Search

Canadian young adults who identify as Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex (2SLGBTQI+) have higher smoking rates compared to their straight cisgender counterparts. One of the reasons for this trend is the perceived social acceptability of smoking and how it relates to stress, mental health and social connections. A sequential mixed-methods study was conducted with qualitative focus groups, followed by quantitative survey data collection starting in the spring of 2020, examining perceptions of both smoking and vaping. Results demonstrate higher social acceptability of vaping compared to smoking in the study sample. Qualitative results showed a strong link between the higher acceptability of smoking and vaping with coping and social connections. Quantitative results indicated that higher smoking acceptability was more common among those who currently smoke, currently vape, are younger, live in smaller cities, identify as a person of color, with variation by gender and sexual orientation; vaping was found to be more acceptable among those who currently smoke, currently vape, were younger participants, and have some post-secondary education. This research is important for the development of prevention and cessation programs in addressing both the negative and positive dimensions affecting smoking among 2SLGBTQI+young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youth smoking and physical inactivity are significant public health issues, with implications for both health and education stakeholders, as school-based policies and programs have the potential to reach a broad population of youth to address these issues. Knowledge exchange tools designed around comprehensive school-level data collection systems allow for dissemination of evidence into such policies and programs. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe the process of developing knowledge exchange feedback reports for school-based health policies and programs, using the School Health Action, Planning and Evaluation System (SHAPES) data collection system. SHAPES-Ontario is a project that utilized the SHAPES research platform to collect student-level behavioural data and school-level policy and programs data on tobacco and physical activity in 81 secondary schools across Ontario, Canada. Methods used to develop the feedback reports involved categorizing and scoring survey response options based on extensive research evidence and expert feedback. Feedback report scores were aggregated into overall grades and presented in a short and long version of a feedback report for school administrators. These reports present prime examples of how to use the principles of knowledge exchange in developing a tool to bridge the gap between research and practice. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)