Search

This exploratory study described the distribution of mental health service costs in youth with mental disorder and determined if costs differed for youth with comorbid internalizing and externalizing disorder compared to those with comorbid internalizing disorders. Data come from youth (8–17 years; n=75) receiving mental health services at a children's hospital in Canada. Billing amounts specified in the Health Insurance Act of Ontario were used to estimate costs. Overall, past-year service use costs were $7436.63. Hospitalizations represented the largest cost. Youth with comorbid internalizing and externalizing disorders had higher total (β=0.81 [0.17, 1.45]), hospital (β=0.93 [0.03, 1.84]), and professional (β=0.87 [0.04, 1.69]) costs. These preliminary findings suggest that comorbidity type is associated with the costs of past-year mental health services used by youth. Research is needed to understand the reasons for elevated costs and whether the increased services used by youth with comorbid internalizing and externalizing disorders are effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescent methamphetamine use is a prominent concern for Canadian media and government. Few empirical studies, however, have established the scope of adolescent methamphetamine use or associated outpatient substance abuse treatment utilization. The current study aimed to answer the following questions: (1) What was the overall proportion of primary methamphetamine-related cases seen at youth outpatient substance abuse treatment centres in British Columbia in 2005–2006?; (2) What kind of treatment programming did these treatment centres offer primary methamphetamine users?; and (3) How prepared were these treatment programs to provide services to primary methamphetamine users? We developed a comprehensive list of all sites offering outpatient substance-abuse treatment programs for youth in British Columbia. We asked the Executive Director (or designate) of each facility about the program’s annual caseload, proportion of primary methamphetamine-related cases, treatment approach, and preparedness to provide effective treatment for methamphetamine users. Responses were received from 68 of the 80 centres on our final master list. Approximately 11% (780/6,840) of all cases at the sites were due primarily to methamphetamine use. The proportion of primary methamphetamine-related cases varied widely across sites in B.C., with contacted centres reporting between 0–65% of their caseload in 2005–2006 as primarily methamphetamine-related. Almost all facilities integrated primary-methamphetamine users into treatment-as-usual, and few centres (12%) felt inadequately prepared to offer treatment for methamphetamine users. The current study found a substantial proportion of all cases seen at youth outpatient substance abuse treatment centres in British Columbia in 2005–2006 were primarily due to methamphetamine misuse. While most treatment sites integrated youth methamphetamine users into regular treatment programming and few treatment directors indicated that their programs were inadequately prepared to offer treatment services to methamphetamine-using clients, more evidence is needed to ascertain the most effective treatment strategies for methamphetamine users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Public Health is the property of Springer Nature 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.)

OBJECTIVE:: To develop age- and sex-specific waist circumference reference data for Canadian youth. DESIGN:: Cross-sectional population survey. SETTING:: 1981 Canada Fitness Survey. SUBJECTS:: Nationally representative sample of 3064 youth (1540 boys and 1524 girls) 11-18?y of age. INTERVENTIONS:: Waist circumference was measured with a flexible anthropometric tape. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:: Smoothed and weighted 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th waist circumference percentiles derived from LMS regression. RESULTS:: Waist circumference increases with age in both boys and girls, and boys have higher values of waist circumference than girls at every age and percentile level. CONCLUSIONS:: These reference data can be used to identify youth with an elevated risk of developing obesity-related disorders and can serve as a baseline for future studies of temporal trends in waist circumference. SPONSORSHIP:: This research was funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario (Grant #T4946).European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2004) 58, 1011-1015. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601924 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Setting: Canadian youth (aged 15-29 years) are more diverse, educated, connected and socially engaged than ever before. However, many face health-related challenges, including mental health problems (10-20%), substance use concerns (14%) and obesity (45%)., Intervention: The Young Canadians Roundtable on Health (YCRH) was created in 2013 to be Canada's youth voice on health. Supported by the Sandbox Project, this youth-led advisory works primarily virtually, leading advocacy projects and wide-ranging health initiatives., Outcomes: Youth and adult allies engaged in a participatory research evaluation of the YCRH, which was identified as a living laboratory, where youth could experiment with ideas and provide new perspectives on health issues. Adult allies reported learning new skills from youth, and youth gained advocacy and leadership skills. Collaborative projects resulted in a sense of shared achievement. Further, youth increased their connections to health and youth-serving spaces across the country. Identified challenges included difficulties in coordinating a national roundtable and defining shared responsibilities., Implications: The researchers generated the following evidence-based promising practices for youth engagement in health systems and program planning: (1) provide a consistent platform for youth input; (2) appreciate different forms of knowledge, expertise and communication methods; (3) invest in relationships and build mutual understanding among youth and adults; (4) for adult allies, be patient and comfortable with the ambiguity and unpredictability of working with youth; and (5) continually revisit and renegotiate structure and flexibility.