HPV self-sampling implementation strategies to engage under screened communities in cervical cancer screening: a scoping review to inform screening programs.

Introduction: Human papillomavirus (HPV) testing as a method of cervical cancer screening can be performed by healthcare providers or by patients through self-sampling directly in the community, removing several barriers experienced by under screened populations. The objective of this scoping review was to determine which HPV self-sampling implementation and engagement strategies have been used to engage under screened populations (i.e.

Understanding the mental health and intention to leave of the public health workforce in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study.

Background: There is limited evidence about the mental health and intention to leave of the public health workforce in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of burnout, symptoms of anxiety and depression, and intention to leave among the Canadian public health workforce, and associations with individual and workplace factors.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using data collected by a Canada-wide survey from November 2022 to January 2023, where participants reported sociodemographic and workplace factors.

Campus node-based wastewater surveillance enables COVID-19 case localization and confirms lower SARS-CoV-2 burden relative to the surrounding community.

Wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) has been established as a powerful tool that can guide health policy at multiple levels of government. However, this approach has not been well assessed at more granular scales, including large work sites such as University campuses. Between August 2021 and April 2022, we explored the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater using qPCR assays from multiple complimentary sewer catchments and residential buildings spanning the University of Calgary's campus and how this compared to levels from the municipal wastewater treatment plant servicing the campus.

Long-term health care use and diagnosis after hospitalization for COVID-19: a retrospective matched cohort study.

Background: Knowledge pertaining to the health and health care utilization of patients after recovery from acute COVID-19 is limited. We sought to assess the frequency of new diagnoses of disease and health care use after hospitalization with COVID-19.

Methods: We included all patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Alberta between Mar.

A scoping review of opioid harm reduction interventions for equity-deserving populations.

Background: Morbidity and mortality associated with opioid use has become a North American crisis. Harm reduction is an evidence-based approach to substance use. Targeted harm reduction strategies that consider the needs of specific populations are required.

Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 and its variants in wastewater of tertiary care hospitals correlates with increasing case burden and outbreaks.

Wastewater-based SARS-CoV-2 surveillance enables unbiased and comprehensive monitoring of defined sewersheds. We performed real-time monitoring of hospital wastewater that differentiated Delta and Omicron variants within total SARS-CoV-2-RNA, enabling correlation to COVID-19 cases from three tertiary-care facilities with >2100 inpatient beds in Calgary, Canada. RNA was extracted from hospital wastewater between August/2021 and January/2022, and SARS-CoV-2 quantified using RT-qPCR.

Tracking Emergence and Spread of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant in Large and Small Communities by Wastewater Monitoring in Alberta, Canada.

Wastewater monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 enables early detection and monitoring of the COVID-19 disease burden in communities and can track specific variants of concern. We determined proportions of the Omicron and Delta variants across 30 municipalities covering >75% of the province of Alberta (population 4.5 million), Canada, during November 2021-January 2022.

Longitudinal SARS-CoV-2 RNA wastewater monitoring across a range of scales correlates with total and regional COVID-19 burden in a well-defined urban population.

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is an emerging surveillance tool that has been used to monitor the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by tracking SARS-CoV-2 RNA shed into wastewater. WBE was performed to monitor the occurrence and spread of SARS-CoV-2 from three wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and six neighborhoods in the city of Calgary, Canada (population 1.44 million).

Association Between Residential Proximity to Hydraulic Fracturing Sites and Adverse Birth Outcomes.

Importance: The association between hydraulic fracturing and human development is not well understood. Several studies have identified significant associations between unconventional natural gas development and adverse birth outcomes; however, geology and legislation vary between regions.

Objective: To examine the overall association between residential proximity to hydraulic fracturing sites and adverse birth outcomes, and investigate whether well density influenced this association.

Healthy food prescription incentive programme for adults with type 2 diabetes who are experiencing food insecurity: protocol for a randomised controlled trial, modelling and implementation studies.

Introduction: The high cost of many healthy foods poses a challenge to maintaining optimal blood glucose levels for adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus who are experiencing food insecurity, leading to diabetes complications and excess acute care usage and costs. Healthy food prescription programmes may reduce food insecurity and support patients to improve their diet quality, prevent diabetes complications and avoid acute care use. We will use a type 2 hybrid-effectiveness design to examine the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation and maintenance (RE-AIM) of a healthy food prescription incentive programme for adults experiencing food insecurity and persistent hyperglycaemia.

