Environmental Health Attitudes, Practices, and Educational Preferences: A National Survey of Reproductive-Aged Women in Canada.

Prenatal exposures to environmental toxicants can adversely affect fetal and child development and lead to increased risk of chronic disease. While regulatory action is essential to reduce sources of environmental toxicants, prenatal care presents an opportunity to educate, mobilize, and support prospective parents to reduce exposures to such hazards. As the first phase of an interdisciplinary research collaboration to inform the development of prenatal environmental health education strategy in Canada, we surveyed reproductive-aged female individuals.

Patterns and determinants of health care utilization among people with Parkinson's disease: A population-based analysis in Ontario, Canada.

In Ontario, despite the increasing prevalence of Parkinson's disease (PD), barriers to access-to-care for people with Parkinson's disease (PwP) and their caregivers are not well understood. The objective of this study is to examine spatial patterns of health care utilization among PwP and identify factors associated with PD-related health care utilization of individuals in Ontario. We employed a retrospective, population-based study design involving administrative health data to identify PwP as of March 31, 2018 (N = 35,482) using a previously validated case definition.

'It doesn't happen any other way': relationship-building and reflexivity for equity-focused intersectoral practice (EquIP).

Intersectoral processes that bring together public institutions, civil society organizations and affected community members are essential to tackling complex health equity challenges. While conventional wisdom points to the importance of human relationships in fostering collaboration, there is a lack of practical guidance on how to do intersectoral work in ways that support authentic relationship-building and mitigate power differentials among people with diverse experiences and roles. This article presents the results of RentSafe EquIP, a community-based participatory research initiative conducted in Owen Sound, Canada, in the midst of a housing crisis.

Exploration of the spatial patterns and determinants of asthma prevalence and health services use in Ontario using a Bayesian approach.

The purpose of this study was to examine the spatial variability of asthma outcomes in Ontario, Canada and broad environmental factors that contribute to this variability. Age-/sex-standardized asthma prevalence and health services use rates (2003-2013) were obtained from a provincial cohort of asthma patients. Employing an ecological-level study design, descriptive and Bayesian spatial regression analyses were used to examine patterns of asthma outcomes and their relationship to physical environment, socioeconomic environment and healthcare factors.

A spatial analysis of COPD prevalence, incidence, mortality and health service use in Ontario.

Background: Risk factors for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) include smoking, occupational exposure and air pollution, which vary geographically, but relatively little is known about how COPD varies spatially.

Data And Methods: This population-based ecological analysis examines physician-diagnosed COPD prevalence, incidence, mortality, and health care services use in Ontario over a 10-year period. Data were mapped and analyzed at the sub-Local Health Integration Network level (n = 141).

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) prevalence and health services use in Ontario Métis: a population-based cohort study.

Introduction: Chronic respiratory diseases cause a significant health and economic burden around the world. In Canada, Aboriginal populations are at increased risk of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). There is little known, however, about these diseases in the Canadian Métis population, who have mixed Aboriginal and European ancestry.

A spatial analysis of asthma prevalence in Ontario.

Objective: The objective of this paper is to examine spatial patterns of asthma prevalence in the province of Ontario by age and sex between 2002 and 2006.

Methods: We conducted a population-based, ecological-level study using the Ontario Asthma Surveillance Information System Database (OASIS), a validated registry of all Ontario residents with asthma. Data were mapped and analyzed at the sub-Local Health Integration Network (subLHIN) level (n=141).

Evidence-based performance indicators of primary care for asthma: a modified RAND Appropriateness Method.

Purpose: To develop evidence-based performance indicators that measure the quality of primary care for asthma.

Data Sources: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL for peer-reviewed articles published in 1998-2008 and five national/global asthma management guidelines.

Study Selection: Articles with a focus on current asthma performance indicators recognized or used in community and primary care settings.

What have we learned? A review of the literature on children's health and the environment in the Aral Sea area.

Objectives: To review the published literature examining the impacts of the Aral Sea disaster on children's health.

Methods: A systematic review of the English language literature.

Results: The literature search uncovered 26 peer-reviewed articles and four major reports published between 1994 and 2008.

If you build it, they still may not come: outcomes and process of implementing a community-based integrated knowledge translation mapping innovation.

Background: Maps and mapping tools through geographic information systems (GIS) are highly valuable for turning data into useful information that can help inform decision-making and knowledge translation (KT) activities. However, there are several challenges involved in incorporating GIS applications into the decision-making process. We highlight the challenges and opportunities encountered in implementing a mapping innovation as a KT strategy within the non-profit (public) health sector, reflecting on the processes and outcomes related to our KT innovations.

The relationship between socio-economic and geographic factors and asthma among Canada's Aboriginal populations.

Objectives: To examine the prevalence, exacerbations and management of asthma among Canada's Aboriginal populations, and its relationship to socio-economic and geographic factors.

Study Design: Secondary analysis of a national cross-sectional questionnaire survey.

Methods: Data were collected in 2000 and 2001 through a survey of Aboriginal children and adults residing on- and off-reserve as part of the 2001 Aboriginal People's Survey (APS).

Spatio-temporal analysis of pneumonia and influenza hospitalizations in Ontario, Canada.

Pneumonia and influenza represent a significant public health and health care system burden that is expected to increase with the aging of developed nations' populations. The burden of these illnesses is far from uniform however, with recent studies showing that they are both highly spatially and temporally variable. We have combined spatial and time-series analysis techniques to examine pneumonia and influenza hospitalizations in the province of Ontario, Canada, to determine how temporal patterns vary over space, and how spatial patterns of hospitalizations vary over time.

