold the potential to provide crucial information for supporting newcomers effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In rural, remote, and northern parts of Canada, the pre-existing vulnerability and risk for intimate partner violence has been exacerbated by COVID-19. The purpose of this commentary is to identify the unique impact of COVID-19 on intimate partner violence both in terms of the bearing on those experiencing abuse and on the service sector in rural, remote and northern communities where the rates of intimate partner violence and intimate partner femicide pre-pandemic are higher than in larger cities. The recommendations offered in this paper include enhanced safety planning, alternate housing for victims fleeing violence, and suggestions for service providers. We also offer ways to move forward with further research in the COVID-19 era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Social adversity experiences have increased during the pandemic and are potential risk factors for both depression and support for violent radicalization (VR). However, the cumulative and independent effects of various social adversity experiences on support for VR have yet to be explored. This paper examines the cumulative and independent effects of COVID- and non-COVID-related discrimination, exposure to violence, traditional and cyberbullying victimization on support for VR. In addition, we investigate whether depression mediates the relationship between these forms of social adversity and support for VR. Methods: A total of 6003 young adults (Mage = 27, SDage = 4.40, range 18–35) living in metropolitan areas in Canada responded to an online survey. We used multivariable regression models, controlling for socio-demographic characteristics, to infer covariate adjusted associations between social adversity measures and support for VR. Additionally, we conducted a formal mediation analysis to estimate the proportion mediated by depression. Results: There was a cumulative relationship between experiences of social adversity and support for VR (β = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.32, 1.72). COVID-related discrimination and cyberbullying victimization were independently associated with stronger support for VR. Depression partially mediated the effect of cumulative social adversity, COVID-related discrimination and cyberbullying on support for VR. Conclusion: Prevention programs during the present pandemic should prioritize decreasing discrimination and providing psychosocial support to depressed young adults who experience social adversity. Practitioners should prioritize developing programs that foster digital literacy skills and critical thinking among young adults to address the concerning impact of cyberbullying on support for VR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, teaching online became a norm for universities in Canada. Besides the challenges of teaching topics that may be impossible to be taught online, a major issue that the mandatory physical distancing brought is the relationality between teachers and students. In order to investigate how educators were making sense of such changes, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 education professors across Canada. In light of Derrida's and Ruitenberg's ethic of hospitality, this paper explores how the abrupt shift to online education unveiled the nature and challenges of hospitable education, especially in the online context. The implications of online instruction to professors' relationality, however, are also instrumental in illuminating the complexities and ambiguities of a teacher's responsibility even in what could be considered the "normal circumstances" of face-to-face instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated school closures globally, resulting in an abrupt move to online/distance teaching or emergency remote teaching (ERT). Teachers and students pivoted from face-to-face engagement to online environments, thus impacting curriculum, pedagogy, and student outcomes across a variety of disciplines. In this paper, the authors focus on science/STEM teachers' experiences with online teaching and learning in a Canadian context during the pandemic. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through an online questionnaire administered to 75 Grade 1–12 science/STEM teachers in a Canadian province in May–July 2020. Through the TPACK framework and self-efficacy theory, the authors explore i) curriculum planning and implementation in online settings, ii) assessment practices and their effectiveness, and iii) student outcomes, as observed by the teachers. Results indicate that teachers used a variety of platforms, and choice of platform was mainly due to user-friendliness and interactivity, or administrative decision making. Despite teachers organizing online lessons during ERT, gaps were identified in teachers' TPACK framework and self-efficacy, thus impacting their curriculum development, pedagogical approaches, and assessment practices. In general, teaching strategies included pre-recorded videos and self-directed learning in which teachers assigned specific tasks for students to perform independently. Teachers prioritized subject content and covering curriculum objectives over creative and student-centered pedagogical approaches. Assessment techniques employed were viewed by teachers as unauthentic and generally ineffective. Moreover, teachers reported difficulties addressing student needs and abilities, resulting in challenges providing equitable and inclusive online teaching. Finally, online teaching was viewed negatively by most teachers, in terms of student engagement and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relevant literature indicates that one's perception of future time