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Abstract Background Postsecondary students are at risk for mental health problems and there has been an overall reduction in flourishing in recent years. The aim of this study was to explore factors associated with general mental health among students from one postsecondary institution (n = 1082). Methods The Mental Health Continuum-Short Form was used as the outcome, which categorizes individuals as being languishing (i.e., state of incomplete mental health), moderately mentally healthy, or flourishing (i.e., positive mental health). A multivariable ordered logistic regression analysis was applied to identify factors associated with more favourable dimensions of mental health. Results Most students were moderately mentally healthy (53%), compared to flourishing (32%), and languishing (15%). Factors significantly associated with positive mental health included students who: (i) participated in meditation, (ii) participated in physical exercise, (iii) frequently experienced challenges that helped them grow, (iv) felt one's campus did enough to protect students from COVID-19, and (v) felt they were part of a campus that looked out for others. Conclusion This provides further evidence for investing in mental health training for instructors, promoting positive coping strategies within the student population, campuswide implementation of a universal approach to health promotion, and building a sense of community.

Mental health concerns are common among university and college students. Digital mental health resources and support are offered through university websites. However, the content and type of mental health activities of these institutions have not been analyzed. The aim of this study was to conduct a content analysis of mental health commitment and practices listed on Canadian postsecondary institutional websites. A 27-variable codebook was developed to map the content of all Canadian postsecondary institutions (n = 90). Descriptive statistics were applied to provide a broad snapshot of current institutional wellbeing activities. Nearly all institutions offered crisis response options, and multiple mental health supports through various modalities. However, few institutions had a wellbeing framework (34%), engaged in recent campuswide anti-stigma campaigns (33%), tracked campus wellness activities (13%), monitored student mental health outcomes (13%), and solicited feedback through the wellness center webpages (14%). These outcomes were similar across all geographic regions but statistically significantly different between small, medium, and large institutions. Findings suggest institutions need to address these gaps, provide smaller institutions with greater governmental support for building mental health capacity, and work towards developing a centralized hub for mental health that is accessible, navigable, and considers student needs and preferences.

There have been increased calls to address the growing mental health concerns of postsecondary students in Canada. Health promotion focuses on prevention and is needed as part of a comprehensive approach to student mental health support, with an emphasis on not just the individual but also the sociocultural environment of postsecondary institutions. The aim was to conduct a scoping review of the literature pertaining to the associations between postsecondary institutional factors and student wellbeing. The review included a comprehensive search strategy, relevance screening and confirmation, and data charting. Overall, 33 relevant studies were identified. Major findings provide evidence that institutional attitudes, institutional (in)action, perceived campus safety, and campus climate are associated with mental wellbeing, suggesting that campus-wide interventions can benefit from continued monitoring and targeting these measures among student populations. Due to the large variability in reporting and measurement of outcomes, the development of standardized measures for measuring institutional-level factors are needed. Furthermore, institutional participation and scaling up established population-level assessments in Canada that can help systematically collect, evaluate, and compare findings across institutions and detect changes in relevant mental health outcomes through time.

Abstract Background In Canada, nearly nine pregnancies end in stillbirth daily. Most of these families will go on to have subsequent pregnancies, but research into how best to care for these parents is lacking. This study explores the lived experiences and the most important aspects of person-centred care for Canadian families experiencing a pregnancy after a stillbirth. Methods This qualitative descriptive design used secondary data collected from an online, international survey for bereaved parents who reported having experienced a pregnancy subsequent to a stillbirth. Only parents who identified as Canadian were included in this study. Three open text questions were asked about parents’ experiences in their subsequent pregnancy. An inductive thematic analysis approach was used with open coding and a constant comparative method. Results Families’ responses fell into six main themes that identified what they would have preferred for high quality, excellent care. These included: (1) recognizing anxiety throughout the subsequent pregnancy, (2) wanting one’s voices and concerns to be heard and taken seriously, (3) needing additional and specific clinical care for reassurance, (4) desiring kindness and empathy from caregivers and others, (5) seeking support from others who had also experienced pregnancy after stillbirth; and (6) addressing mixed emotions including guilt, continuity of care and carer, positive thoughts versus more realistic ones, and poignant feelings of self-blame. Conclusions Participants’ responses identified that pregnancy after stillbirth is an extremely stressful time requiring patient-oriented care and support, both physically and psychologically. Families were able to articulate specific areas that would have improved the experience of their subsequent pregnancy. Parents asked for high-quality clinical and psychosocial prenatal care that was specific to them having experienced a prior stillbirth. They also requested connections to others experiencing this similar scenario. Further research is needed to delineate what supports and resources would be needed to ensure this care would be available to all families experiencing pregnancy after stillbirth across Canada and their caregivers.

