The mental health of staff at violence against women organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from a mixed-methods study of service providers in Canada's largest city.

Objectives: Staff at violence against women (VAW) organizations provide essential services for survivors of violence. The increase in VAW during the COVID-19 pandemic placed additional pressures on VAW staff. We investigated the impacts of the pandemic on the mental health of VAW staff in the Greater Toronto Area to inform recommendations for policy and practice.

Recent innovations in long-term care coverage and financing: a rapid scoping review.

Objectives: To identify, chart and analyse the literature on recent initiatives to improve long-term care (LTC) coverage, financial protection and financial sustainability for persons aged 60 and older.

Design: Rapid scoping review.

Data Sources: Four databases and four sources of grey literature were searched for reports published between 2017 and 2022.

Syndemic Factors and Lifetime Bidirectional Intimate Partner Violence Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Sexual Minority Men.

Bidirectional intimate partner violence (IPV), the reporting of both IPV victimization and perpetration, is likely the most common form of violence among gay, bisexual, and other sexual minority men (GBM) and is thought to be part of a larger syndemic of stressors. This purpose of this study was to examine associations between syndemic factors and lifetime bidirectional IPV among GBM in three Canadian cities to inform future interventions. Data from GBM ( = 2449) were used to fit three logistic regression models with lifetime bidirectional IPV as the outcome and four syndemic factors (i.

Intimate Partner Violence Among International and Interprovincial Migrants: A Population-Based Analysis of Canadian Linked Immigration and Justice Data.

Factors associated with IPV among immigrant women are not well understood. Using linked immigration and justice data, we compared the incidence of justice-identified IPV (JIIPV) among 58,564 international immigrant women born outside of Canada, 30,098 women born in other Canadian provinces (i.e.

Recommendations for Canada's National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence: perspectives from leaders, service providers and survivors in Canada's largest city during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: The Canadian government has committed to a national action plan (NAP) to address violence against women (VAW). However, a formalized plan for implementation has not been published. Building on existing recommendations and consultations, we conducted the first formal and peer-reviewed qualitative analysis of the perspectives of leaders, service providers and survivors on what should be considered in Canada's NAP on VAW.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Education Outcomes among Adolescents: Linking Survey and Administrative Data.

It is well established that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with detrimental health outcomes in adulthood. Less is known about the relationships between ACEs and education outcomes and among adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between ACEs and adolescents' self-reported education outcomes and provincial education assessments among adolescents in Manitoba, Canada.

Housing interventions for women experiencing intimate partner violence: a systematic review.

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is the leading cause of women's homelessness. However, what works best to respond to the needs of women experiencing IPV and homelessness remains unclear. We aimed to systematically review the effects of housing interventions on the physical, psychosocial, and economic wellbeing of women experiencing IPV.

Effectiveness of cash-plus programmes on early childhood outcomes compared to cash transfers alone: A systematic review and meta-analysis in low- and middle-income countries.

Background: To strengthen the impact of cash transfers, these interventions have begun to be packaged as cash-plus programmes, combining cash with additional transfers, interventions, or services. The intervention's complementary ("plus") components aim to improve cash transfer effectiveness by targeting mediating outcomes or the availability of supplies or services. This study examined whether cash-plus interventions for infants and children <5 are more effective than cash alone in improving health and well-being.

Preventing Gender-Based Homelessness in Canada During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond: The Need to Account for Violence Against Women.

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to increases in intimate partner violence (IPV), a leading cause of women's homelessness. Although the Canadian Government provided emergency funding to the violence against women and housing and homelessness sectors in response to COVID-19, Canada lacks a national legislative and funding framework to support coordinated prevention efforts. We review the context of IPV and homelessness among women and international policy exemplars.

Response strategies for promoting gender equality in public health emergencies: a rapid scoping review.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to widen existing gender inequities worldwide. A growing body of literature assesses the harmful consequences of public health emergencies (PHEs) for women and girls; however, evidence of what works to alleviate such impacts is limited. To inform viable mitigation strategies, we reviewed the evidence on gender-based interventions implemented in PHEs, including disease outbreaks and natural disasters.

Measuring the Burden of Intimate Partner Violence by Sex and Sexual Identity: Results From a Random Sample in Toronto, Canada.

Debates on how sex, gender, and sexual identity relate to intimate partner violence (IPV) are longstanding. Yet the role that measurement plays in how we understand the distribution of IPV has been understudied. We investigated whether people respond differently to IPV items by sex and sexual identity and the implications this has for understanding differences in IPV burdens.