is related to their psychological well-being, particularly for older adults. However, more research is needed to understand this relationship in the context of COVID-19. Older adults may be especially vulnerable to the psychological impacts of the pandemic, but findings on their psychological well-being during COVID-19 are mixed. The current study examines relationships between Future Time Perspective (FTP), COVID-19 impact, and Psychological Well-Being, and how these variables change over 8 months during the earlier period of the pandemic. The current study explored these relationships in a sample of older women in Ontario, Canada, at two time points (Mage = 70.39 at T1), who completed online Qualtrics surveys. We used hierarchical linear regressions to test our expectations that COVID-19 impact would be negatively associated with psychological well-being, whereas FTP would be positively associated with psychological well-being, and that FTP would moderate the relationship between COVID-19 impact and psychological well-being. We found partial support for these hypotheses. Our knowledge of the relationship between FTP and psychological well-being would benefit from research that continues to explore different contexts and diverse samples, to enhance understandings of important differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence is building regarding the association between government implemented public health measures aimed at combating COVID-19 and their impacts on health. This study investigated the relationship between the stringency of public health measures implemented in Canada and self-reported mental health, physical health, stress, and wellbeing among a random sample of 6647 Canadians 18 years of age and older. The analysis was based on self-reported health data from the Canadian Perspectives on Environmental Noise Survey. This data was combined with the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker database, which included overall stringency index (SI), and four of its sub-components, i.e., school and business closures, restrictions on gatherings, and stay at home policies. Adjusted multivariate logistic regression models indicated that the magnitude of the overall SI was associated with higher or lower odds of reporting worse physical health, mental health, stress and/or overall wellbeing, depending on the measure evaluated. Similarly, policy directed at the four sub-components had varying impacts on the odds of reporting worse health, depending on the sub-component, the strength of the policy restriction, and the health outcome evaluated. The association between the strength of the public health measures and self-reported health, and how this may inform future policy, is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hospitals and healthcare workers have been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The potential impacts upon the patient experience have been less documented, particularly in the pediatric setting. Our aim was to examine how parental experiences with their child's hospitalization varied during the COVID-19 pandemic at two children's hospitals in Alberta, Canada. Methods: A random sample of parents were surveyed within six weeks of their child's discharge from Alberta's two children's hospitals. Surveys were administered using the Alberta Pediatric Inpatient Experiences Survey (APIES) - a validated instrument used to assess parental experiences during their child's hospitalization. Surveys were linked with administrative inpatient records. Three cohorts were created based on hospital discharge date: Pre-COVID (Pre: April 2019 to March 2020), COVID year one (C1: April 2020 to March 2021), and COVID year two (C2: April 2021 to March 2022). We examined 48 survey questions, including four overall rating scales. Survey responses were Likert scales. These were transformed to normalized scores from 0 (worst) to 100 (best). Differences between cohorts were assessed using ANOVA and the post-hoc Tukey test. Results: A total of 3,611 surveys (1,314 Pre; 997 C1; 1,300 C2) were completed over the three-year period. Five questions showed differences between the Pre and C1 periods, six showed differences between Pre and C2, and 13 showed differences between C1 and C2. Among these questions, scores pre-COVID were lower than COVID year one, while results in COVID year two were lower than pre-COVID and COVID year one. Thirty-one survey questions showed no statistical differences between the three time periods. For the overall ratings, only hospital rating showed a difference in any of the periods (91.4 C1 vs. 90.2 C2). Overall ratings of doctors, nurses, and recommendation of the hospital to others showed no differences. Conclusion: This study showed that the experiences of parents during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic were mildly better or comparable to historical results. This changed over the following year, where lower scores were reported on 13 questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the beginning of the global pandemic of Coronavirus (SARS-COV-2), there has been many studies devoted to predicting the COVID-19 related deaths/hospitalizations. The aim of our work is to (1) explore the lagged dependence between the time series of case counts and the time series of death counts; and (2) utilize such a relationship for prediction. The proposed approach can also be applied to other infectious diseases or wherever dynamics in lagged dependence are of primary interest. Different from the previous studies, we focus on time-varying coefficient models to account for the evolution of the coronavirus. Using two different types of time-varying coefficient models, local polynomial regression models and piecewise linear regression models, we analyze the