The association between neighbourhood marginalization and SARS-CoV-2 outcomes in patients presenting to emergency departments.

Objective: Social and economic marginalizations have been associated with inferior health outcomes in Canada. Our objective was to describe the relationship between neighbourhood marginalization and COVID-19 outcomes among patients presenting to Canadian emergency departments (ED).

Methods: We conducted an observational study among consecutive COVID-19 patients recruited from 47 hospitals participating in the Canadian COVID-19 ED Rapid Response Network (CCEDRRN) between March 3, 2020, and July 24, 2022.

Why do patients who are triaged as low-acuity visit the emergency department? - A Polish perspective.

Background: Emergency departments (EDs) worldwide are dealing with overcrowding, system fragmentation, and coordination problems, which impact patient wait times, staff job satisfaction, and patient outcomes. Inappropriate ED visits, particularly those for low acuity conditions, exacerbate these challenges. However, the motivations behind these visits are poorly understood, with limited data from the patient perspective.

New paramedic scope of practice in Poland based on the 2022 reform.

Emergency medical systems in the world are mainly based on two main models: the Franco-German System (FGS) and the Anglo-American System (AAS). The characteristic feature of the FGS is the "Stay and Play" principle, while the AAS system is based on the "Scoop and Run" principle. The Polish model is a mix of those two systems mainly based on the work of paramedics.

Limitations of COVID-19 testing and case data for evidence-informed health policy and practice.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) became a pandemic within a matter of months. Analysing the first year of the pandemic, data and surveillance gaps have subsequently surfaced. Yet, policy decisions and public trust in their country's strategies in combating COVID-19 rely on case numbers, death numbers and other unfamiliar metrics.

Barriers to and strategies to address COVID-19 testing hesitancy: a rapid scoping review.

Background: Testing is a foundational component of any COVID-19 management strategy; however, emerging evidence suggests that barriers and hesitancy to COVID-19 testing may affect uptake or participation and often these are multiple and intersecting factors that may vary across population groups. To this end, Health Canada's COVID-19 Testing and Screening Expert Advisory Panel commissioned this rapid review in January 2021 to explore the available evidence in this area. The aim of this rapid review was to identify barriers to COVID-19 testing and strategies used to mitigate these barriers.

Interactive Visualization Applications in Population Health and Health Services Research: Systematic Scoping Review.

Background: Simple visualizations in health research data, such as scatter plots, heat maps, and bar charts, typically present relationships between 2 variables. Interactive visualization methods allow for multiple related facets such as numerous risk factors to be studied simultaneously, leading to data insights through exploring trends and patterns from complex big health care data. The technique presents a powerful tool that can be used in combination with statistical analysis for knowledge discovery, hypothesis generation and testing, and decision support.

Community-informed, integrated, and coordinated care through a community-level model: A narrative synthesis on community hubs.

We identify the core services included in a community hub model of care to improve the understanding of this model for health leaders, decision-makers in community-based organizations, and primary healthcare clinicians. We searched Medline, PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google from 2000 to 2020 to synthesize original research on community hubs. Eighteen sources were assessed for quality and narratively synthesized (n = 18).

Do assisted living facilities that offer a dementia care program differ from those that do not? A population-level cross-sectional study in Ontario, Canada.

Background: Many residents of assisted living facilities live with dementia, but little is known about the characteristics of assisted living facilities that provide specialized care for older adults who live with dementia. In this study, we identify the characteristics of assisted living facilities that offer a dementia care program, compared to those that do not offer such a program.

Methods: We conducted a population-level cross-sectional study on all licensed assisted living facilities in Ontario, Canada in 2018 (n = 738).

Association Between Dementia Care Programs in Assisted Living Facilities and Transitions to Nursing Homes in Ontario, Canada: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Objective: We investigate whether older adults who were newly diagnosed with dementia (severity unspecified) and resided in an assisted living facility that offered a dementia care program had a lower rate of transition to a nursing home, compared to those who resided in an assisted living facility without such a program.

Design: Population-based retrospective cohort study.

Setting And Participants: Linked, person-level health system administrative data on older adults who were newly diagnosed with dementia and resided in an assisted living facility in Ontario, Canada, from 2014 to 2019 (n = 977).

Visual Analytic Tools and Techniques in Population Health and Health Services Research: Scoping Review.

Background: Visual analytics (VA) promotes the understanding of data with visual, interactive techniques, using analytic and visual engines. The analytic engine includes automated techniques, whereas common visual outputs include flow maps and spatiotemporal hot spots.

Objective: This scoping review aims to address a gap in the literature, with the specific objective to synthesize literature on the use of VA tools, techniques, and frameworks in interrelated health care areas of population health and health services research (HSR).

Visual Analytic Tools and Techniques in Population Health and Health Services Research: Protocol for a Scoping Review.

Background: Visual analytics (VA) promotes the understanding of data using visual, interactive techniques and using analytic and visual engines. The analytic engine includes machine learning and other automated techniques, whereas common visual outputs include flow maps and spatiotemporal hotspots for studying service gaps and disease distribution. The principal objective of this scoping review is to examine the state of science on VA and the various tools, strategies, and frameworks used in population health and health services research (HSR).

Caregiver Out-of-Pocket Costs for Octogenarian Intensive Care Unit Patients in Canada.

ABSTRACTMedical issues facing the aging population are of growing concern with consequences for patients and their caregivers. This study determined the indirect and out-of-pocket costs incurred by the caregivers of elderly patients in Canadian Intensive Care Units (ICUs). Primary family caregivers were surveyed capturing out-of-pocket costs, hours of work, and hours of leisure forgone in providing patient care while the patient was in the ICU.

Change in health care use after coordinated care planning: a quasi-experimental study.

Background: We sought to determine whether patients with a coordinated care plan developed using the Health Links model of care in the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Local Health Integration Network differed in their use of health care (no. of emergency department visits, inpatient admissions, length of inpatient stay) when compared with a matched control group of patients with no care plans.

Methods: We performed a propensity score-matched study of 12 months pre- and 12 months post-health care use.

The health economics of ankle and foot sprains and fractures: A systematic review of English-language published papers. Part 2: The direct and indirect costs of injury.

Background: Ankle and foot sprains and fractures are prevalent injuries, which may result in substantial physical and economic consequences for the patient and place a financial burden on the health care system. Therefore, the objectives of this paper are to examine the direct and indirect costs of treating ankle and foot injuries (sprains, dislocations, fractures), as well as to provide an overview of the outcomes of full economic analyses of different treatment strategies.

Methods: A systematic review was carried out among seven databases to identify English language publications on the health economics of ankle and foot injury treatment published between 1980 and 2014.

The health economics of ankle and foot sprains and fractures: A systematic review of English-language published papers. Part 1: Overview and critical appraisal.

Background: Ankle and foot sprains and fractures are common injuries affecting many individuals, often requiring considerable and costly medical interventions. The objectives of this systematic review are to collect, assess, and critically appraise the published literature on the health economics of ankle and foot injury (sprain and fracture) treatment.

Methods: A systematic literature review of Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane DSR, ACP Journal Club, AMED, Ovid Healthstar, and CINAHL was conducted for English-language studies on the costs of treating ankle and foot sprains and fractures published from January 1980 to December 2014.