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Background: Racialized communities, including Black Canadians, have disproportionately higher COVID-19 cases. We examined the extent to which SARS-CoV-2 infection has affected the Black Canadian community and the factors associated with the infection., Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in an area of Ontario (northwest Toronto/Peel Region) with a high proportion of Black residents along with 2 areas that have lower proportions of Black residents (Oakville and London, Ontario). SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies were determined using the EUROIMMUN assay. The study was conducted between August 15, 2020, and December 15, 2020., Results: Among 387 evaluable subjects, the majority, 273 (70.5%), were enrolled from northwest Toronto and adjoining suburban areas of Peel, Ontario. The seropositivity values for Oakville and London were comparable (3.3% (2/60; 95% CI 0.4-11.5) and 3.9% (2/51; 95% CI 0.5-13.5), respectively). Relative to these areas, the seropositivity was higher for the northwest Toronto/Peel area at 12.1% (33/273), relative risk (RR) 3.35 (1.22-9.25). Persons 19 years of age or less had the highest seropositivity (10/50; 20.0%, 95% CI 10.3-33.7%), RR 2.27 (1.23-3.59). There was a trend for an interaction effect between race and location of residence as this relates to the relative risk of seropositivity., Interpretation: During the early phases of the pandemic, the seropositivity within a COVID-19 high-prevalence zone was threefold greater than lower prevalence areas of Ontario. Black individuals were among those with the highest seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics Approval: Research Ethics approval was obtained from Clinical Trials Ontario, the Hospital for Sick Children, and the London Health Sciences Centre. Consent to Participate: Informed consent was obtained from participants. Consent for Publication: Participants were aware that the results of the study would be prepared for publication. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript for publication. Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare services, leading to the cancellation of non-urgent tests, screenings and procedures, a shift towards remote consultations, stalled childhood immunisations and clinic closures which had detrimental effects across the healthcare system. This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical admissions and healthcare quality in the Peel, York and Toronto regions within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)., Design: In a cross-sectional study, the negative impact of the pandemic on various healthcare sectors, including preventive and primary care (PPC), the emergency department (ED), alternative level of care (ALC) and imaging, procedures and surgeries is investigated. Study questions include assessing impairments caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and discovering hotspots and critical subregions that require special attention to recover. The measuring technique involves comparing the number of cases during the COVID-19 pandemic with before that, and determining the difference in percentage. Statistical analyses (Mann-Whitney U test, analysis of variance, Dunn's test) is used to evaluate sector-specific changes and inter-relationships., Setting: This work uses primary data which were collected by the Black Creek Community Health Centre. The study population was from three regions of GTA, namely, the city of Toronto, York and Peel. For all health sectors, the sample size was large enough to have a statistical power of 0.95 to capture 1% variation in the number of cases during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with before that., Results: All sectors experienced a significant decline in patient volume during the pandemic. ALC admissions surged in some areas, while IPS patients faced delays. Surgery waitlists increased by an average of 9.75%, and completed IPS procedures decreased in several subregions., Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic had a universally negative impact on healthcare sectors across various subregions. Identification of the hardest-hit subregions in each sector can assist health officials in crafting recovery policies., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Monkeypox is an emerging zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus, which is an infectious agent belonging to the genus Orthopoxvirus . Currently, commencing from the end of April 2022, an outbreak of monkeypox is ongoing, with more than 43,000 cases reported as of 23 August 2022, involving 99 countries and territories across all the six World Health Organization (WHO) regions. On 23 July 2022, the Director-General of the WHO declared monkeypox a global public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), since the outbreak represents an extraordinary, unusual, and unexpected event that poses a significant risk for international spread, requiring an immediate, coordinated international response. However, the real magnitude of the burden of disease could be masked by failures in ascertainment and under-detection. As such, underestimation affects the efficiency and reliability of surveillance and notification systems and compromises the possibility of making informed and evidence-based policy decisions in terms of the adoption and implementation of ad hoc adequate preventive measures. In this review, synthesizing 53 papers, we summarize the determinants of the underestimation of sexually transmitted diseases, in general, and, in particular, monkeypox, in terms of all their various components and dimensions (under-ascertainment, underreporting, under-detection, under-diagnosis, misdiagnosis/misclassification, and under-notification)., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Bragazzi, Woldegerima, Iyaniwura, Han, Wang, Shausan, Badu, Okwen, Prescod, Westin, Omame, Converti, Mellado, Wu and Kong.)

Competing Interests: Intérêts concurrents: Azza Eissa, Aisha Lofters et Onye Nnorom sont membres de l’Association des médecins noirs de l’Ontario. Nancy Akor est infirmière autorisée au centre de santé communautaire TAIBU. Cheryl Prescod est la directrice générale du centre de santé communautaire Black Creek. Aucun autre intérêt concurrent n’a été déclaré.

Competing Interests: Competing interests: Azza Eissa, Aisha Lofters and Onye Nnorom are members of the Black Physicians Association of Ontario. Nancy Akor is a registered nurse at the TAIBU Community Health Centre. Cheryl Prescod is the executive director of the Black Creek Community Health Centre. No other competing interests were declared.

In this paper we describe the Inclusive Mosaic project, a community-university partnership in an outer-city community in a large Canadian metropolis aimed at promoting diversity in nursing. The project brought together nursing student mentors with middle school and high school youth from diverse backgrounds in a mentoring program aimed at increasing participants' interest in, and confidence in pursuing, higher education and a career in nursing or other health profession. The concepts of emancipatory education, self-efficacy, and possible selves provided the theoretical foundation. Project processes, activities, and outcomes are described, and a post-hoc evaluation encompassing the project's strengths, challenges, limitations, and successes is presented. Recommendations to inform future research and education are also provided.