Objective: To identify effective policies and non-policy interventions preventing youth vaping behaviour initiation and assess their effectiveness by the level of intrusiveness and subpopulations.
Design: This systematic rapid review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.
Data Sources: Searches on MEDLINE and APA-PsycINFO for studies published between January 2019 and November 2023.
Background: Examining support for substance use policies, including those for harm reduction, among the general public and policy influencers is a fundamental step to map the current policy landscape and leverage policy opportunities. Yet, this is a knowledge gap in Canada. Our paper identifies the level of support for substance use policies in two provinces in Canada and describes how the level of support is associated with intrusiveness and sociodemographic variables.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Social capital can be used as a conceptual framework to include social context as a predictor of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and cervical cancer screening behaviours. However, the effectiveness of interventions that use social capital as a mechanism to improve uptake of immunization and screening remains elusive.
Objective: To synthesize empirical evidence on the impact of social capital interventions on HPV immunization and cervical cancer screening and describe key characteristics of such interventions.
Objective: In 2018, Ontario Public Health Standards were updated to include the foundational Health Equity Standard to guide planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health programs and services. Public health units (PHUs), the regional public health bodies, are now required to address health equity through four requirements: (a) Assessing and Reporting; (b) Modifying and Orienting Public Health Interventions; (c) Engaging in Multi-sectoral Collaboration; and (d) Health Equity Analysis, Policy Development, and Advancing Healthy Public Policies.
Methods: This qualitative descriptive study explored how the 27 participating PHUs (out of 34) serving urban (N = 10), mixed urban-rural (N = 15), and rural (N = 9) populations addressed the Health Equity Standard.
Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death globally. CRC screening can reduce the incidence and mortality of CRC. However, socially disadvantaged groups may disproportionately benefit less from screening programs due to their limited access to healthcare.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: This targeted and comprehensive policy scan examined how different levels of governments in Australia and Canada responded to the financial crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. We mapped the types of early policy responses addressing financial strain and promoting financial wellbeing. We also examined their equity considerations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPublic health discipline and practice have prioritized work on poverty and populations at high risk for material deprivation, with less consideration for the full spectrum of financial circumstances relative to well-being. Public health can make a much-needed contribution to this area, which is currently dominated by the financial industry, focused on individual behaviors, and lacking the definitional consensus needed for research and evaluation. A population-level lens can reveal the social determinants and health consequences of real or perceived poor financial circumstances.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Rapid, strategic action is required to mitigate the negative and unequal impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the financial well-being (FWB) of global populations. Personal financial strain (FS) worsened most significantly among systematically excluded groups. Targeted government- and community-led initiatives are needed to address these inequities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exacerbated financial strain among populations worldwide. This is concerning, given the link between financial strain and health. There is little evidence to guide action in this area, particularly from a public health perspective.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Perceived financial security impacts physical, mental, and social health and overall wellbeing at community and population levels. Public health action on this dynamic is even more critical now that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated financial strain and reduced financial wellbeing. Yet, public health literature on this topic is limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the financial well-being of populations globally, escalating concerns about links with health care and overall well-being. Governments and organizations need to act quickly to protect population health relative to exacerbated financial strain. However, limited practice- and policy-relevant resources are available to guide action, particularly from a public health perspective, that is, targeting equity, social determinants of health, and health-in-all policies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Socio-economically deprived children face a disproportionate burden of respiratory diseases. The association between area-level material and social deprivation and emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalisations for paediatric respiratory diseases has not been explored.
Objectives: We evaluated health inequalities in emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalisations for paediatric respiratory diseases according to material and social deprivation indexes.
Background: GIS (Geographic Information Systems) based behavior maps are useful for visualizing and analyzing how children utilize their play spaces. However, a GIS needs accurate locational information to ensure that observations are correctly represented on the layout maps of play spaces. The most commonly used tools for observing and coding free play among children in indoor play spaces require that locational data be collected alongside other play variables.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCad Saude Publica
September 2019
Our study aimed to compare key aspects of the food environment in two low-income areas in the city of Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil: one with low and the other with high prevalence of obesity. We compared the availability of retail food establishments, the types of food sold, and the residents' eating habits. Demographic and socioeconomic data and eating habits were obtained from a population-based health survey.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCytomegalovirus (CMV) infects 40⁻70% of women, but infection has been reported in >95% of breast cancer patients. We investigated the consequences of these observations by infecting mice with mCMV or a negative control medium for 4 days, 11 days or 10 weeks to establish active, intermediate or latent infections, respectively. Syngeneic 4T1 or E0771 breast cancer cells were then injected into a mammary fat pad of BALB/c or C57BL/6 mice, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Equity Health
February 2019
Background: Despite the wealth of frameworks on social determinants of health (SDOH), two current limitations include the relative superficial description of factors affecting health and a lack of focus on measuring health equity. The Health Equity Measurement Framework (HEMF) addresses these gaps by providing a more encompassing view of the multitude of SDOH and drivers of health service utilisation and by guiding quantitative analysis for public health surveillance and policy development. The objective of this paper is to present the HEMF, which was specifically designed to measure the direct and indirect effects of SDOH to support improved statistical modelling and measurement of health equity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPeople's perceptions of local food environments influence their abilities to eat healthily. PhotoVoice participants from four communities in Alberta, Canada took pictures of barriers and opportunities for healthy eating and shared their stories in one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Using a socioecological framework, emergent themes were organized by type and size of environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To evaluate if the happy life expectancy in older adults differs according to sex and functional limitations.
Methods: Life expectancy was estimated by Chiang method, and happy life expectancy was estimated by Sullivan method, combining mortality data with the prevalence of happiness. The questions on happiness and limitations came from a health survey, which interviewed 1,514 non-institutionalized older adults living in the city of Campinas, SP, Southeastern Brazil.
Purpose: To identify perceptions of how sociocultural environment enabled and hindered physical activity (PA) participation.
Design: Community-based participatory research.
Setting: Two semirural and two urban communities located in Alberta, Canada.
A growing body of evidence shows that community environment plays an important role in individuals' physical activity engagement. However, while attributes of the physical environment are widely investigated, sociocultural, political, and economic aspects of the environment are often neglected. This article helps to fill these knowledge gaps by providing a more comprehensive understanding of multiple dimensions of the community environment relative to physical activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHealth Qual Life Outcomes
June 2014
Background: This study examined gender differences in healthy life expectancy (HLE) and unhealthy life expectancy (UHLE) among people aged 60 years or older living in a large Brazilian city.
Methods: Based on Chiang method, abridged life tables were constructed for men and for women. To calculate HLE, the Sullivan method was applied.
This systematic review analyzed articles focused on the relationship between environment (physical, built, perceived, and social) and smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity, diet, and obesity in Brazil. Studies published between 19952011 were retrieved from seven databases and hand searches. Based on the 42 articles reviewed, gaps were identified and recommendations were made for future research.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCien Saude Colet
September 2012
The scope of this study is to analyze the differences in the profile of emergency care for external causes between public and private emergency departments. With data come from VIVA-Campinas 2009, the association between the nature of healthcare and the characteristics of the victims was verified using the chi-square test. Using Poisson regression, proportion ratios of care in the public and private network were estimated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn order to describe trends in traffic accidents, mortality, vehicle types, fleet sizes, and victims' characteristics in Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil, from 1995 to 2008, this study analyzed vehicle rates, traffic accident rates per inhabitant and per vehicle, case-fatality rates, proportional mortality, mortality rates, and rates ratios. The motorcycle fleet increased 241%. Although the case-fatality rate of motorcycle users from 2000 to 2008 decreased, in 2008 they accounted for 49.
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