province-level data in Canada as well as country-level data using cumulative counts. We use out-of-sample prediction to evaluate the model performance. Based on our data analyses, both time-varying coefficient modeling strategies work well. Local polynomial regression models generally work better than piecewise linear regression models, especially when the pattern of the relationship between the two time series of counts gets more complicated (e.g., more segments are needed to portray the pattern). Our proposed methods can be easily and quickly implemented via existing R packages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs) are unplanned communities with a high proportion of residents aged 65 years and older. Oasis is a Canadian aging in place model that combines health and supportive community services for adults aged 65 years and older within NORCs. The aims of this study were to explore how physical distancing restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted older adults living in a NORC (Oasis members) and to investigate whether Oasis served as a context for social connection and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. An interpretive description methodology guided this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine Oasis members (aged 66–77 years) and two Oasis site coordinators. The Oasis members also completed a social network mapping activity guided by the hierarchical mapping technique. Three overarching themes related to the impact of physical distancing on Oasis members during the COVID-19 pandemic were identified: (1) unintended consequences of physical distancing restrictions on participants' wellbeing; (2) face-to-face interactions are important for social connection; and (3) family, friend, healthcare provider, and community support mitigated the impact of physical distancing restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, two of Oasis' core pillars were found to support participants: strengthening social connectivity and connection to pre-existing community services. Findings illustrate that community programs like Oasis acted as a source of resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic and advance our understanding of the impact of aging in place models on community dwelling older adults' experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on violence against women (VAW), including increased prevalence and severity, and on VAW service delivery. The purpose of this research was to study women's experiences with VAW services in the first stages of the pandemic and describe their fears and concerns. This cross-sectional study was conducted from May through October 2020. Our VAW agency partners across Ontario, Canada invited women using outreach services to participate in a study about their experiences during the pandemic. In total, 49 women from 9 agencies completed an online survey. Quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and open-ended responses are presented to supplement findings. Women's experiences with VAW services during the pandemic varied greatly; some found technology-facilitated services (phone, video, text) more accessible, while others hoped to return to in-person care. Over half of women reported poorer wellbeing, access to health care, and access to informal supports. Many women reported increased relationship-related fears, some due specifically to COVID-19 factors. Our results support providing a variety of technology-based options for women accessing VAW services when in-person care options are reduced. This research also adds to the scant literature examining how some perpetrators capitalized on the pandemic by using new COVID-19-specific forms of coercive control. Although the impacts of the pandemic on women varied, our findings highlight how layers of difficulty, such as less accessible formal and informal support, as well as increased fear – can compound to make life for women experiencing abuse exceptionally difficult. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic led to concerns about increases in suicidal behaviour. Research indicates that certain types of media coverage of suicide may help reduce suicidality (the Papageno effect), while other types may increase suicidality (the Werther effect). This study aimed to examine the tone and content of Canadian news articles about suicide during the first year of the pandemic. Methods: Articles about suicide from Canadian news sources were collected and coded for adherence to responsible reporting of suicide guidelines. Articles which directly discussed suicidal behaviour in the COVID-19 context were identified and compared to other suicide articles in the same period. Lastly, a thematic analysis was conducted on the sub-sample of articles discussing suicide in the COVID-19 context. Results: The sub-set of articles about suicide in the COVID-19 context (n = 103) contained significantly more putatively helpful content compared to non-COVID-19 articles (n = 457), such as including help information (56.3% Vs 23.6%), quoting an expert (68.0% Vs 16.8%) and educating about suicide (73.8% Vs 24.9%). This lower adherence among non-COVID-19 articles is concerning as they comprised over 80% of the sample. On the plus side, fewer than 10% of all articles provided monocausal, glamourized or sensational accounts of suicide. Qualitative analysis revealed the following three themes: (i) describing the epidemiology of suicidal behaviour; (ii) discussing self and communal care; and (iii) bringing attention to gaps in mental health care. Conclusion: Media articles about suicide during the first year of the pandemic showed partial adherence to responsible reporting of suicide guidelines, with room for improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the