Sexual orientation and alcohol-related harms in Canadian youth.

Objectives: To determine associations between experiencing alcohol-related harm, sex, and sexual orientation among Canadian high school students.

Methods: We used data from the 2012 Atlantic Student Drug Use Survey (ASDUS), including a comprehensive six-category measure of sexual orientation and nine different alcohol-related harms for analyses. Simple logistic regression was used to determine the association between experiencing any of the nine harms and each specific alcohol-related harm and sexual orientation, stratified by sex.

School Connectedness and Protection From Symptoms of Depression in Sexual Minority Adolescents Attending School in Atlantic Canada.

Background: In examining associations of sexual orientation, school connectedness (SC), and depression, no studies have used a continuum of sexual orientation. Additionally, no study has examined whether individuals with higher SC within subgroups of the continuum of sexual orientation are protected from symptoms of depression when compared to others within their own group. Our study aimed to address these deficiencies.

When parents supply alcohol to their children: Exploring associations with drinking frequency, alcohol-related harms, and the role of parental monitoring.

Background: Youth obtain alcohol from many sources, including friends, siblings, parents and other adults. Whether parental supply, relative to other sources, is associated with experiencing a negative alcohol-related outcome is an area of considerable debate. Less well understood is whether the observed association is further contextualized by level of parental monitoring of the child.

Driving under the influence behaviours among high school students who mix alcohol with energy drinks.

Alcohol and energy drinks are commonly used substances by youth in Canada, and are often mixed (AmED). While several studies have shown that AmED can have dangerous effects, less well understood is how AmED is associated with driving under the influence of either alcohol or drugs. This study sought to determine whether youth who use AmED were more likely to engage in driving, or being a passenger of a driver, under the influence of alcohol or cannabis compared to youth who use either alcohol or energy drinks alone.

The Relationship Between Non-Consensual Sex and Risk of Depression in Female Undergraduates at Universities in Maritime Canada.

Sexual victimization and depression are common on university campuses, especially among females. Both are associated with negative health outcomes and efforts are made to minimize these as much as possible on university campuses. The current study examines the prevalence of, and independent association between, non-consensual sex and current risk of depression after controlling for related factors.

Sexual health among female Aboriginal university students in the Maritime Provinces of Canada: risk behaviours and health services use.

Unlabelled: Background Young Aboriginal Canadian people are at increased risk of negative sexual health outcomes, including sexually transmissible infections (STIs) and unplanned pregnancy. Associations between Aboriginal ethnicity and sexual risk behaviours and related health services use among sexually active female university students in eastern Canada were examined.

Methods: A secondary analysis of online survey data collected from sexually active female university students under age 30 years from eight post-secondary institutions in the Maritime Provinces of Canada was carried out (N=5010).

Cord blood vitamin D status and neonatal outcomes in a birth cohort in Quebec, Canada.

Purpose: Some evidence suggests that low maternal vitamin D status adversely affects perinatal health but few studies have examined cord blood vitamin D status. This project aimed to determine the association between the cord blood concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and neonatal outcomes.

Methods: A nested case-control study was conducted in Quebec City, Canada from 2005 to 2010.

Knowledge and practice of childhood motor vehicle restraint use in Nova Scotia: phase II.

Objective: To examine changes to knowledge and practice of childhood motor vehicle restraint (CMVR) use in Nova Scotia after the implementation of stricter car seat and new booster seat (BS) legislation in 2007.

Methods: A random telephone survey of households (at least one child <12 years) was performed in 2004 and 2010. Logistic regression determined variables independently associated with correct knowledge and/or practice of CMVR use.

Is religiosity positively associated with school connectedness: evidence from high school students in Atlantic Canada?

School connectedness (SC) is associated with decreased student risk behavior and better health and social outcomes. While a considerable body of research has examined the factors associated with SC, there is limited evidence about the particular role of religiosity in shaping levels of SC. Employing data reported by junior and senior high school students from Atlantic Canada, this study examines whether religiosity is positively associated with SC and whether such associations differ by gender.

Sex differences in associations of school connectedness with adolescent sexual risk-taking in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Background: Associations of lower school connectedness have been seen with adolescent sexual risk behaviors, but little is known about gender differences with respect to these relationships. Understanding any such differences could contribute to better supporting the school environment to promote youth sexual health.