Respiratory and cardiovascular condition-related physician visits associated with wildfire smoke exposure in Calgary, Canada, in 2015: a population-based study.

Background: We studied the impact of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure due to a remote wildfire event in the Pacific Northwest on daily outpatient respiratory and cardiovascular physician visits during wildfire (24-31 August, 2015) and post-wildfire period (1-30 September, 2015) relative to the pre-wildfire period (1-23 August, 2015) in the city of Calgary, Canada.

Methods: A quasi-Poisson regression model was used for modelling daily counts of physician visits due to PM2.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour: A Qualitative Study in a Canadian City.

Public health measures introduced to combat the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted the physical activity, health, and well-being of millions of people. This grounded theory study explored how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected physical activity and perceptions of health among adults in a Canadian city (Calgary). Twelve adults (50% females; 20-70 years) were interviewed between June and October (2020) via telephone or videoconferencing.

The Relationship of Urban Form on Children and Adolescent Health Outcomes: A Scoping Review of Canadian Evidence.

Urban form can have an impact on health outcomes in children, and the synthesis of findings can identify gaps in the literature and regional reviews may help guide policymakers. This study aims to complete a scoping review of the research relating urban form to health outcomes in children and adolescents from urban Canadian settings. Thirteen online databases were searched to identify studies that had objective measures of urban form and health outcomes.

A scoping review on the relations between urban form and health: a focus on Canadian quantitative evidence.

Introduction: Despite the accumulating Canadian evidence regarding the relations between urban form and health behaviours, less is known about the associations between urban form and health conditions. Our study aim was to undertake a scoping review to synthesize evidence from quantitative studies that have investigated the relationship between built environment and chronic health conditions, self-reported health and quality of life, and injuries in the Canadian adult population.

Methods: From January to March 2017, we searched 13 databases to identify peer-reviewed quantitative studies from all years that estimated associations between the objectively-measured built environment and health conditions in Canadian adults.

Public health: who, what, and why?

There has been renewed concern about the state of public health in Canada, with several recent articles in this journal suggesting that the discipline of public health is under threat and that there has been a significant erosion of its core infrastructure. We strongly agree with the need for a well-resourced formal public health system and preservation of capacity to carry out core public health functions, while also positing a complementary narrative that emphasizes the possibility for a broad notion of public health to persevere and thrive in the face of these challenges. We consider what public health is, who public health is, and why public health exists, and suggest that the answers to these questions point to opportunities to strengthen the necessary interdisciplinary approaches that can best address current and future public health concerns.

Influence of Childhood Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines on Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in Adults With Underlying Comorbidities in Calgary, Alberta (2000-2013).

Background: Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) was introduced into Alberta, Canada's routine childhood immunization programs in 2002 (7-valent [PCV7]) and 2010 (13-valent [PCV13]). We assessed the effect of these programs on the epidemiology of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) to determine if PCV-associated indirect protection was relatively reduced in adults with underlying comorbidities.

Methods: Demographic and clinical data were collected by a prospective, population-based surveillance system in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, from January 2000 to December 2013.

Early childhood risk and resilience factors for behavioural and emotional problems in middle childhood.

Background: Mental disorders in childhood have a considerable health and societal impact but the associated negative consequences may be ameliorated through early identification of risk and protective factors that can guide health promoting and preventive interventions. The objective of this study was to inform health policy and practice through identification of demographic, familial and environmental factors associated with emotional or behavioural problems in middle childhood, and the predictors of resilience in the presence of identified risk factors.

Methods: A cohort of 706 mothers followed from early pregnancy was surveyed at six to eight years post-partum by a mail-out questionnaire, which included questions on demographics, children's health, development, activities, media and technology, family, friends, community, school life, and mother's health.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment of medication-resistant depression in older adults: a case series.

Unlabelled: The antidepressant effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) are well documented, but studies to date have produced heterogeneous results in late-life depression.

Objective: To address this matter, we evaluated the efficacy of both high- and low-frequency rTMS delivered to the prefrontal cortex of older adults with treatment-resistant major depression.

Methods: Forty-nine older adults (69 +/- 6.

The effect of mechanical context on attentional cost in unimanual coordination.

The purpose of this study was to address the attentional cost of sensorimotor coordination by determining if changes to the mechanical context of movement would influence the ability to attend and respond to an alternate stimulus. Nine right-handed participants performed rhythmic pronation and supination movements of the forearm in time with an auditory metronome. A secondary task, consisting of a pedal response to visual probe stimuli, was employed to infer the attentional cost of the coordination task.