Factors That Determine the Experience of Transition to an Inpatient Palliative Care Unit for Patients and Caregivers: A Qualitative Study.

Transitions in care settings near the end of life can present challenges to patients and families, especially when there are also adjustments in level of care and illness trajectory. In this study, we explored what factors influenced how patients and family caregivers experienced a transition to an inpatient Palliative Care Unit (PCU). This qualitative study was conducted at a PCU in Toronto, Canada.

Cancer patients' experiences with immune checkpoint modulators: A qualitative study.

Background: Minimal qualitative data exist on the experiences of cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors or costimulatory antibodies. Understanding the day to day experiences of patients being treated with immune checkpoint modulators, and how these relate to their health-related quality of life, can inform future research and lead to better clinical decision-making and care. We report here the first in depth qualitative study to consider patients' diverse and complex experiences with immune checkpoint modulators, with a focus on side effects and how these impact daily life.

Development of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Immune Checkpoint Modulator (FACT-ICM): A toxicity subscale to measure quality of life in patients with cancer who are treated with ICMs.

Background: Patients with cancer who are treated with immune checkpoint modulators (ICMs) have their health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measured using general patient-reported outcome (PRO) tools. To the authors' knowledge, no instrument has been developed to date specifically for patients treated with ICMs. The objective of the current study was to develop a toxicity subscale PRO instrument for patients treated with ICMs to assess HRQOL.

Development of a Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy item library and primary symptom list for the assessment of patient-reported adverse events associated with immune checkpoint modulators.

Aim: To develop a comprehensive item library of patient-reported, immunotherapy-related adverse events (irAEs) that draws from and expands on the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT) Measurement System.

Methods: Literature review and iterative expert input. Based on a literature review of irAEs, we developed a framework of immunotherapy classes and their associated symptoms.

The Affordability and Accessibility of Ontario's Publicly Funded IVF Program: A Survey of Patients.

Objective: On December 21, 2015, the Province of Ontario created the Ontario Fertility Program to fund one cycle of in vitro fertilization (IVF) to improve IVF affordability and access for Ontarians below age 43. The objective of this study was to determine whether the Program was meeting this goal, based on the experiences of participating patients.

Methods: Participation in an electronic survey was invited through posters and brochures placed within the waiting rooms of all 25 IVF clinics providing funded IVF in Ontario and by a survey link placed on websites focused on fertility issues.

"Like being put on an ice floe and shoved away": A qualitative study of the impacts of opioid-related policy changes on people who take opioids.

Aims: To characterize the impacts of policies intended to improve opioid prescribing and prevent opioid-related overdose and death on individuals who take opioids.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative study using focus groups with 48 adults aged 18 years and over who had experience taking opioids. Participants were recruited from across Ontario, Canada, and separate focus groups were held for individuals taking opioids for chronic pain and individuals taking opioids for other reasons.

Victims of road rage: a qualitative study of the experiences of motorists and vulnerable road users.

Objective: To gain an in-depth understanding of road rage incidents from the victims' perspectives.

Methods: The data consisted of 30- to 60-min in-depth semistructured phone interviews with 29 self-identified victims of road rage. Twenty of the participants were in a motor vehicle, whereas 9 were pedestrians/cyclists.

Anxiety and mood disorders and cannabis use.

Background: Cannabis use has been linked to anxiety and mood disorders (AMD) in clinical cases, but little research on this relationship has been reported at the epidemiological level.

Objectives: We examined the relationship between self-reported frequency of cannabis use and risk for AMD in the general Ontario adult population.

Methods: Data were based on the CAMH Monitor survey of Ontario adults from 2001 to 2006 (n = 14,531).