Methods: We used provincially representative cross-sectional data from 1415 sexually active students in grades 10 to 12 in Nova Scotia, Canada, to determine whether lower school connectedness was associated with students' sexual risk behaviors using multivariate logistic regression, stratifying by sex.

Nova Scotia pharmacists' knowledge of, experiences with and perception of factors interfering with their ability to provide emergency contraceptive pill consultations.

Objective: The objective of this research was to explore pharmacists' knowledge of, experiences with and perception of factors interfering with their ability to provide non-prescription emergency contraceptive pill consultations in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.

Methods: A self-administered paper questionnaire was mailed, using Dillman's tailored design method, to all pharmacists (n = 1123) registered with the Nova Scotia College of Pharmacists.

Key Findings: The response rate was 53.

Emergency contraception: knowledge and attitudes of Nova Scotian family physicians.

Objective: To determine the extent to which Nova Scotian FPs prescribe and provide emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) and to explore their knowledge of and attitudes toward ECPs.

Design: Survey of Nova Scotian FPs using a modified Dillman method.

Setting: All regions of Nova Scotia.

Discrepancies between knowledge and practice of childhood motor vehicle occupant safety in Nova Scotia--a population-based study.

Objectives: To determine discrepancies between knowledge and practice of childhood motor vehicle restraints (CMVRs) and vehicle seating position amongst parents within the province of Nova Scotia.

Design: Random telephone survey.

Setting: The Canadian province of Nova Scotia.

Knowledge of, beliefs about, and perceived barriers to the use of the emergency contraception pill among women aged 18-51 in Nova Scotia.

Objective: To investigate women in Nova Scotia (NS), Canada with respect to their knowledge of, beliefs about, and perceptions of barriers to accessing emergency contraception pills (ECP).

Methods: A random digit dialing approach was used to survey a representative sample of NS women aged 18-51. Analyses described the knowledge, beliefs, and perceived barriers associated with ECP access among participants.

Use of school-based health centres for mental health support in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

Objective: To determine whether students with self-reported needs for mental health support used school-based health centres (SBHCs) for this purpose.

Method: A secondary analysis was conducted on self-reported data collected from 1629 high school students from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were employed to determine the influence of sex, grade, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status (SES), school performance, social involvement, and health risk-taking behaviours on need for mental health support and use of SBHC for that purpose.

Associations of sexual risk-taking with having intercourse before 15 years in adolescent females in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Background: This study was carried out to determine whether having first vaginal intercourse before 15 years of age is independently associated with sexual risk behaviours in Canadian female adolescents aged from 15 to 19 years.

Methods: Self-completion surveys which included questions about sexual risk behaviours were carried out at three high schools in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, in May 2006. The survey also contained questions asking about socioeconomic status, substance use and depression.

The relationship of sex and risk behaviours to students' use of school-based health centres in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

Objective: Among other benefits, school-based health centres (SBHCs) are thought to provide opportunities to identify and help adolescents with risk-taking behaviours. The present study examined the use of SBHCs at three high schools in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, to determine the extent to which SBHCs reach students at risk, and whether there are sex differences with respect to this reach.

Methods: Self-administered surveys of students in grades 10 to 12 at the three high schools were carried out in May 2006.

Gender differences in knowledge about chlamydia among rural high school students in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Background: Chlamydia is the most prevalent sexually transmissible infection (STI) in Canadian adolescents. STI account for 20% of cases of infertility in Canada and 42% of ectopic pregnancies are attributable to previous chlamydia infection. Despite the importance of this infection, little is understood about young people's knowledge of it.

A pilot project for chlamydia screening in adolescent females using self-testing: characteristics of participants and non-participants.

Objectives: A self-test screening program for genital C. trachomatis infection in female students attending high school in rural Nova Scotia was introduced. The objectives of this pilot study were to determine the extent of uptake, reasons for being/not being screened, and whether students at risk would be more likely to be screened.

Far from ideal: weight perception, weight control, and associated risky behaviour of adolescent girls in Nova Scotia.

Objective: To examine the prevalence of weight-related concerns, unhealthy weight-control behaviour, and associated risky behaviour among adolescent girls, and to ascertain whether these girls had discussed a healthy weight with their physicians.

Design: Anonymous, self-report, cross-sectional survey.

Setting: Four high schools in rural Nova Scotia.