mental health of children, youth, and their families which must be addressed and prevented in future public health crises. Our objective was to measure how self-reported mental health symptoms of children/youth and their parents evolved during COVID-19 and to identify associated factors for children/youth and their parents including sources accessed for information on mental health. We conducted a nationally representative, multi-informant cross-sectional survey administered online to collect data from April to May 2022 across 10 Canadian provinces among dyads of children (11–14 years) or youth (15–18 years) and a parent (> 18 years). Self-report questions on mental health were based on The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health and the World Health Organization of the United Nations H6+ Technical Working Group on Adolescent Health and Well-Being consensus framework and the Coronavirus Health and Impact Survey. McNemar's test and the test of homogeneity of stratum effects were used to assess differences between children-parent and youth-parent dyads, and interaction by stratification factors, respectively. Among 933 dyads (N = 1866), 349 (37.4%) parents were aged 35–44 years and 485 (52.0%) parents were women; 227 (47.0%) children and 204 (45.3%) youth were girls; 174 (18.6%) dyads had resided in Canada < 10 years. Anxiety and irritability were reported most frequently among child (44, 9.1%; 37, 7.7%) and parent (82, 17.0%; 67, 13.9%) dyads, as well as among youth (44, 9.8%; 35, 7.8%) and parent (68, 15.1%; 49, 10.9%) dyads; children and youth were significantly less likely to report worsened anxiety (p < 0.001, p = 0.006, respectively) or inattention (p < 0.001, p = 0.028, respectively) compared to parents. Dyads who reported financial or housing instability or identified as living with a disability more frequently reported worsened mental health. Children (96, 57.1%), youth (113, 62.5%), and their parents (253, 62.5%; 239, 62.6%, respectively) most frequently accessed the internet for mental health information. This cross-national survey contextualizes pandemic-related changes to self-reported mental health symptoms of children, youth, and families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To assess whether remote physical exercise interventions helped maintain function in daily life, level of physical activities, basic mobility and frailty status in pre-disabled seniors during the first Covid-19 lockdown. Design: This is an interventional study conducted from May 2020 to May 2021. Setting: Community-dwelling older adults in 2 Canadian cities. Participants: 84 pre-disabled seniors. Intervention: 12-week physical exercise programs (1 hour/ 3 times/ week) in kinesiologist-guided groups using Zoom or phone-supervised individual booklet-based home-program (n=44) vs. Control (usual life habits; n=40). Measurements: Functional status in daily activities (OARS scale); Daily level of aerobic (TAPA-1) and strengthening/flexibility (TAPA-2) physical activities; Basic mobility abilities (SPPB: balance, lower limbs strength, walking speed; Timed Up-and-Go) and Frailty (SOF index) were assessed at baseline and at 3, 6, 9 and 12-month follow-ups. Results: The participants' mean age was 78.5 ± 7.2 and 76.5 % were women. There was a group * time effect for the OARS scale (p=0.02), the TAPA-1 (p=0.06) and the TAPA-2 (p=0.007) scores. For these outcomes, scores significantly improved during the first 3 months of follow-up and then stabilised in the intervention group whereas they remained constant in the control group over time. There was an overall time effect for the SPPB (p=0.004), the 4-m walking speed (p=0.02) and for the SOF index (p=0.004), with no between-group differences. Finally, no effect was observed for the TUG. Conclusion: Remote home-based physical exercise interventions and monitoring during the first Covid-19 lockdown seemed to have helped maintain seniors' level of physical activities without impacting on basic mobility abilities. Further studies are needed to identify parameters of remote exercise programs that can improve daily function and mobility in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Clubhouse model of psychosocial rehabilitation provides several employment opportunities to individuals who experience mental health concerns, including transitional, supported, and independent employment. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in Clubhouses having to adapt existing programs to online formats. Employment programs were further impacted, as many workplaces in the community closed or reduced capacity. The present study aimed to examine the rates of involvement in transitional, supported, and independent employment across six Clubhouses in Canada throughout the pandemic. 462 members completed surveys at five time points pertaining to participation in Clubhouse employment programs. The data was analyzed using Cochran's Q tests to determine differences in employment rates across time points. The results demonstrated an overall decrease in transitional and supported employment rates throughout the pandemic. Conversely, rates of independent employment were unchanged. It is evident that Clubhouse employment programs assist members in obtaining employment. The results suggest Clubhouses may benefit from exploring novel employment opportunities to support their members, such as remote work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This exploratory study examines the likely causes of the alarming global rise of antisemitism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning with an appraisal of today's world Jewry, this exploratory study highlights the main social, health, and religious impacts COVID-19 has had on Jews worldwide and goes on to highlight how various