A model to measure self-assessed proficiency in electronic medical records: Validation using maturity survey data from Canadian community-based physicians.

Objective: Adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs) does not necessarily translate to proficiency -referred to here as EMR maturity. To realize the full benefit of wide scale EMR adoption, the focus must shift from adoption to advancing mature use. This calls for validated assessment models so that researchers, health system planners and digital health developers can better understand what contributes to maturity among physicians.

Objectively Measured Steps/Day in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Although individual studies have reported on the number of steps/day taken by individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), this evidence has not been systematically reviewed or synthesized.

Methods: MEDLINE and PsycINFO were searched for studies reporting objectively-measured steps/day and percent predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV%) in patients with COPD. Meta-analyses were used to estimate steps/day across studies, while metaregression was used to estimate between-study variance based on clinical and demographic factors (year and location of study, activity monitor brand, number of days wearing the monitor, whether participants were about to enter pulmonary rehabilitation, 6-minute walk distance (6MWD), FEV%, age, and sex).

Nature appropriation and associations with population health in Canada's largest cities.

Earth is a finite system with a limited supply of resources. As the human population grows, so does the appropriation of Earth's natural capital, thereby exacerbating environmental concerns such as biodiversity loss, increased pollution, deforestation and global warming. Such concerns will negatively impact human health although it is widely believed that improving socio-economic circumstances will help to ameliorate environmental impacts and improve health outcomes.

Does grade level relate to school-based youth health center utilization among male youth? Quantitative findings from a mixed-methods study in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Background: Male adolescents underutilize youth health centers' (YHC) services despite facing a variety of significant health issues. The purpose of our study was to explore adolescent males' perceptions of health service needs, utilization of YHC services, and barriers and facilitators for such utilization as a function of school grade among a sample of males from rural Nova Scotia in Canada.

Methods: A 76-item self-completion survey was developed to obtain quantitative data on male students' use and perceptions of YHCs.

Noise levels associated with urban land use.

Recent trends towards the intensification of urban development to increase urban densities and avoid sprawl should be accompanied by research into the potential for related health impacts from environmental exposure. The objective of the current study was to examine the effect of the built environment and land use on levels of environmental noise. Two different study areas were selected using a combination of small area census geography, land use information, air photography, and ground-truthing.