Assessing the feasibility, acceptability, and fidelity of a tele-retinopathy-based intervention to encourage greater attendance to diabetic retinopathy screening in immigrants living with diabetes from China and African-Caribbean countries in Ottawa, Canada: a protocol.

Background: Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of preventable blindness in Canada. Clinical guidelines recommend annual diabetic retinopathy screening for people living with diabetes to reduce the risk and progression of vision loss. However, many Canadians with diabetes do not attend screening.

The Influence of Age, Sex, and Socioeconomic Status on Glycemic Control Among People With Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes in Canada: Patient-Led Longitudinal Retrospective Cross-sectional Study With Multiple Time Points of Measurement.

Background: Clinical guidelines for most adults with diabetes recommend maintaining hemoglobin A (HbA) levels ≤7% (≤53 mmol/mol) to avoid microvascular and macrovascular complications. People with diabetes of different ages, sexes, and socioeconomic statuses may differ in their ease of attaining this goal.

Objective: As a team of people with diabetes, researchers, and health professionals, we aimed to explore patterns in HbA results among people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes in Canada.

Prediction models of diabetes complications: a scoping review.

Background: Diabetes often places a large burden on people with diabetes (hereafter 'patients') and the society, that is, in part attributable to its complications. However, evidence from models predicting diabetes complications in patients remains unclear. With the collaboration of patient partners, we aimed to describe existing prediction models of physical and mental health complications of diabetes.

Stakeholders' perception on the implementation of Developmental Progress Assessment: using the Theoretical Domains Framework to document behavioral determinants.

Background: The widespread implementation of longitudinal assessment (LA) to document trainees' progression to independent practice rests more on speculative rather than evidence-based benefits. We aimed to document stakeholders' knowledge of- and attitudes towards LA, and identify how the supports and barriers can help or hinder the uptake and sustainable use of LA.

Methods: We interviewed representatives from four stakeholder groups involved in LA.

Barriers to and enablers of attendance at diabetic retinopathy screening experienced by immigrants to Canada from multiple cultural and linguistic minority groups.

Aim: To identify barriers to/enablers of attendance at eye screening among three groups of immigrantsto Canada from cultural/linguistic minority groups living with diabetes.

Methods: Using a patient-oriented research approach leveraging Diabetes Action Canada's patient engagement platform, we interviewed a purposeful sample of people with type 2 diabetes who had immigrated to Canada from: Pakistan (interviews in Urdu), China (interviews in Mandarin) and French-speaking African and Caribbean nations (interviews in French). We collected and analysed data based on the Theoretical Domains Framework covering key modifiable factors that may operate as barriers to or enablers of attending eye screening.

Sound Practices: An Exploratory Study of Building and Monitoring Multiple-Choice Exams at Canadian Undergraduate Medical Education Programs.

Purpose: Written examinations such as multiple-choice question (MCQ) exams are a key assessment strategy in health professions education (HPE), frequently used to provide feedback, to determine competency, or for licensure decisions. However, traditional psychometric approaches for monitoring the quality of written exams, defined as items that are discriminant and contribute to increase the overall reliability and validity of the exam scores, usually warrant larger samples than are typically available in HPE contexts. The authors conducted a descriptive exploratory study to document how undergraduate medical education (UME) programs ensure the quality of their written exams, particularly MCQs.

Patients' perspectives on how to improve diabetes care and self-management: qualitative study.

Objective: People living with diabetes need and deserve high-quality, individualised care. However, providing such care remains a challenge in many countries, including Canada. Patients' expertise, if acknowledged and adequately translated, could help foster patient-centred care.

Identifying Barriers and Enablers to Attending Diabetic Retinopathy Screening in Immigrants to Canada From Ethnocultural Minority Groups: Protocol for a Qualitative Descriptive Study.

Background: Immigrants to Canada belonging to ethnocultural minority groups are at increased risk of developing diabetes and complications, including diabetic retinopathy, and they are also less likely to be screened and treated. Improved attendance to retinopathy screening (eye tests) has the potential to reduce permanent complications, including blindness.

Objective: This study aims to identify the barriers and enablers of attending diabetic retinopathy screening among ethnocultural minority immigrants living with diabetes in Quebec and Ontario, Canada, to inform the development of a behavior change intervention to improve diabetic retinopathy screening attendance.

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid profiles and relationship with cardiometabolic risk factors in Cree (Eeyouch) of Northern Québec.

Background: n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) from fish are known modulators of cardiometabolic risk factors.

Objective: To examine fatty acids (FAs) status and the relationship between n-3 LC-PUFA and cardiometabolic risk factors in Cree participants.

Design: We analyzed data from a cross-sectional study (n=829) conducted in Cree adults (aged 18-74 years) from 7 communities of the James Bay territory of Quebec (Canada) in 2005-2009.

Evaluation of exposure to organophosphate, carbamate, phenoxy acid, and chlorophenol pesticides in pregnant women from 10 Caribbean countries.

Pesticides are commonly used in tropical regions such as the Caribbean for both household and agricultural purposes. Of particular concern is exposure during pregnancy, as these compounds can cross the placental barrier and interfere with fetal development. The objective of this study was to evaluate exposure of pregnant women residing in 10 Caribbean countries to the following commonly used classes of pesticides in the Caribbean: organophosphates (OPs), carbamates, phenoxy acids, and chlorophenols.

Methylmercury exposure, PON1 gene variants and serum paraoxonase activity in Eastern James Bay Cree adults.

There is growing evidence that cardiovascular health can be affected by exposure to methylmercury (MeHg), by a mechanism involving oxidative stress. Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) is a high-density lipoprotein-bound enzyme that hydrolyzes toxic oxidized lipids and protects against cardiovascular diseases. Evidence from in vitro studies indicates that MeHg can inhibit PON1 activity but little is known regarding this effect in humans.

Evaluation of pyrethroid exposures in pregnant women from 10 Caribbean countries.

Pyrethroid pesticides are commonly used in tropical regions such as the Caribbean as household insecticides, pet sprays, and where malaria is endemic, impregnated into mosquito-repellent nets. Of particular concern is exposure during pregnancy, as these compounds have the potential to cross the placental barrier and interfere with fetal development, as was shown in limited animal studies. The objective of this study was to evaluate exposure to pyrethroids to pregnant women residing in 10 English-speaking Caribbean countries.

Evaluation of a public health intervention to lower mercury exposure from fish consumption in Bermuda.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy of a public health intervention to reduce blood mercury (Hg) concentration levels in pregnant Bermudian women.

Methods: In 2003, we conducted a study entitled "Prenatal exposure of the Bermudian Population to Environmental Contaminants" which provided Bermuda's first baseline data on prenatal exposure to several environmental contaminants, including Hg. The mean Hg concentration from 42 healthy newborns measured in umbilical cord blood was 41.