A Scoping Review of Socioeconomic Inequalities in Distributions of Birth Outcomes: Through a Conceptual and Methodological Lens.

Introduction: The extant literature has examined social inequalities in high-risk categories of birth weight and gestational age (i.e., low birth weight and preterm birth) with little attention given to their distributional nature.

Association of Socioeconomic Status and Brain Injury With Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Very Preterm Children.

Importance: Studies of socioeconomic status and neurodevelopmental outcome in very preterm neonates have not sensitively accounted for brain injury.

Objective: To determine the association of brain injury and maternal education with motor and cognitive outcomes at age 4.5 years in very preterm neonates.

Is social assistance boosting the health of the poor? Results from Ontario and three countries.

Intervention: Social assistance programs supplement incomes of the most income-insecure. Because income is a fundamental source of health, income supplementation is expected to result in a boost to health status. As Canada finds itself in the midst of heated debate regarding the structuring (and restructuring) of social assistance programs, there is little evidence available for policymakers about the effectiveness of current social assistance programs in improving the health of the income-insecure.

The impact of social assistance programs on population health: a systematic review of research in high-income countries.

Background: Socioeconomic disadvantage is a fundamental cause of morbidity and mortality. One of the most important ways that governments buffer the adverse consequences of socioeconomic disadvantage is through the provision of social assistance. We conducted a systematic review of research examining the health impact of social assistance programs in high-income countries.

Government social assistance programmes are failing to protect the health of low-income populations: evidence from the USA and Canada (2003-2014).

Background: Social policies that improve the availability and distribution of key socioeconomic resources such as income, wealth and employment are believed to present the most promising avenue for reducing health inequalities. The present study aims to estimate the effect of social assistance recipiency on the health of low-income earners in the USA and Canada.

Methods: Drawing on nationally representative survey data (National Health Interview Survey and the Canadian Community Health Survey), we employed propensity score matching to match recipients of social assistance to comparable sets of non-recipient 'controls'.

Associations between race, discrimination and risk for chronic disease in a population-based sample from Canada.

A major epidemiological finding emerging from studies using U.S. samples is that racial differences in experiences of discrimination are associated with racial differences in health.

Equally inequitable? A cross-national comparative study of racial health inequalities in the United States and Canada.

Prior research suggests that racial inequalities in health vary in magnitude across societies. This paper uses the largest nationally representative samples available to compare racial inequalities in health in the United States and Canada. Data were obtained from ten waves of the National Health Interview Survey (n = 162,271,885) and the Canadian Community Health Survey (n = 19,906,131) from 2000 to 2010.

A scoping review of female disadvantage in health care use among very young children of immigrant families.

Preference for sons culminates in higher mortality and inadequate immunizations and health care visits for girls compared to boys in several countries. It is unknown if the negative consequences of son-preference persist among those who immigrate to Western, high-income countries. To review the literature regarding gender inequities in health care use among children of parents who migrate to Western, high-income countries, we completed a scoping literature review using Medline, Embase, PsycINFO and Scopus databases.

Intergenerational transmission of the healthy immigrant effect (HIE) through birth weight: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

This review examines intergenerational differences in birth weight among children born to first-generation and second-generation immigrant mothers and the extent to which they vary by country of origin and receiving country. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, PubMed, and ProQuest from inception to October 2014 for articles that recorded the mean birth weight (in grams) or odds of low birth weight (LBW) of children born to immigrant mothers and one subsequent generation. Studies were analyzed descriptively and meta-analyzed using Review Manager 5.

A macroeconomic review of dentistry in Canada in the 2000s.

Objectives: To describe trends in expenditures on dental health care services, the number of dental health care professionals and self-reported dental visits and cost barriers to dental care in Canada from 2000 to 2010.

Methods: Data on licensed dental professionals; total expenditures on dental care, both public and private; and mean per capita amount spent on dental care were obtained from the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Information on self-reported dental visits and cost barriers to dental care were collected from the Canadian Community Health Surveys and the Canadian Health Measures Survey.

Emergency room visits for dental problems among working poor Canadians.

Objectives: To explore the risk of visiting hospital emergency rooms (ERs) for dental problems not associated with trauma among a sample of working poor Canadians.

Methods: Data stem from a telephone survey administered between March and August 2007 of working poor Canadians aged 18-64 years. Logistic regressions were employed to determine the predictors of reporting a visit to an ER for dental problems not associated with trauma.

Is accessing dental care becoming more difficult? Evidence from Canada's middle-income population.

Objective: To explore trends in access to dental care among middle-income Canadians.

Methods: A secondary data analysis of six Canadian surveys that collected information on dental insurance coverage, cost-barriers to dental care, and out-of-pocket expenditures for dental care was conducted for select years from 1978 to 2009. Descriptive analyses were used to outline and compare trends among middle-income Canadians with other levels of income as well as national averages.

Dental treatment needs in the Canadian population: analysis of a nationwide cross-sectional survey.

Background: Nationally representative clinical data on the oral health needs of Canadians has not been available since the 1970s. The purpose of this study was to determine the normative treatment needs of a nationally representative sample of Canadians and describe how these needs were distributed.

Methods: A secondary analysis of data collected through the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) was undertaken.