Determinants of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine willingness among people incarcerated in 3 Canadian federal prisons: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Maximizing uptake of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines among people in prison is essential in mitigating future outbreaks. We aimed to determine factors associated with willingness to receive SARS-CoV-2 vaccination before vaccine availability.

Methods: We chose 3 Canadian federal prisons based on their low uptake of influenza vaccines in 2019-2020.

Reasons for COVID-19 vaccine refusal among people incarcerated in Canadian federal prisons.

Background: Vaccine uptake rates have been historically low in correctional settings. To better understand vaccine hesitancy in these high-risk settings, we explored reasons for COVID-19 vaccine refusal among people in federal prisons.

Methods: Three maximum security all-male federal prisons in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario (Canada) were chosen, representing prisons with the highest proportions of COVID-19 vaccine refusal.

Barriers and facilitators to COVID-19 vaccine acceptability among people incarcerated in Canadian federal prisons: A qualitative study.

Introduction: Canadian correctional institutions have been prioritized for COVID-19 vaccination given the multiple outbreaks that have occurred since the start of the pandemic. Given historically low vaccine uptake, we aimed to explore barriers and facilitators to COVID-19 vaccination acceptability among people incarcerated in federal prisons.

Methods: Three federal prisons in Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia (Canada) were chosen based on previously low influenza vaccine uptake among those incarcerated.

Physician performance feedback in a Canadian academic center.

Purpose This paper aims at the implementation and early evaluation of a comprehensive, formative annual physician performance feedback process in a large academic health-care organization. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methods approach was used to introduce a formative feedback process to provide physicians with comprehensive feedback on performance and to support professional development. This initiative responded to organization-wide engagement surveys through which physicians identified effective performance feedback as a priority.

Evaluating physician awareness of common health care costs in the emergency department.

Background: Health care costs are on the rise in Canada and the sustainability of our health care system is at risk. As gatekeepers to patient care, emergency department (ED) physicians have a direct impact on health care costs. We aimed to identify current levels of cost awareness among ED physicians.

Enabling front line-driven perioperative quality improvement through organizational infrastructure built around the Comprehensive Unit Based Safety Program.

Many surgical departments are interested in quality improvement (QI). For sustainable success, front-line involvement is crucial for improving culture. Without improved culture, any QI strategy will be a struggle.

Implementation of a structured hospital-wide morbidity and mortality rounds model.

Importance: There is a paucity of literature on the quality and effectiveness of institutional morbidity & mortality (M&M) rounds processes.

Objective: We sought to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a hospital-wide structured M&M rounds model at improving the quality of M&M rounds across multiple specialties.

Design, Setting, Participants: We conducted a prospective interventional study involving 24 clinical groups (1584 physicians) at a tertiary care teaching hospital from January 2013 to June 2015.

CAEP 2015 Academic Symposium: Leadership within the emergency medicine academic community and beyond.

Objectives: A panel of emergency medicine (EM) leaders endeavoured to define the key elements of leadership and its models, as well as to formulate consensus recommendations to build and strengthen academic leadership in the Canadian EM community in the areas of mentorship, education, and resources.

Methods: The expert panel comprised EM leaders from across Canada and met regularly by teleconference over the course of 9 months. From the breadth of backgrounds and experience, as well as a literature review and the development of a leadership video series, broad themes for recommendations around the building and strengthening of EM leadership were presented at the CAEP 2015 Academic Symposium held in Edmonton, Alberta.

Quality gaps identified through mortality review.

Background: Hospital mortality rate is a common measure of healthcare quality. Morbidity and mortality meetings are common but there are few reports of hospital-wide mortality-review processes to provide understanding of quality-of-care problems associated with patient deaths.

Objective: To describe the implementation and results from an institution-wide mortality-review process.

Effectiveness and safety of short-stay units in the emergency department: a systematic review.

Objectives: Overcrowding is a serious and ongoing challenge in Canadian hospital emergency departments (EDs) that has been shown to have negative consequences for patient outcomes. The American College of Emergency Physicians recommends observation/short-stay units as a possible solution to alleviate this problem. However, the most recent systematic review assessing short-stay units shows that there is limited synthesized evidence to support this recommendation; it is over a decade old and has important methodologic limitations.

Combination paracetamol and ibuprofen for pain relief after oral surgery: a dose ranging study.

