Variability in public health programming and priorities to address health inequities across public health units in Ontario, Canada.

Objective: In 2018, Ontario Public Health Standards were updated to include the foundational Health Equity Standard to guide planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health programs and services. Public health units (PHUs), the regional public health bodies, are now required to address health equity through four requirements: (a) Assessing and Reporting; (b) Modifying and Orienting Public Health Interventions; (c) Engaging in Multi-sectoral Collaboration; and (d) Health Equity Analysis, Policy Development, and Advancing Healthy Public Policies.

Methods: This qualitative descriptive study explored how the 27 participating PHUs (out of 34) serving urban (N = 10), mixed urban-rural (N = 15), and rural (N = 9) populations addressed the Health Equity Standard.

Prioritizing a research agenda on built environments and physical activity: a twin panel Delphi consensus process with researchers and knowledge users.

Background: The growth of urban dwelling populations globally has led to rapid increases of research and policy initiatives addressing associations between the built environment and physical activity (PA). Given this rapid proliferation, it is important to identify priority areas and research questions for moving the field forward. The objective of this study was to identify and compare research priorities on the built environment and PA among researchers and knowledge users (e.

Prioritizing well-being in K-12 education: lessons from a multiple case study of Canadian school districts.

Increasingly, school districts are looking for insights on how to embed a well-being focus across school communities. Well-being in K-12 education is proven to support positive mental health, improve academic performance and contribute to positive outcomes for students and staff. How districts transition to deeply integrate well-being into existing priorities and practices is not well understood.

Citizen science in monitoring food environments: a qualitative collective case study of stakeholders' experiences during the Local Environment Action on Food project in Alberta, Canada.

Background: Citizen science bears potential to build a comprehensive view of global food environments and create a broader discussion about how to improve them. Despite its potential, citizen science has not been fully utilised in food environment research. Thus, we sought to explore stakeholders' experiences of the Local Environment Action on Food (LEAF) project, a community-based intervention that employs a citizen science approach to monitoring food environments.

The ruling of weight: An institutional ethnography investigating young people's body weight surveillance work.

Rationale: Dominant framing of childhood obesity as a public health burden has increased weight stigma towards young people in larger bodies. However, weight stigma literature is generally limited by its focus on individuals' attitudes and beliefs, overlooking the broader social conditions shaping stigma. Further, few weight stigma studies have been conducted from young people's standpoint; little is known about how they navigate stigmatizing environments while growing up.

Local Environment Action on Food project: impact of a community-based food environment intervention in Canada.

Children are exposed to food environments that make nutrient-poor, energy-dense food cheap, readily available and heavily marketed; all conditions with potential negative impacts on diet and health. While the need for programmes and policies that improve the status of food environments is clear, greater public support is needed for governments to act. The purpose of this qualitative collective case study was to examine if community engagement in the Local Environment Action on Food (LEAF) project, a community-based food environment intervention in Alberta, Canada, could build public support and create action to promote healthy food environments.

Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program: essential characteristics of a Canadian multi-site community-university partnership with Indigenous communities.

The Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program (IYMP) is a peer-led health promotion program grounded in the teachings of Indigenous scholars. IYMP is delivered as a multi-sited community-university partnership (CUP) with Indigenous communities across Canada for elementary students. A local young adult health leader and high school youth mentors offer students healthy snacks, physical activity games, relationship building activities and traditional cultural teachings.

A social network analysis of interactions about physical activity and nutrition among APPLE schools staff.

Comprehensive school health (CSH) is a holistic approach to school-based health promotion that involves active participation and buy-in of school community members, including school staff (e.g., support staff, teachers, school health champions, principals).

A Canadian-wide perspective on the essential conditions for taking a comprehensive school health approach.

Background: The primary purpose of this research was to explore Comprehensive School Health (CSH) stakeholders' perceptions of the essential conditions for taking a CSH approach in other contexts across Canada. The secondary purpose was to examine the need for and development of an evaluative tool or resource to assess the implementation of the essential conditions.

Methods: Data were generated through individual semi-structured interviews (n = 38) and small group interviews (n = 3) with 45 participants across Canada involved in implementing policies or programs which take a CSH approach.

Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program: key implementation characteristics of a school peer mentorship program in Canada.

The Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program (IYMP) is a peer-led health promotion program developed for elementary school students in Indigenous school communities in Canada. A local young adult health leader (YAHL) and high school mentors offer students healthy snacks, physical activity games, relationship building activities and cultural teachings. IYMP aims to improve children's health and wellbeing and empower Indigenous youth and communities.

Canadian after-school care providers' perceived role promoting healthy lifestyles: a focused ethnography.

Background: After-school care programs have garnered interest in recent years as the hours of 3:00-6:00 p.m. are an opportune time for children to engage in healthy behaviours, specifically healthy eating and physical activity.

Policy-influencer perspectives on the development, adoption, and implementation of provincial school-based daily physical activity policies across Canada: A national case study.

Objectives: School-based daily physical activity (DPA) policies represent a promising intervention for increasing physical activity levels among children. Between 2005 and 2010, five Canadian provinces adopted and implemented DPA policies. This national case study explored facilitators and challenges to developing, adopting and implementing DPA policies from the perspective of key stakeholders ('policy-influencers') in these five provinces.

Translation of school-learned health behaviours into the home: student insights through photovoice.

