Clinic accessibility and clinic-level predictors of the geographic variation in 2009 pandemic influenza vaccine coverage in Montreal, Canada.

Background: Nineteen mass vaccination clinics were established in Montreal, Canada, as part of the 2009 influenza A/H1N1p vaccination campaign. Although approximately 50% of the population was vaccinated, there was a considerable variation in clinic performance and community vaccine coverage.

Objective: To identify community- and clinic-level predictors of vaccine uptake, while accounting for the accessibility of clinics from the community of residence.

Relationship between community prevalence of obesity and associated behavioral factors and community rates of influenza-related hospitalizations in the United States.

Background: Findings from studies examining the association between obesity and acute respiratory infection are inconsistent. Few studies have assessed the relationship between obesity-related behavioral factors, such as diet and exercise, and risk of acute respiratory infection.

Objective: To determine whether community prevalence of obesity, low fruit/vegetable consumption, and physical inactivity are associated with influenza-related hospitalization rates.

Neighborhood determinants of 2009 pandemic A/H1N1 influenza vaccination in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Neighborhood-level analyses of influenza vaccination can identify the characteristics of vulnerable neighborhoods, which can inform public health strategy for future pandemics. In this study, the authors analyzed rates of 2009 pandemic A/H1N1 influenza vaccination in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, using individual-level vaccination records from a vaccination registry with census, survey, and administrative data to estimate the population at risk. The neighborhood socioeconomic and demographic determinants of vaccination were identified using Bayesian ecologic logistic regression, with random effects to account for spatial autocorrelation.

HAIKU: A Semantic Framework for Surveillance of Healthcare-Associated Infections.

Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) impose a substantial health and financial burden. Surveillance for HAI is essential to develop and evaluate prevention and control efforts. The traditional approaches to HAI surveillance are often limited in scope and efficiency by the need to manually obtain and integrate data from disparate paper charts and information systems.

Effect of expanded US recommendations for seasonal influenza vaccination: comparison of two pediatric emergency departments in the United States and Canada.

Background: Starting in the 2006/2007 influenza season, the US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices expanded its recommendations for seasonal influenza vaccination to include healthy children aged 24-59 months. The parallel Canadian organization, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, did not at that time issue a similar recommendation, thereby creating a natural experiment to evaluate the effect of the policy in the United States.

Methods: We examined data for 2000/2001 through 2008/2009 and estimated relative changes in visits to the emergency department for influenza-like illness at two pediatric hospitals, one in Boston, Massachusetts, and the other in Montréal, Quebec, following the US policy change.

Socio-economic disparities in the burden of seasonal influenza: the effect of social and material deprivation on rates of influenza infection.

Background: There is little empirical evidence in support of a relationship between rates of influenza infection and level of material deprivation (i.e., lack of access to goods and services) and social deprivation (i.

Outpatient physician billing data for age and setting specific syndromic surveillance of influenza-like illnesses.

Syndromic surveillance is a novel automated approach to monitoring influenza activity, but there is no consensus regarding the most informative data sources for use within such a system. By comparing physician billing data from Quebec, Canada and hospital admission records, we assessed the timeliness of medical visits for influenza-like illnesses (ILI) to two types of outpatient healthcare settings. Overall, ILI visits by children aged 5-17 years at community-based settings were the most strongly correlated with hospital admissions and gave the greatest lead over hospital admissions.