Background Vaccines are effective biological interventions which reduce health burdens and protect healthcare providers from vaccine-preventable diseases. However, there are concerns about varying levels of vaccination coverage of influenza and COVID-19 vaccines among those working in healthcare. The aim of this study was to identify barriers and facilitators to COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations among healthcare providers and trainees using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF).Methods Semi-structured interviews (n = 18) were carried out with healthcare providers and trainees in Canada. A thematic analysis approach was used to code interview transcripts and match findings to TDF domains and broader categories.Results Three overarching themes were generated from six TDF domains and three inductively generated categories: (1) making informed health decisions with an added responsibility to protect oneself and patients; (2) a pro-vaccine social network, widespread accessibility, and pursuing a sense of normalcy; and (3) seeking a more nuanced, respectful, and calculated approach to vaccine communication and policy implementation.Conclusion These findings help to identify factors associated with influenza and COVID-19 vaccine uptake among individuals in the healthcare field. Addressing these factors may improve healthcare provider sentiments surrounding vaccines, lead to better patient education, and increased uptake of vaccinations with the potential for seasonal booster doses.

Background: Students in higher education commonly experience mental health problems. There is an ongoing need to explore potential intervention targets to focus on mental health promotion among students. Hopefulness may alleviate or be protective against various negative mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, suicide, and trauma-related disorders. Objective: To explore postsecondary students’ meanings and experiences of hope during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify factors affecting hopefulness during crises. Methods: Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants for online semi-structured interviews in a university located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: In total, 12 participants were interviewed, and 4 themes were generated: (1) hope is a complex concept with an associated set of behaviors, (2) cognitive framing of hope as a means of student resilience, (3) COVID-19 as an antagonist which amplifies preexisting student concerns and issues, and (4) the social and physical environments serve as barriers and enablers to hope and well-being. Hope was perceived as a positive mental trait, external events and the environment were reported to impact hope, and those who were generally more hopeful adjusted better mentally when unexpected circumstances arose. Conclusions: Findings shed light on the interconnectedness and complex nature of hope, its sources, and enablers. Novel findings include the ways in which hope was affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recommendations for individual- and community-based interventions include targeting enablers to hopefulness by promoting social support systems, offering virtual extracurricular activities, and delivering alternative approaches to teaching and learning.

Objective: Community-engaged learning is used in Master of Public Health programs to enhance student training, connect with communities, help solve societal issues, develop competencies, and build partnerships. However, it is unclear how much community-engaged learning components supplement existing Master of Public Health programs and prepare students in developing these competencies. Thus, the aim of this study was to apply an explanatory mixed-methods study design to evaluate a Canadian Master of Public Health program’s community-engaged learning activities and propose recommendations to strengthen public health training and course delivery. Methods: We conducted a questionnaire among Master of Public Health students ( n = 25), focus group discussion with a subset of these students ( n = 7), and one-on-one semi-structured telephone interviews with community partners who had previously hosted Master of Public Health students for practicum placements ( n = 11). Results: Community-engagement enhanced learning among Master of Public Health students, with the practicum placement, and program development capstone resulting in the largest self-reported development. Students in the focus group indicated community engagement provided skill and professional development, but also identified wanting additional curriculum coverage on various statistical software and qualitative research methods. Interviews with community partners revealed benefits of practicum placements such as mutual knowledge transfer, increased organizational capacity, and strengthened academic–community partnerships. Community partners also commented on challenges with recruitment, training, and aligning student–organization goals. Conclusion: The findings from this study suggest that an update to the Master of Public Health program curriculum, its core competencies, a combination of community-engagement activities, and future evaluations will be needed to advance education delivery.