Jewish communities managed and adjusted to COVID-19 public health restrictions. From this contextual backdrop, an assessment of how and why antisemitism has surged during the pandemic is presented, along with a review of what efforts are being taken to curtail this rise in hatred toward Jews. A central aim of this study is to underline the point that until meaningful, broad, and international steps are taken to curb online hate, the historic antisemitic tropes and myths suggesting Jews are the cause of disease will undoubtedly evolve and surge (especially across social media) during future pandemics and times of global crisis and unrest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clergy play significant leadership, educational, and caregiving roles in society. However, burnout is a concern for the clergy profession, those they serve, and their families. Effects include decreased ministry effectiveness, lower sense of personal accomplishment in their role, and negative impacts on quality of family life and relationships. Given these risks, knowledge of the nature of Christian clergy's current resilience and well-being in Canada may provide valuable intelligence to mitigate these challenges. In summary, the purpose of this research was to describe and analyze the status of clergy resilience and well-being in Canada, together with offering focused insights. Resilience and well-being surveys used by the co-authors with educators and nurses were adapted for use in this study. This instrument was developed to gain insight into baseline patterns of resilience and well-being and included questions across seven sections: (1) demographic information. (2) health status, (3) professional quality of life, (4) Cantril Well-Being Scale, (5) Ego-Resiliency Scale, (6) Grit Scale, and (7) open-ended questions. The findings provided valuable insights into clergy well-being and resilience that can benefit individual clerics, educational institutions, denominations, and congregations. The participants' current resilience and well-being included high levels of resiliency, moderate grit, and satisfaction with health and wellness. Other significant findings included the impact of congregational flourishing and age. This study found that clergy well-being and resilience was doing well despite the increased adversity of the COVID-19 pandemic. Implications of this study are that clerics may need unique supports based on their age and also whether they serve in a congregation they perceive as flourishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic nature of the COVID-19 pandemic has demanded a public health response that is constantly evolving due to the novelty of the virus. Many jurisdictions in the USA, Canada, and across the world have adopted social distancing and recommended the use of face masks. Considering these measures, it is prudent to understand the contributions of subpopulations—such as "silent spreaders"—to disease transmission dynamics in order to inform public health strategies in a jurisdiction-dependent manner. Additionally, we and others have shown that demographic and environmental stochasticity in transmission rates can play an important role in shaping disease dynamics. Here, we create a model for the COVID-19 pandemic by including two classes of individuals: silent spreaders, who either never experience a symptomatic phase or remain undetected throughout their disease course; and symptomatic spreaders, who experience symptoms and are detected. We fit the model to real-time COVID-19 confirmed cases and deaths to derive the transmission rates, death rates, and other relevant parameters for multiple phases of outbreaks in British Columbia (BC), Canada. We determine the extent to which SilS contributed to BC's early wave of disease transmission as well as the impact of public health interventions on reducing transmission from both SilS and SymS. To do this, we validate our model against an existing COVID-19 parameterized framework and then fit our model to clinical data to estimate key parameter values for different stages of BC's disease dynamics. We then use these parameters to construct a hybrid stochastic model that leverages the strengths of both a time-nonhomogeneous discrete process and a stochastic differential equation model. By combining these previously established approaches, we explore the impact of demographic and environmental variability on disease dynamics by simulating various scenarios in which a COVID-19 outbreak is initiated. Our results demonstrate that variability in disease transmission rate impacts the probability and severity of COVID-19 outbreaks differently in high- versus low-transmission scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, home food gardening articles have saturated popular media outlets. Home food gardening is more popular than ever, and community gardens and community greenhouses are at capacity with long waiting lists for plots. Several local governments across the country are also participating in the food gardening craze. This study compares 19 municipal urban home food gardening programs that ran in 2020. These municipalities provided program participants with free gardening supplies and instructions on how to grow food at home. This study reveals a complicated relationship among municipalities, food gardening programs and household and community food security. The study also determines that the social and emotional challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic are somewhat alleviated through gardening. Ultimately, municipalities are limited in their policy capacities to adequately move the needle on food insecurity in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vaccine hesitancy has taken a toll on COVID-19 immunization globally. This study