Effects of Laws Expanding Civilian Rights to Use Deadly Force in Self-Defense on Violence and Crime: A Systematic Review.

Since 2005, most US states have expanded civilian rights to use deadly force in self-defense outside the home. In most cases, legislation has included removing the duty to retreat anywhere one may legally be, commonly known as stand-your-ground laws. The extent to which these laws affect public health and safety is widely debated in public and policy discourse.

Can synthetic controls improve causal inference in interrupted time series evaluations of public health interventions?

Interrupted time series designs are a valuable quasi-experimental approach for evaluating public health interventions. Interrupted time series extends a single group pre-post comparison by using multiple time points to control for underlying trends. But history bias-confounding by unexpected events occurring at the same time of the intervention-threatens the validity of this design and limits causal inference.

Trajectories of Exposure to Neighborhood Deprivation and the Odds of Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence Among Women: Are There Sensitive Periods for Exposure?

Neighborhood disadvantage is commonly hypothesized to be positively associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) against women. However, longitudinal investigation of this association has been limited, with no studies on whether the timing of exposure matters. We used data from 2,115 women in the UK-based Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

Depressive symptoms among children attending community based support in South Africa - pathways for disrupting risk factors.

Children in Southern Africa are exposed to high rates of structural and family adversities. This study tests whether services from Community Based Organisations (CBOs) in South Africa can promote children's resilience against depression exposed to such adversities. Two linked longitudinal studies were conducted, comprising = 1848 children aged 9 to 13 years.

How do perceived and objective measures of neighbourhood disadvantage vary over time? Results from a prospective-longitudinal study in the UK with implications for longitudinal research on neighbourhood effects on health.

Background: Theories of health outcomes often hypothesize that living in more socially and economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods will lead to worse health. Multiple measures of neighbourhood disadvantage are available to researchers, which may serve as better or worse proxies for each other across time. To inform longitudinal study design and interpretation we investigated how perceived and objective measures of neighbourhood disadvantage vary over time and the factors underlying this variation.

Long-term Exposure to Neighborhood Deprivation and Intimate Partner Violence Among Women: A UK Birth Cohort Study.

Background: Intimate partner violence is the most common form of violence perpetrated against women. To our knowledge, the effect of neighborhood disadvantage on intimate partner violence against women has never been investigated prospectively outside the United States.

Methods: We used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children in the United Kingdom, which followed our target sample, 7,219 women, from birth and their mothers (from pregnancy).

Intimate partner violence victimisation in early adulthood: psychometric properties of a new measure and gender differences in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

Objectives: To evaluate the psychometric properties of a novel, brief measure of physical, psychological and sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) and estimate the overall prevalence of and gender differences in this violence.

Design: Data are from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a birth-cohort study.

Setting: Avon, UK.

Risk and Protective Factors for Intimate Partner Violence Against Women: Systematic Review and Meta-analyses of Prospective-Longitudinal Studies.

Background: The estimated lifetime prevalence of physical or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) is 30% among women worldwide. Understanding risk and protective factors is essential for designing effective prevention strategies.

Objectives: To quantify the associations between prospective-longitudinal risk and protective factors and IPV and identify evidence gaps.

Can Social Protection Improve Sustainable Development Goals for Adolescent Health?

Background: The first policy action outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is the implementation of national social protection systems. This study assesses whether social protection provision can impact 17 indicators of five key health-related SDG goals amongst adolescents in South Africa.

Methods: We conducted a longitudinal survey of adolescents (10-18 years) between 2009 and 2012.

Socioeconomic factors associated with asthma prevalence and severity among children living in low-income South African communities.

Background: Rates of asthma, poverty and social deprivation are high among young people in South Africa (SA), yet asthma interventions largely remain focused on biomedical factors.

Objective: To investigate associations between socioeconomic factors and childhood asthma.

Methods: We recruited 6 002 children aged 10 - 17 years from six low-income urban and rural sites in three SA provinces.

How Effective Is Help on the Doorstep? A Longitudinal Evaluation of Community-Based Organisation Support.

Community-based responses have a lengthy history. The ravages of HIV on family functioning has included a widespread community response. Although much funding has been invested in front line community-based organisations (CBO), there was no equal investment in evaluations.

Combination Social Protection for Reducing HIV-Risk Behavior Among Adolescents in South Africa.

Background: Social protection (ie, cash transfers, free schools, parental support) has potential for adolescent HIV prevention. We aimed to identify which social protection interventions are most effective and whether combined social protection has greater effects in South Africa.

Methods: In this prospective longitudinal study, we interviewed 3516 adolescents aged 10-18 between 2009 and 2012.