Are Tai Chi and Qigong effective in the treatment of traumatic brain injury? A systematic review.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) adversely affects both young and old and is a growing public health concern. The common functional, psychological, and cognitive changes associated with TBI and recent trends in its management, such as recommending sub-threshold aerobic activity, and multi-modal treatment strategies including vestibular rehabilitation, suggest that Tai Chi/Qigong could be beneficial for TBI. Tai Chi and Qigong are aerobic mind-body practices with known benefits for maintaining health and mitigating chronic disease.

Why osteoarthritis of the knee is called "a wound that does not heal" and why Tai Chi is an effective treatment.

Context: Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is common and is associated with other chronic diseases and early mortality. OA is often described as a "wound that does not heal" because a local innate immune response gets dysregulated. Tai Chi is an aerobic mind-body practice that is recommended in national and international clinical practice guidelines as a treatment for OA of the knee.

Are tai chi and qigong effective in the treatment of TBI? A systematic review protocol.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) adversely affects both young and old and is a growing public health issue. A number of recent trends in managing TBI, such as recommending sub-threshold aerobic activity, tailoring multi-modal treatment strategies, and studying the possible role of low-grade inflammation in those with persistent symptoms, all suggest that the physical and cognitive exercise of tai chi/qigong could have benefit.

Method: Designed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, the following databases will be searched: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, Wanfang Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database.

A Sedentary and Unhealthy Lifestyle Fuels Chronic Disease Progression by Changing Interstitial Cell Behaviour: A Network Analysis.

Managing chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, chronic lung disease and Alzheimer's disease, account for a large proportion of health care spending, yet they remain in the top causes of premature mortality and are preventable. It is currently accepted that an unhealthy lifestyle fosters a state of chronic low-grade inflammation that is linked to chronic disease progression. Although this is known to be related to inflammatory cytokines, how an unhealthy lifestyle causes cytokine release and how that in turn leads to chronic disease progression are not well known.

What Do Academic Physicians Think of Tai Chi? A Qualitative Study.

Although there is extensive evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that Tai Chi maintains health, prevents injury, and mitigates the effects of a number of chronic diseases, it appears that physicians do not commonly recommend it. The objective of this study was to understand academic physicians' views on Tai Chi and why there is an apparent gap between the evidence on Tai Chi and its application in practice. A qualitative study was conducted using purposive and snowball sampling and semistructured interviews with 15 academic physicians in 6 countries: Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the United States.

Health benefits of tai chi: What is the evidence?

Objective: To summarize the evidence on the health benefits of tai chi.

Sources Of Information: A literature review was conducted on the benefits of tai chi for 25 specific conditions, as well as for general health and fitness, to update a 2014 review of systematic reviews. Systematic reviews and recent clinical trials were assessed and organized into 5 different groups: evidence of benefit as excellent, good, fair, or preliminary, or evidence of no direct benefit.

Influenza serological studies to inform public health action: best practices to optimise timing, quality and reporting.

Background: Serological studies can detect infection with a novel influenza virus in the absence of symptoms or positive virology, providing useful information on infection that goes beyond the estimates from epidemiological, clinical and virological data. During the 2009 A(H1N1) pandemic, an impressive number of detailed serological studies were performed, yet the majority of serological data were available only after the first wave of infection. This limited the ability to estimate the transmissibility and severity of this novel infection, and the variability in methodology and reporting limited the ability to compare and combine the serological data.

The costs of preventing the spread of respiratory infection in family physician offices: a threshold analysis.

Background: Influenza poses concerns about epidemic respiratory infection. Interventions designed to prevent the spread of respiratory infection within family physician (FP) offices could potentially have a significant positive influence on the health of Canadians. The main purpose of this paper is to estimate the explicit costs of such an intervention.

Integrating public health and primary care.

Purpose: Improved health and social outcomes would be possible with better coordination and collaboration between public health and primary care. The purpose of this study is to identify linkages between these health sectors with the aim of informing a forward-looking policy approach to integrate public health functions in primary care.

Methods: We searched national and international journals and the grey literature for relevant papers and reports published from January 1999 to December 2003.

Promoting best practices for control of respiratory infections: collaboration between primary care and public health services.

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of a short-term intervention to promote best practices for control of respiratory infections in primary care physicians' offices.

Design: Before-after observational study.

Setting: Family physicians' offices in Ottawa, Ont.

Enhancing public health response to respiratory epidemics: are family physicians ready and willing to help?

Objective: To describe Ottawa family physicians' perceptions of their preparedness to respond to outbreaks of infectious diseases or other public health emergencies and to assess their capacity and willingness to assist in the event of such emergencies.

Design: Cross-sectional self-administered survey conducted between February 11 and March 10, 2004.

Setting: The City of Ottawa, Ont, and the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Ottawa.

Controlling droplet-transmitted respiratory infections: best practices and cost.

Objective: To promote incorporation of new guidelines on control of respiratory infections into family physicians' practices.

Sources Of Information: The World Health Organization website on pandemic influenza, the Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan, the Ontario guidelines on respiratory infection control, and research on implementing guidelines into family practice were reviewed. We also researched and calculated what the costs of implementing the guidelines would be.

A process evaluation of an intervention to improve respiratory infection control practices in family physician offices.

Objective: To conduct a process evaluation of a short-term intervention by public nurses for physicians to facilitate the incorporation of new respiratory infection control practices in physicians' offices.

Design: Process evaluation.

Setting: Family physician offices in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

What does the public think of placebo use? The Canadian experience.

Part of the National Placebo Initiative in Canada included public consultations, based on the belief that the views of the public should inform Canadian policy development on what constitutes appropriate placebo use. Public consultations took place nationally in 2003. A deliberative dialogue approach was used, or a structured discussion format designed to facilitate the consideration of complex issues and build consensus.