Regulatory health policies facilitate desired health behaviours in communities, and among them, smoke-free policies and COVID-19 restrictions have been widely implemented. Qualitative research studies have explored how these measures and other environmental influences shape preventive behaviours. The objective of this systematic review was to synthesize previously published qualitative research, generate across-study themes, and propose recommendations for behaviour change interventions. We used a comprehensive search strategy, relevance screening and confirmation, data extraction, quality assessment, thematic synthesis, and quality-of-evidence assessment. In total, 87 relevant studies were identified. Findings were grouped under six overarching themes and mapped under three categories: (i) the political environment, (ii) the sociocultural environment, and (iii) the physical environment. These findings provide insights into the environmental influences of behaviour and indicate future interventions may be more effective by considering moral norms, community norms, policy support, and group identity.

Handwashing is one of the most effective and low-cost public health measures. However, it is often not practiced frequently enough or correctly by the public. Young adults in particular have poorer intentions to wash their hands, frequency of handwashing, and sanitizer use compared to other age groups. Therefore, there is a need to identify barriers and facilitators affecting hand hygiene within this group. The objective of this qualitative study was to apply the Theoretical Domains Framework to explore factors which influence hand hygiene among young adults aged 18 to 25 years old. An online questionnaire (n = 37) and thematic analysis were used to generate 3 overarching themes. The main findings indicated internal factors such as knowledge and intentions; interpersonal factors such as social norms; and environmental factors such as reminders, cues, accessibility, and cleanliness of handwashing facilities determined the level of hand hygiene practiced among young adults. The findings suggest that behavior change techniques such as social comparisons and tailored messaging to suit the needs of young adults may be more effective at increasing hand hygiene.

Many post-secondary institutions contain organizational values, which describe enduring beliefs that support strategic priorities and guide members of an organization. Relatedly, the adoption of health-promoting frameworks calls on embedding health within post-secondary institutions' core values. The study objective was to map Canada's post-secondary values to determine how health is integrated within value statements. Mixed methods were used to map institutional values, contextualize well-being, and identify thematic messages of health-related content contained within values. Most institutions espoused values (n = 64, 71%), yet only a small proportion of these institutions espoused health within their value statements (n = 7, 11%). Qualitative analysis revealed three thematic messages: (i) health as a descriptor for other institutional priorities, (ii) wellness broadly acknowledged or embedded within non-health values, and (iii) well-being as a core value or commitment. These novel findings suggest more institutions must embed health as a core value to demonstrate institutional commitment.

Background: The Publicly Available International Foodborne Outbreak Database (PAIFOD) is a regularly updated repository that contains international outbreak data collected from multiple surveillance systems and sources. As of February 2020, the database contained more than 13,000 entries spanning over 20 years. PAIFOD is the only known database that captures international foodborne outbreak data. Objective: To explore user perceptions and identify potential directions for PAIFOD and make recommendations for databases with food safety information. Methods: Between January and March 2020, 16 semistructured telephone interviews were conducted with 24 previous, current and potential PAIFOD users. Interviewees were asked about their knowledge of and experience of using PAIFOD as well as about its strengths and limitations and recommendations for the database. An inductive thematic analysis approach was used to analyze qualitative data and generate themes. Results: Four main themes were generated based on the 24 interviewees’ accounts of their experience with and recommendations for PAIFOD: participants viewed PAIFOD as a useful tool; they weren’t familiar with its contents or purpose; they stated it should become an open-access platform or linked with another information-sharing initiative; and they considered that PAIFOD had the potential to enhance the Agency’s reputation by becoming widely recognized and used. Conclusion: This work, along with the ever-changing landscape of foodborne surveillance, supports the need to ensure that PAIFOD is updated to meet the modern-day demands of food safety experts.