Using participatory design to develop (public) health decision support systems through GIS.

Background: Organizations that collect substantial data for decision-making purposes are often characterized as being 'data rich' but 'information poor'. Maps and mapping tools can be very useful for research transfer in converting locally collected data into information. Challenges involved in incorporating GIS applications into the decision-making process within the non-profit (public) health sector include a lack of financial resources for software acquisition and training for non-specialists to use such tools.

Typology of after-hours care instructions for patients: telephone survey and multivariate analysis.

Objective: To develop a typology of after-hours care (AHC) instructions and to examine physician and practice characteristics associated with each type of instruction.

Design: Cross-sectional telephone survey. Physicians' offices were called during evenings and weekends to listen to their messages regarding AHC.

Fourteen-year study of hospital admissions for diverticular disease in Ontario.

Background: Diverticular disease is one of the most common gastrointestinal conditions affecting the Canadian population, yet very little is known about its epidemiology.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to measure the rate of hospital admission for diverticular disease by age and sex over a 14-year period in the population of Ontario.

Patients And Methods: The present study was a retrospective, population-based cohort study of all hospital admissions for diverticular disease from 1988 to 2002.

A spatial analysis of the determinants of pneumonia and influenza hospitalizations in Ontario (1992-2001).

Previous research on the determinants of pneumonia and influenza has focused primarily on the role of individual level biological and behavioural risk factors resulting in partial explanations and largely curative approaches to reducing the disease burden. This study examines the geographic patterns of pneumonia and influenza hospitalizations and the role that broad ecologic-level factors may have in determining them. We conducted a county level, retrospective, ecologic study of pneumonia and influenza hospitalizations in the province of Ontario, Canada, between 1992 and 2001 (N=241,803), controlling for spatial dependence in the data.

After-hours care in Canada: analysis of the 2001 National Family Physician Workforce Survey.

Objective: To determine family physicians' availability to their general practice patients after hours and to explore the characteristics and determinants of after-hours services.

Design: Secondary analysis of the 2001 National Family Physician Workforce Survey.

Setting: Canada.

Seasonality of service provision in hip and knee surgery: a possible contributor to waiting times? A time series analysis.

Background: The question of how best to reduce waiting times for health care, particularly surgical procedures such as hip and knee replacements is among the most pressing concern of the Canadian health care system. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that significant seasonal variation exists in the performance of hip and knee replacement surgery in the province of Ontario.

Methods: We performed a retrospective, cross-sectional time series analysis examining all hip and knee replacement surgeries in people over the age of 65 in the province of Ontario, Canada between 1992 and 2002.

Time series analysis of age related cataract hospitalizations and phacoemulsification.

Background: Cataract surgery remains a commonly performed elective surgical procedure in the aging and the elderly. The purpose of this study was to utilize time series methodology to determine the temporal and seasonal variations and the strength of the seasonality in age-related (senile) cataract hospitalizations and phacoemulsification surgeries.

Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional time series analysis was used to assess the presence and strength of seasonal and temporal patterns of age-related cataract hospitalizations and phacoemulsification surgeries from April 1, 1991 to March 31, 2002.

Temporal analysis of acute myocardial infarction in Ontario, Canada.

Background: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a substantial cause of morbidity and mortality in Canada. Evidence suggests that the incidence and mortality of AMI increase in the winter. Determining the strength and nature of seasonality patterns in relation to age and sex may be helpful in health care planning.

Croup hospitalizations in Ontario: a 14-year time-series analysis.

Objective: Croup is the most common form of airway obstruction in children. Known to be primarily viral, the seasonality of croup has been examined largely through its association with the human parainfluenza viruses. This study examined the seasonal pattern of croup hospitalizations in relation to age and gender for the province of Ontario during a 14-year period.

Influenza and pneumonia hospitalizations in Ontario: a time-series analysis.

A comprehensive examination of gender and age-specific influenza and pneumonia hospitalization seasonality is currently lacking. Using population-based data for Ontario, Canada between April 1988 and March 2002 (n = 339,803 hospitalizations), findings from this study revealed clear seasonality [Fisher's Kappa (FK) test = 68.64, P < 0.

Is there a clinically significant seasonal component to hospital admissions for atrial fibrillation?

Background: Atrial fibrillation is a common cardiac dysrhythmia, particularly in the elderly. Recent studies have indicated a statistically significant seasonal component to atrial fibrillation hospitalizations.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective population cohort study using time series analysis to evaluate seasonal patterns of atrial fibrillation hospitalizations for the province of Ontario for the years 1988 to 2001.

Psychosocial effects of SARS on hospital staff: survey of a large tertiary care institution.

Background: The outbreak of SARS in 2003 had a dramatic effect on the health care system in Toronto. The main objective of this study was to investigate the psychosocial effects associated with working in a hospital environment during this outbreak.

Methods: Questionnaires were distributed to all willing employees of Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre between Apr.

The seasonality of total hospitalizations in Ontario by age and gender: a time series analysis.

Background: Consistent and predictable seasonal fluctuations in hospitalizations have been demonstrated for diverse communicable and non-communicable health conditions. The objective of this study was to examine the seasonal patterns of all hospitalizations by age and gender in order to determine whether the hospital system for a large geographical area was subject to consistent, predictable temporal variations.

Methods: A retrospective population-based study of approximately 14 million residents of Ontario was conducted to assess temporal patterns in all hospitalizations from April 1, 1988 to March 31, 2000.