Purpose: Combined paracetamol and ibuprofen has been shown to be more effective than either constituent alone for acute pain in adults, but the dose-response has not been confirmed. The aim of this study was to define the analgesic dose-response relationship of different potential doses of a fixed dose combination containing paracetamol and ibuprofen after third molar surgery.

Methods: Patients aged 16 to 60 years with moderate or severe pain after the removal of at least two impacted third molars were randomised to receive double-blind study medication as two tablets every 6 h for 24 h of either of the following: two tablet, combination full dose (paracetamol 1000 mg and ibuprofen 300 mg); one tablet, combination half dose (paracetamol 500 mg and ibuprofen 150 mg); half a tablet, combination quarter dose (paracetamol 250 mg and ibuprofen 75 mg); or placebo.

Enhancing the quality of morbidity and mortality rounds: the Ottawa M&M model.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a structured morbidity and mortality (M&M) rounds model through an innovative educational intervention.

Methods: The authors engaged the Departments of Emergency Medicine (EM) and Trauma Services at a tertiary care teaching hospital. A needs assessment was performed; the Ottawa M&M rounds model was developed, implemented, and then evaluated as a four-part intervention.

Leading quality through the development of a multi-year corporate quality plan: sharing The Ottawa Hospital experience.

This article discusses the background and process for developing a multi-year corporate quality plan. The Ottawa Hospital's goal is to be a top 10% performer in quality and patient safety in North America. In order to create long-term measurable and sustainable changes in the quality of patient care, The Ottawa Hospital embarked on the development of a three-year strategic corporate quality plan.

Exploring microbial genome sequences to identify protein families on the grid.

The analysis of microbial genome sequences can identify protein families that provide potential drug targets for new antibiotics. With the rapid accumulation of newly sequenced genomes, this analysis has become a computationally intensive and data-intensive problem. This paper describes the development of a Web-service-enabled, component-based, architecture to support the large-scale comparative analysis of complete microbial genome sequences and the subsequent identification of orthologues and protein families (Microbase).

Comparison between interpersonal violence and motor vehicle accidents in the aetiology of maxillofacial fractures.

Background: Maxillofacial fractures commonly present to the emergency department, interpersonal violence (IPV) and motor vehicle accidents (MVA) being two of the main causes. There is a changing trend in these two aetiologies, which is reflected in a change in demographics, the pattern of fractures and the treatment of maxillofacial fractures.

Methods: A prospective database of patients presenting to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery service at Christchurch Hospital during an 11-year period was reviewed.

Comparison of the Canadian CT Head Rule and the New Orleans Criteria in patients with minor head injury.

Context: Current use of cranial computed tomography (CT) for minor head injury is increasing rapidly, highly variable, and inefficient. The Canadian CT Head Rule (CCHR) and New Orleans Criteria (NOC) are previously developed clinical decision rules to guide CT use for patients with minor head injury and with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores of 13 to 15 for the CCHR and a score of 15 for the NOC. However, uncertainty about the clinical performance of these rules exists.

Retrospective application of the NEXUS low-risk criteria for cervical spine radiography in Canadian emergency departments.

Study Objective: We evaluate the accuracy, reliability, and potential impact of the National Emergency X-Radiography Utilization Study (NEXUS) low-risk criteria for cervical spine radiography, when applied in Canadian emergency departments (EDs).

Methods: The Canadian C-Spine Rule derivation study was a prospective cohort study conducted in 10 Canadian EDs that recruited alert and stable adult trauma patients. Physicians completed a 20-item data form for each patient and performed interobserver assessments when feasible.

The Canadian C-spine rule versus the NEXUS low-risk criteria in patients with trauma.

Background: The Canadian C-Spine (cervical-spine) Rule (CCR) and the National Emergency X-Radiography Utilization Study (NEXUS) Low-Risk Criteria (NLC) are decision rules to guide the use of cervical-spine radiography in patients with trauma. It is unclear how the two decision rules compare in terms of clinical performance.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study in nine Canadian emergency departments comparing the CCR and NLC as applied to alert patients with trauma who were in stable condition.

The Canadian C-spine rule performs better than unstructured physician judgment.

Study Objectives: We compare the predictive accuracy of emergency physicians' unstructured clinical judgment to the Canadian C-Spine rule.

Methods: This prospective multicenter cohort study was conducted at 10 Canadian urban academic emergency departments. Included in the study were alert, stable, adult patients with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 15 and trauma to the head or neck.