Contexte : La Base de données publique internationale sur les éclosions des maladies d’origine alimentaire (Publicly Available International Foodborne Outbreak Database [PAIFOD]) est un répertoire régulièrement mis à jour qui contient des données internationales sur les éclosions recueillies auprès de multiples systèmes de surveillance et de sources. En date de février 2020, la base de données contenait plus de 13 000 entrées couvrant plus de 20 ans. La PAIFOD est la seule base de données connue qui saisit les données internationales sur les éclosions de maladies d’origine alimentaire. Objectif : Explorer les perceptions des utilisateurs et déterminer les orientations possibles pour la PAIFOD et faire des recommandations pour les bases de données contenant des informations sur la sécurité alimentaire. Méthodes : Entre janvier et mars 2020, 16 entretiens téléphoniques semi-directifs ont été menés avec 24 anciens utilisateurs, actuels et potentiels de la PAIFOD. Les répondants ont été interrogés sur leur connaissance et leur expérience de l’utilisation de la PAIFOD ainsi que sur ses forces et ses faiblesses, et sur les recommandations concernant la base de données. Une approche d’analyse thématique inductive a été utilisée pour analyser les données qualitatives et générer des thèmes. Résultats : Quatre thèmes principaux ont été dégagés à partir des témoignages des 24 répondants sur leur expérience et leurs recommandations concernant la PAIFOD : les participants ont considéré que la PAIFOD était un outil utile; ils ne connaissaient pas bien son contenu ni son objectif; ils ont déclaré qu’elle devrait devenir une plateforme en libre accès ou être liée à une autre initiative de partage d’informations; et ils ont estimé que la PAIFOD avait le potentiel pour améliorer la réputation de l’Agence en devenant largement reconnue et utilisée. Conclusion : Ce travail, ainsi que le contexte en constante évolution de la surveillance alimentaire, soutient la nécessité de garantir que la PAIFOD soit mise à jour pour répondre aux exigences actuelles des experts en salubrité alimentaire.

BACKGROUND:Up to 3-5% of adults may be affected by food allergies, while approximately 1% are affected by Celiac disease (CD). Food allergy reactions can be severe and potentially fatal, while CD can result in various symptoms. Restaurant and food service establishment staff have an important role in helping to prevent food allergy and CD risks among affected customers. OBJECTIVES:A systematic review was undertaken to identify, characterize, and synthesize published research on the prevalence of food allergy and CD knowledge, practices, and training among restaurant and food service personnel. The population of interest included any personnel in these settings who prepare, handle, or serve food. Outcomes included the prevalence of food allergy and CD knowledge, practices, and training. METHODS:The review was conducted using standardized methods, including: a comprehensive search strategy; relevance screening of abstracts; characterization of relevant articles; data extraction; and risk of bias assessment. Outcomes were stratified into comparable subgroups and descriptively analyzed to examine prevalence trends across studies. Meta-regression was conducted on selected outcomes to identify possible sources of variability in prevalence estimates across studies. RESULTS:Thirty-eight relevant studies were identified; most were conducted in the United States (50%) and focused on food allergies (90%). Significant variability was identified across studies for most outcomes. Participants generally had a higher knowledge, self-efficacy, and use of practices related to preparing and serving allergen-free meals compared to food allergy emergency response. Participants' reported use of various risk prevention and response practices was generally low. Most participants across studies had not received prior food allergy training (median prevalence of 65% across 12 studies). IMPLICATIONS:Key knowledge and practice gaps were identified that could be targeted by future training programs. Research gaps were also identified, including a need for more experimental studies to evaluate food allergy and CD training interventions.