aims to characterize three COVID-19-related health concerns (i.e., vaccine hesitancy, anticipated stigma, and risk perception) in Canada and how they differ based on im/migration status and other social determinants. Data were obtained from a nationwide probability sample of the Canadian Perspective Survey Series 3 (June 15 to 21, 2020). Multivariable binary logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the association between each COVID-19 concern and nativity status, while controlling for socio-demographics. Of 3522 participants aged ≥ 25 years, the estimated overall prevalence of vaccine hesitancy was 16.9%, with im/migrants being greater than non-immigrants (21.5% vs. 15.5%, p < 0.001). After controlling for all covariates, im/migrants had around two-fold greater odds of all three health concerns, including risk perception of accessing care (aOR 2.44, 95% CI 1.89–3.15), anticipated stigma of being targeted (aOR 2.24, 95% CI 1.81, 2.78) and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (aOR 1.99, 95% CI 1.57–2.52), compared to their Canadian-born peers. Among vaccine-hesitant individuals (n = 596), im/migrants reported higher concerns, than non-immigrants, on vaccine safety (71.3% vs. 49.5%), side effects (66.4% vs 47.3%) and mistrust in vaccinations (12.5% vs 6.6%) as possible reasons of vaccine refusal. For migrant justice, health authorities should ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and other health-enhancing resources for im/migrants to mitigate their heightened fear, stigma, and mistrust of new vaccines amidst turbulent times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child maltreatment (CM) is a global public health problem. Evidence-based home visiting programs, such as SafeCare®, reduce CM risk, and enhance parent-child relationships and other protective factors. As the result of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting restrictions, SafeCare Providers transitioned from home to virtual delivery for the SafeCare curriculum. The purpose of this study is to 1) examine active SafeCare Providers' opinions on the feasibility and effectiveness of SafeCare via remote delivery, and 2) better understand workforce concerns for human service professionals within the context of COVID-19 mitigation efforts. Data are from a cross-sectional survey of SafeCare Providers (N = 303) in the United States, Canada, and Australia. The majority of Providers reported they were actively delivering SafeCare virtually and were comfortable with the delivery format. Providers indicated that the majority of SafeCare families are making progress on target skills, and that engagement is high among many families. Some service delivery challenges were reported, ranging from family data plan limitations to difficulty with delivery of specific components of the SafeCare curriculum related to modeling and assessment. The impact of COVID-19 on Providers' daily routines, stress level, and work-life balance has been significant. Remote, virtual delivery of CM prevention programming offers the opportunity to continue serving vulnerable families in the midst of a pandemic. Barriers related to family technology and data access must be addressed to ensure reach and the effective delivery of prevention programming during the pandemic and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 case was first identified in Canada on January 25, 2020, on a Toronto resident who had travelled to Wuhan China, and not long after, the WHO declared the viral infection a pandemic. Ontario health West created an online self-assessment portal that allowed individuals in the health region and adjourning areas to report any COVID related symptoms. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility and usefulness of the Ontario Heath West online COVID-19 self-assessment portal. Record level data obtained from the Ontario Health West self-assessment portal was analyzed. Descriptive statistics using charts and graphs were used to characterize the distribution of responses to the portal. In-depth analysis using correlation, lead-lag analysis, and trend comparison with actual Government of Ontario COVID-19 cases for the region were also conducted. A total of 34,144 distinct responses were recorded on the portal between April 10 and July 29, 2020, with 1,250 (3.7%) responding positively to one of the emergency symptoms questions. Trend analysis showed a peak portal response in May 2020 with a smaller rise subsequently in July 2020, coinciding with the actual COVID-19 peak in the region. The five most reported symptoms on the portal were sore throat (17.2%), headache (12.9%), fatigue (12.3%), digestive problems (12.2%) and cough (9.1%). For four sub-regions, the trend of self-report on the portal positively lagged actual Public Health Ontario reported COVID-19 cases, while for one sub-region, the trend positively led the actual Public Health Ontario reported COVID-19 cases for the area. We found correlation between online COVID-19 self- assessment data and the confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Southwestern region of Ontario. Trends in the COVID-19 associated emergency symptoms reported on the portal also tracked confirmed COVID-19 cases in the community. Peak response to the portal coincided with the peak volume of confirmed cases in Ontario during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, suggesting some consistency between the experiences of portal users and patterns of COVID-19 illness in the community. The portal was a useful tool at the person-level because it provided guidance to individuals about how to access appropriate health services according to the symptoms that they reported and connected them with primary care, reducing unnecessary visit to health facilities for COVID-19 