A Quality Improvement Emergency Department Surge Management Platform (SurgeCon): Protocol for a Stepped Wedge Cluster Randomized Trial.

Background: Despite many efforts, long wait times and overcrowding in emergency departments (EDs) have remained a significant health service issue in Canada. For several years, Canada has had one of the longest wait times among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. From a patient's perspective, this challenge has been described as "patients wait in pain or discomfort for hours before being seen at EDs.

Factors influencing surgical treatment decisions for breast cancer: a qualitative exploration of surgeon and patient perspectives.

Background: The rate of mastectomy is much higher in Newfoundland and Labrador than in any other province in Canada, even for women diagnosed at an early stage. In this paper, we present qualitative data from women who have made a decision for surgical treatment and from breast surgeons in an effort to better explicate factors influencing breast cancer (bca) surgical decision-making.

Methods: The study's descriptive, qualitative design involved holding interviews with breast surgeons and holding focus groups and interviews with women who were offered the choice of breast-conserving surgery (bcs) or mastectomy (mt).

Surgical treatment choices for breast cancer in Newfoundland and Labrador: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Mastectomy is often chosen by women for treatment of breast cancer, even when breast-conserving surgery (BCS) is an option. Newfoundland and Labrador has a high mastectomy rate. We documented the number of breast cancers over a given period in the province and their related surgical treatments, and explored the impact of several variables on surgical choice.

An investigation of cancer rates in the Argentia region, Newfoundland and Labrador: an ecological study.

Background: The Argentia region of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, was home to a US naval base during a 40-year period between the 1940s and the 1990s. Activities on the base resulted in contamination of the soil and groundwater in the region with chemicals such as heavy metals and dioxins, and residents have expressed concern about higher rates of cancer in their community. This study investigated the rate of cancer diagnosis that is disproportionately high in the Argentia region.

Using tablet-based technology in patient education about systemic therapy options for early-stage breast cancer: a pilot study.

Background: Patient education in early-stage breast cancer has been shown to improve patient well-being and quality of life, but it poses a challenge given the increasingly complex regimens and time constraints in clinical practice. Technology-aided teaching in the clinic could help to improve the understanding of adjuvant systemic therapy for patients. In this prospective pilot study, we used a clinician-administered, tablet-based teaching aid to teach patients with early-stage breast cancer about adjuvant systemic therapy.