Objective: Sedentary behaviours, physical inactivity, and poor diets in Canadian children are a major public health problem. Comprehensive school health (CSH) recognizes the importance of school and home collaboration; however, it is unknown how health behaviours promoted in school are adopted at home. The purpose of this research was to explore student perceptions of the translation of an intervention taking a CSH approach in Alberta, Canada, into the home environment.

Integrated knowledge translation in population health intervention research: a case study of implementation and outcomes from a school-based project.

Background: Integrated knowledge translation (IKT) is encouraged in population health intervention research (PHIR) to ensure the co-production of policy-relevant research, yet there is little published literature that reports its implementation and outcomes. The purpose of this study was to describe and evaluate the IKT approach used in a school-based PHIR project to understand how the research informed policy and practice and identify what influenced the IKT process.

Methods: A case study approach was used to provide an in-depth description of the IKT process and understand the co-production and application of research evidence.

Healthy lifestyle behaviours are positively and independently associated with academic achievement: An analysis of self-reported data from a nationally representative sample of Canadian early adolescents.

Introduction: The lifestyle behaviours of early adolescents, including diet, physical activity, sleep, and screen usage, are well established contributors to health. These behaviours have also been shown to be associated with academic achievement. Poor academic achievement can additionally contribute to poorer health over the lifespan.

Adherence to Dietary Recommendations Supports Canadian Children's Academic Achievement.

Purpose: We aimed to determine if adherence to established Canadian, American, and WHO-developed nutrition recommendations supported children's academic achievement.

Methods: Data from a health survey of 1595 grade 5 students in Alberta, Canada, was used. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire.

The combined impact of diet, physical activity, sleep and screen time on academic achievement: a prospective study of elementary school students in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Background: Few studies have investigated the independent associations of lifestyle behaviors (diet, physical activity, sleep, and screen time) and body weight status with academic achievement. Even fewer have investigated the combined effect of these behaviors on academic achievement. We hypothesize that the combined effect of these behaviors will have a higher impact on academic achievement than any behavior alone, or that of body weight status.

Dietary intake and prospective changes in cardiometabolic risk factors in children and youth.

Only few studies examined the effect of diet on prospective changes in cardiometabolic (CM) risk factors in children and youth despite its importance for understanding the role of diet early in life for cardiovascular disease in adulthood. To test the hypothesis that dietary intake is associated with prospective changes in CM risk factors, we analyzed longitudinal observations made over a period of 2 years among 448 students (aged 10-17 years) from 14 schools in Canada. We applied mixed effect regression to examine the associations of dietary intake at baseline with changes in body mass index, waist circumference (WC), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP), and insulin sensitivity score between baseline and follow-up while adjusting for age, sex, and physical activity.

Essential conditions for the implementation of comprehensive school health to achieve changes in school culture and improvements in health behaviours of students.

Background: Comprehensive School Health (CSH) is an internationally recognized framework that holistically addresses school health by transforming the school culture. It has been shown to be effective in enhancing health behaviours among students while also improving educational outcomes. Despite this effectiveness, there is a need to focus on how CSH is implemented.

Is it nutrients, food items, diet quality or eating behaviours that are responsible for the association of children's diet with sleep?

Both diet quality and sleep duration of children have declined in the past decades. Several studies have suggested that diet and sleep are associated; however, it is not established which aspects of the diet are responsible for this association. Is it nutrients, food items, diet quality or eating behaviours? We surveyed 2261 grade 5 children on their dietary intake and eating behaviours, and their parents on their sleep duration and sleep quality.

A Public Policy Advocacy Project to Promote Food Security: Exploring Stakeholders' Experiences.

To achieve food security in Canada, comprehensive approaches are required, which involve action at the public policy level. This qualitative study explored the experiences of 14 stakeholders engaging in a 9-month participatory public policy advocacy project to promote community food security in the province of Alberta through the initiation of a campaign to develop a Universal School Food Strategy. Through this exploration, four main themes were identified; a positive and open space to contribute ideas, diversity and common ground, confidence and capacity, and uncertainty.

Impact of a 3-year multi-centre community-based intervention on risk factors for chronic disease and obesity among free-living adults: the Healthy Alberta Communities study.

Background: Healthy Alberta Communities (HAC) was a 3-year community-based intervention to reduce lifestyle-related risk factors for chronic disease and obesity at a population-level. The current paper examines changes in blood pressure (BP) and anthropometric indicators within HAC communities compared to secular trends.

Methods: Between 2006 and 2009, this community-academic partnership sought to create environments supportive of healthier dietary and physical activity behaviours within four diverse communities in Alberta, Canada.

Implementing Comprehensive School Health in Alberta, Canada: the principal's role.

Comprehensive School Health (CSH) is an internationally recognized framework that moves beyond the individual to holistically address school health, leading to the development of health-enhancing behaviors while also improving educational outcomes. Previous research has suggested that principal support for CSH implementation is essential, but this role has yet to be explored. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to examine the role of the principal in the implementation of a CSH project aimed at creating a healthy school culture.

A changing landscape: web-based methods for dietary assessment in adolescents.

Purpose Of Review: Adolescents' dietary intake is an important determinant of health and well-being and is influenced by a complex interaction of environmental, social, psychological, and physiological factors. The complexity of the adolescent diet makes its assessment prone to error, which has prompted researchers and clinicians to turn to technology to reduce this error. Previous reviews have been conducted regarding the use of technology in dietary assessment for adults; however, there are no known reviews for adolescents.