related care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hospitals in Canada are facing a crisis-level shortage of critical supplies and equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. This motivates us to create predictive models that can use Canada COVID-19 data and pandemic-related factors to accurately forecast 5 quantities—three related to hospital resource utilization (i.e., the number of hospital beds, ICU beds, and ventilators that will be needed by COVID-19 patients) and two to the pandemic progress (i.e., the number of COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 deaths)—several weeks in advance. We developed a machine learning method that can use information (i.e., resource utilization, pandemic progress, population mobility, weather condition, and public policy) currently known about a region since March 2020, to learn multiple temporal convolutional network (TCN) models every week; each used for forecasting the weekly average of one of these 5 quantities in Canada (respectively, in six specific provinces) for each, in the next 1 (resp., 2,3,4) weeks. To validate the effectiveness of our method, we compared our method, versus other standard models, on the COVID-19 data and hospital resource data, on the tasks of predicting the 116 values (for Canada and its six most populated provinces), every week from Oct 2020 to July 2021, and the 20 values (only for Canada) for four specific times within 9 July to 31 Dec 2021. Experimental results show that our 4640 TCN models (each forecasting a regional target for a specific future time, on a specific date) can produce accurate 1,2,3,4-week forecasts of the utilization of every hospital resource and pandemic progress for each week from 2 Oct 2020 to 2 July 2021, as well as 80 TCN models for each of the four specified times within 9 July and 31 Dec 2021. Compared to other baseline and state-of-the-art predictive models, our TCN models yielded the best forecasts, with the lowest mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). Additional experiments, on the IHME COVID-19 data, demonstrate the effectiveness of our TCN models, in comparison with IHME forecasts. Each of our TCN models used a pre-defined set of features; we experimentally validate the effectiveness of these features by showing that these models perform better than other models that instead used other features. Overall, these experimental results demonstrate that our method can accurately forecast hospital resource utilization and pandemic progress for Canada and for each of the six provinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To determine institutional practice requirements for personal protective equipment (PPE) in cross-sectional interventional radiology (CSIR) procedures among a variety of radiology practices in the USA and Canada. Methods: Members of the Society of Abdominal Radiology (SAR) CSIR Emerging Technology Commission (ETC) were sent an eight-question survey about what PPE they were required to use during common CSIR procedures: paracentesis, thoracentesis, thyroid fine needle aspiration (FNA), superficial lymph node biopsy, deep lymph node biopsy, solid organ biopsy, and ablation. Types of PPE evaluated were sterile gloves, surgical masks, gowns, surgical hats, eye shields, foot covers, and scrubs. Results: 26/38 surveys were completed by respondents at 20/22 (91%) institutions. The most common PPE was sterile gloves, required by 20/20 (100%) institutions for every procedure. The second most common PPE was masks, required by 14/20 (70%) institutions for superficial and deep procedures and 12/12 (100%) institutions for ablation. Scrubs, sterile gowns, eye shields, and surgical hats were required at nearly all institutions for ablation, whereas approximately half of institutions required their use for deep lymph node and solid organ biopsy. Compared with other types of PPE, required mask and eye shield use showed the greatest increase during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Conclusion: PPE use during common cross-sectional procedures is widely variable. Given the environmental and financial impact and lack of consensus practice, further studies examining the appropriate level of PPE are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document titled "What I did on my summer vacation" recounts the author's experiences during their summer vacation. The author initially traveled to Canada to visit family but contracted an infection. They received antibiotics in Canada and returned to Denmark, where they experienced swelling and pain in their knee. The author sought medical attention and was diagnosed with reactive arthritis. They also underwent tests for deep vein thrombosis, which came back negative. Unfortunately, the author's mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer during this time and passed away shortly after. The author also experienced health issues, including shingles, and had to make difficult decisions regarding treatment options. Additionally, the author faced challenges with wasps infesting their apartment. Despite these difficulties, the author's colleagues and family provided support, and the production of Metascience continued. The author reflects on the limitations of academic work in dealing with personal calamities and expresses gratitude for the understanding shown by reviewers during the COVID-19 pandemic. [Extracted from the article]

