Individual and neighbourhood socioeconomic status increase risk of avoidable hospitalizations among Canadian adults: A retrospective cohort study of linked population health data.

Introduction: Avoidable hospitalizations refer to acute care use for conditions that should normally be managed in primary care settings. Lower socioeconomic status that is often measured using area-based indicators (e.g.

Comprehensive review of the current literature on impact of ambient air pollution and sleep quality.

Air pollution is associated with increasing morbidity, mortality and decreasing health and life span. Accumulating epidemiological and experimental evidence has shown that exposure to ambient air pollutants such as particulate matters (PM) and gaseous components [eg, nitrogen dioxide (NO), ozone (O)] has detrimental effects on sleep quality. We conducted this comprehensive review to explore the association between ambient air pollution and sleep quality.

Careful conversations: an educational video to support parents in communicating about weight with their children.

Background: Parents may struggle to initiate healthy weight-related conversations with their children. Educational videos may be an effective tool for improving parents' knowledge and self-efficacy on this topic. The aim of this pilot study was to develop an educational video to assist parents in weight-related conversations with their child, and to assess changes in parents' self-efficacy on this topic.

The effects of recreational cannabis use on glycemic outcomes and self-management behaviours in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes: a rapid review.

Background: Recent surveys of Canadian cannabis users reflect increasing consumption rates, some of whom may have diabetes. However, healthcare providers have limited information resources on the effects of recreational cannabis in people with diabetes. This rapid review was commissioned by Diabetes Canada to synthesize available evidence to guide recommendations for care of people 13 years of age and older who live with diabetes.

Providing trans-affirming care for sexual assault survivors: An evaluation of a novel curriculum for forensic nurses.

Background: Transgender (trans) persons experience high rates of sexual victimization, often face discrimination by healthcare providers, and may have unique and diverse needs post-victimization. However, there remains a lack of comprehensive trans-specific training among healthcare professionals, including nurses.

Objectives: Our primary objective was to develop and evaluate a novel curriculum for its efficacy in improving the competence of forensic nurses in providing sensitive, informed, and appropriate healthcare services for trans survivors of sexual assault.

Examining the relationship between the demand-control model and incident myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure in a representative sample of the employed women and men in Ontario, Canada, over a 15-year period.

Objectives: To examine the relationship between job strain and incident myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure in a representative population of men and women in Ontario, Canada, over a 15-year period.

Methods: A total of 14,508 respondents having provided responses to either the 2000/2001, 2002, or 2003 cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) were aged 35 and older at the time and working. After removing respondents with pre-existing heart disease and missing data, our sample totaled 13,291 respondents.

"The post-COVID era": challenges in the treatment of substance use disorder (SUD) after the pandemic.

Background: Citizens affected by substance use disorders are high-risk populations for both SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19-related mortality. Relevant vulnerabilities to COVID-19 in people who suffer substance use disorders are described in previous communications. The COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique opportunity to reshape and update addiction treatment networks.

Trace elements differences in the depression sensitive and resilient rat models.

The etiology and pathophysiology of depressive disorders remain unclear. Increasing evidences have demonstrated that trace elements such as zinc, magnesium, iron, calcium, selenium, manganese and chromium play vital roles in depressive symptoms. We used a Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress (CUMS) model to simulate social pressure in rat model and compared the levels of trace elements in the plasma and brain.

The missing link: Incorporating behaviour change theories in overdose education and naloxone distribution programs.

Current rates of opioid-related mortality have been increasing globally. An effective harm reduction program consists of overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND) programs. Incorporating both education and naloxone administration, OENDs have been reported to improve knowledge, self-efficacy and have resulted in multiple overdose reversals.

Personalized dosing of nicotine replacement therapy versus standard dosing for the treatment of individuals with tobacco dependence: study protocol for a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Medications for smoking cessation are currently only effective in helping a minority of smokers quit. Drug development is slow and expensive; as such, there is much interest in optimizing the effectiveness of existing treatments and medications. Current standard doses of nicotine replacement therapy are not effective for many smokers, and in many cases, the amount of nicotine provided is much less than when a smoker is smoking their usual number of cigarettes.

What do medical students actually need to know about artificial intelligence?

With emerging innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) poised to substantially impact medical practice, interest in training current and future physicians about the technology is growing. Alongside comes the question of what, precisely, should medical students be taught. While competencies for the clinical usage of AI are broadly similar to those for any other novel technology, there are qualitative differences of critical importance to concerns regarding explainability, health equity, and data security.

'Small communities, large oversight': The impact of recent legislative changes concerning supervised consumption services on small communities in Ontario, Canada.

The opioid epidemic continues to exert a large toll on public health across Canada, with the province of Ontario specifically experiencing exceptionally high opioid-related hospitalizations and overdoses in 2019. As a key evidence-based public health intervention to reduce these harms, over the past few years supervised consumption services (SCS), including temporary and flexible unsanctioned models, have been implemented in select cities across the province. However, in March 2019, the newly elected Ontario provincial government replaced SCS regulations with a 'streamlined' model that introduced additional bureaucratic and administrative requirements for application approval and funding, while placing a cap on the number of sites allowed.