Canada was the first country in the world to establish multiculturalism as its official policy for the governance of diversity. Canadian multiculturalism has gained much popularity in political and public discourses in the past 50 years, and it has also received no less criticism as to its effectiveness in addressing issues of racism. There have also been ambiguities over the meaning and intention of multiculturalism, leading to divergent understandings of multiculturalism as an ideal of inclusion and equity, on the one hand, and a mere political rhetoric, on the other. On the occasion of celebrating the 50th anniversary of Canada's official multiculturalism policy, this article re-visits Canada's multiculturalism by reviewing its history and ethos and critically examining its actual effects as manifested during the Covid-19 pandemic in Canada. The rise of anti-Asian racism, anti-Black racism, and anti-Indigenous racism incidents in the pandemic reveals that multiculturalism has in effect, sustained a racist and unequal society of Canada with racism entrenched in its history and ingrained in every aspect of its social structure. Multiculturalism tolerates cultural difference but does not challenge an unjust society premised on white supremacy. The anti-racism movement mobilized by racialized communities in Canada indicates that multiculturalism has failed to respond to racialized communities' pressing demand for social change and action for social justice. The article concludes with a proposed alternative framework to multiculturalism, that is, pandemic anti-racism education model, to centre the issue of race and racism in an action-oriented, inclusive, and empowering approach toward a future of a just society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research looked at the effects of COVID-19 on a number of the world's most important stock exchanges, as well as the empirical relation between the COVID-19 wave and stock market volatility. In order to plan proper portfolio diversification in international financial markets, researchers must examine COVID-19 anxiety in relation to stock market volatility. The stock market volatility connected with the COVID-19 pandemic was measured using AR(1)-GARCH(1,1). COVID-19 fear, according to our research, is the ultimate driver of public attention and stock market volatility. The findings show that throughout the pandemic, stock market performance and GDP growth both declined significantly due to average increases. Furthermore, a 1% increase in COVID-19 causes a 0.8% and 0.56% decline in stock return and GDP, respectively. The stock market, on the other hand, showed a slight movement in GDP growth. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic reported cases index, death index, and global panic index all influenced public perceptions of purchasing and selling. As a result, rather than investing in stocks, it is recommended that you invest in gold. The research also makes policy recommendations for important stakeholders. We look to examine how stock returns respond dynamically to unanticipated changes in the COVID-19 scenarios, as well as the uncertainty that comes with a pandemic. Using daily data from Canada and the USA, we conclude that a spike in COVID-19 instances has a negative impact on the stock market in general. Furthermore, in both the increase and decline scenarios in Canada, the stock return reactions are asymmetric. The disparity is due to the unfavorable impact of the pandemic's unpredictability. We also discovered that uncertainty had a negative impact on the US stock market. The magnitude, however, is insignificant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians faced much ambiguity in the public health messages around face mask use. As public health messaging plays a pivotal role in the provision of directives during a health crisis, this study examines Canadians' opinions on the early messaging they received regarding personal protection, especially around mask use, with the goal of identifying potential improvements to strengthen future health messaging. Nine online focus group interviews with 47 Canadians were conducted. These natural conversations focused on personal protective equipment (PPE) choices, mask-relevant public health information sources, and advice to Canadian authorities to improve public health messaging on mask use. Responses were imported into NVivo for thematic analysis. Four meta-themes of relevance were identified. Despite demonstrating trust in scientific evidence and public health authorities, the inconsistencies in public health messaging fostered confusion, and induced mistrust toward health professionals. Further, several information deficits were identified pertaining to the scientific efficacy, safe use, and disposal of masks. Rooted in loyalty to healthcare workers, these Canadians eschewed using medical grade masks during PPE shortages to ensure a sufficient supply for medical workers. The findings stress that consistency in public health messages should be prioritized, with necessary changes clearly justified and explained. More information should reach the public on the scientific benefits and proper use of masks. Public health recommendations should be evidence-based, simple, transparent, and realistic in the current circumstances to guide Canadians to make more informed personal protection choices in the rapidly evolving pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has led to the implementation of various social and sanitary measures, impacting populations' quality of life. Aims: Documenting the spiritual quality of life (SQoL) of university employees and students in Quebec, Canada. A survey of 2,202 employees and students was conducted using health measurement tools, including the short version of the WHOQoL-SRPB. We ran a multiple linear regression to determine which variables promote the SQoL. SQoL was very low (2.92/5). Positive mental health, religion, and age are the main predictors of the SQoL. Some dimensions of spirituality contribute more than others to the respondents' quality of life and health during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]