Safety of pharmacologic interventions for neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Background: Prescribing trends suggest that pharmacologic alternatives to antipsychotics are gaining in popularity, but randomized trial (RCT) data of their comparative safety is scarce. Our objective was to describe the comparative safety of pharmacologic interventions for treating neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CINAHL, and PsycINFO, from inception to May 28, 2019, for studies of pharmacologic interventions used to treat neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia.

Sex and gender differences in technology needs and preferences among informal caregivers of persons with dementia.

Background: Dementia is a major public health concern associated with significant caregiver demands and there are technologies available to assist with caregiving. However, there is a paucity of information on caregiver needs and preferences for these technologies, particularly from a sex and gender perspective. To address this gap in research, the objectives of this study are to examine (1) the knowledge of technology, (2) perceived usefulness of technology, (3) feature preferences when installing and using technology and (4) sex and gender influences on technology needs and preferences among family caregivers of persons with dementia (PWD) across North America.

Practices of care among people who buy, use, and sell drugs in community settings.

Background: Popular perception of people who sell drugs is negative, with drug selling framed as predatory and morally reprehensible. In contrast, people who use drugs (PWUD) often describe positive perceptions of the people who sell them drugs. The "Satellite Sites" program in Toronto, Canada, provides harm reduction services in the community spaces where people gather to buy, use, and sell drugs.

Socioeconomic inequalities in hospitalizations for chronic ambulatory care sensitive conditions: a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature, 1990-2018.

Background: Hospitalizations for chronic ambulatory care sensitive conditions are an important indicator of health system equity and performance. Chronic ambulatory care sensitive conditions refer to chronic diseases that can be managed in primary care settings, including angina, asthma, and diabetes, with hospitalizations for these conditions considered potentially avoidable with adequate primary care interventions. Socioeconomic inequities in the risk of hospitalization have been observed in several health systems globally.

Urban green space and the risks of dementia and stroke.

Introduction: It is unknown whether urban green space is associated with reduced risk of major neurological conditions, especially dementia and stroke.

Methods: Retrospective, population-based cohorts were created for each study outcome, including 1.7 and 4.

Pesticide use and risk of Hodgkin lymphoma: results from the North American Pooled Project (NAPP).

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between pesticide exposures and risk of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) using data from the North American Pooled Project (NAPP).

Methods: Three population-based studies conducted in Kansas, Nebraska, and six Canadian provinces (HL = 507, Controls = 3886) were pooled to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for single (never/ever) and multiple (0, 1, 2-4, ≥ 5) pesticides used, duration (years) and, for select pesticides, frequency (days/year) using adjusted logistic regression models. An age-stratified analysis (≤ 40/ > 40 years) was conducted when numbers were sufficient.

Addressing quadruple aims through primary care and public health collaboration: ten Canadian case studies.

Background: Health systems in Canada and elsewhere are at a crossroads of reform in response to rising economic and societal pressures. The Quadruple Aim advocates for: improving patient experience, reducing cost, advancing population health and improving the provider experience. It is at the forefront of Canadian reform debates aimed to improve a complex and often-fragmented health care system.

Impact of socioeconomic status on end-of-life costs: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Socioeconomic inequalities in access to, and utilization of medical care have been shown in many jurisdictions. However, the extent to which they exist at end-of-life (EOL) remains unclear.

Methods: Studies in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, ProQuest, Web of Science, Web of Knowledge, and OpenGrey databases were searched through December 2019 with hand-searching of in-text citations.

Does physician compensation for declaration of involuntary status increase the likelihood of involuntary admission? A population-level cross-sectional linked administrative database study.

Background: There is substantial variability in involuntary psychiatric admission rates across countries and sub-regions within countries that are not fully explained by patient-level factors. We sought to examine whether in a government-funded health care system, physician payments for filling forms related to an involuntary psychiatric hospitalization were associated with the likelihood of an involuntary admission.

Methods: This is a population-based, cross-sectional study in Ontario, Canada of all adult psychiatric inpatients in Ontario (2009-2015, n = 122 851).

Reliability of the Service Trip Audit Tool to assess the quality of short-term medical missions.

Background: We aimed to assess the adherence of short-term medical missions (STMMs) operating in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to key best practices using the Service Trip Audit Tool (STAT) and to calculate the inter-rater reliability of the data points. This tool was based on a previously published inventory of 18 STMM best practices.

Methods: Programme administrators and recent volunteers from 335 North American organizations offering STMMs in LAC were invited to complete the STAT anonymously online.

Association of alkali metals and Alkaline-earth metals with the risk of schizophrenia in a Chinese population: A Case-Control study.

Alkali metals (AMs) and alkali earth metals (AEMs) affect levels and signaling of neurotransmitters, which potentially play a role in the etiology of schizophrenia (SCZ). The current case-control study aims to explore how AMs [i.e.