A prospective multi-site study to evaluate the performance and usability of an oral fluid-based HIV self-test in Canada.

Background: Blood and oral fluid-based HIV self-tests are important for reaching the undiagnosed living with HIV. The study objectives were to evaluate the oral fluid-based OraQuick® HIV Self-Test (HIV-ST) performance in comparison to laboratory reference testing; determine if laypersons can correctly perform the HIV-ST; document if intended users can successfully interpret pre-made contrived positive, negative, and invalid results; and document if intended users can understand the key messages in the product labeling.

Methods: This prospective study enrolled consenting adult intended users of HIV self-testing from six community health centres in four Canadian provinces between June 2022 and January 2024.

Examining the association between fentanyl use and perceived adequacy of methadone dose: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: People exposed to fentanyl may report that the dose of methadone in the commonly accepted therapeutic range feels too low. We examined self-reported methadone dose adequacy.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of individuals prescribed methadone at a dose of at least 60mg daily using data from three community-recruited prospective cohort studies of people who use drugs in Vancouver, Canada from December 2016 through March 2020.

Things Latinas need to plan for safety: A dual-site concept mapping study.

Background: Latina women in the United States experience intimate partner violence (IPV) at high rates, but evidence suggests Latinas seek help for IPV at lower rates than other communities. Safety planning is an approach that provides those experiencing IPV with concrete actions to increase their safety and referrals to formal services. While safety planning is shown to reduce future incidences of violence, little is known about the safety planning priorities of Latinas.

Bias in machine learning applications to address non-communicable diseases at a population-level: a scoping review.

Background: Machine learning (ML) is increasingly used in population and public health to support epidemiological studies, surveillance, and evaluation. Our objective was to conduct a scoping review to identify studies that use ML in population health, with a focus on its use in non-communicable diseases (NCDs). We also examine potential algorithmic biases in model design, training, and implementation, as well as efforts to mitigate these biases.

Trends, characteristics, and circumstances surrounding stimulant toxicity deaths in Ontario, Canada from 2018 to 2021.

Introduction: As the drug toxicity crisis continues to evolve globally, harms related to non-opioid substances, including stimulants, have risen in parallel. Our study aims were to describe trends in accidental stimulant toxicity deaths and to characterize demographic characteristics of decedents and the circumstances surrounding death.

Methods: We conducted a population-based repeated cross-sectional study, of all accidental stimulant toxicity deaths between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2021, in Ontario, Canada.

Breaking Down Bias: A Methodological Primer on Identifying, Evaluating, and Mitigating Bias in Cardiovascular Research.

Systematic error, often referred to as bias is an inherent challenge in observational cardiovascular research, and has the potential to profoundly influence the design, conduct, and interpretation of study results. If not carefully considered and managed, bias can lead to spurious results, which can misinform clinical practice or public health initiatives and compromise patient outcomes. This methodological primer offers a concise introduction to the identification, evaluation, and mitigation of bias in observational cardiovascular research studies assessing the causal association of an exposure (or treatment) on an outcome.

Barriers and facilitators of HIV partner status notification in low- and lower-middle-income countries: A mixed-methods systematic review.

Background: The uptake of HIV partner status notification remains limited in low- and lower-middle-income countries. This mixed-methods systematic review aims to summarize the barriers and facilitators of HIV partner status notification in these settings.

Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science from January 01, 2000, to August 31, 2023, for empirical qualitative and quantitative studies.

Changes in essential cancer medicines and association with cancer outcomes: an observational study of 158 countries.

Background: Cancer is a major cause of mortality worldwide, and differences in cancer mortality rates between countries are, in part, due to differences in access to cancer care, including medicines. National essential medicines lists (NEMLs) play a role in prioritization of healthcare expenditure and access to medicines. We examined the association between amenable cancer mortality and listing medicines used in the management of eight cancers (non-melanoma skin, uterine, breast, Hodgkin lymphoma, colon, leukemia, cervical, and testicular) in national essential medicines lists of 158 countries and summarized changes to the inclusion of cancer treatments in NEMLs.

Structural violence as a driver of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and low vaccine uptake among people experiencing homelessness in Toronto, Canada: A qualitative study.

Background: People experiencing homelessness are at increased risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 and of severe complications of COVID-19. Vaccination is promoted as a key strategy to protect against severe illness from SARS-CoV-2 infection, but rates of vaccination among people experiencing homelessness are lower than the general population. Studies suggest lower uptake is a result of vaccine hesitancy, but few theoretically engage with the structural drivers of vaccine hesitancy.

How Problem Gambling Shapes Activities of Daily Living: A Narrative Inquiry.

Importance: People experiencing addiction often face difficulties completing their activities of daily living (ADLs). Little research exists on how problem gambling (PG)-a serious public health issue-intersects with ADLs.

Objective: To explore how PG shapes a person's ADLs.

Fostering healthy cognitive ageing in people living with HIV.

Prevalence and incidence of HIV among people aged 50 years and older continue to rise worldwide, generating increasing awareness among care providers, scientists, and the HIV community about the importance of brain health in older adults with HIV. Many age-related factors that adversely affect brain health can occur earlier and more often among people with HIV, including epigenetic ageing, chronic medical conditions (eg, cardiovascular disease), and age-related syndromes (eg, frailty). Extensive dialogue between HIV community leaders, health-care providers, and scientists has led to the development of a multidimensional response strategy to protect and enhance brain health in people ageing with HIV that spans across public health, clinical spaces, and research spaces.

Exploring Sex, Gender, and Gender-Related Sociocultural Factors in Clinical Decision-Making for Older Adults Using a Prescribing Cascade Vignette: A Transnational Qualitative Study.

Background: Despite growing awareness of sex differences in inappropriate prescribing among older adults, including the initiation of problematic prescribing cascades, the impact of gender bias remains largely unexplored.

Objectives: We explored how a patient's sex and gender-related sociocultural factors influence physicians' prescribing decisions, potentially leading to prescribing cascades in older adults. A secondary objective was to explore whether and how physician sex affected prescribing decisions for female and male patients.

"I Don't Have Any Limits": A Qualitative Analysis of Individual Gambling Self-Control Strategies.

Despite existing knowledge on self-control strategies in the context of problem gambling, further insight is needed to understand a broader spectrum of self-control strategies among individuals who span the continuum of problem gambling. This qualitative study drew on the experiences and perceptions of individuals engaging in recreational gambling as well as those at the at-risk and problem gambling levels to explore various self-control strategies and their nuances. Thirty semi-structured interviews, guided by open-ended questions exploring how gamblers define and practice responsible gambling and their understanding of responsible gambling interventions, were conducted in Quebec, Canada.

Mobility changes following COVID-19 stay-at-home policies varied by socioeconomic measures: An observational study in Ontario, Canada.

In Canada, lower income households and essential workers were disproportionately at risk of SARS-CoV-2. Early in the pandemic, stay-at-home restriction policies were used to limit virus transmission. There remains an evidence gap in how changes in mobility, in response to the policies, varied across socioeconomic measures in Canada.

Addressing Underscreening for Cervical Cancer among South Asian Women: Using Concept Mapping to Compare Service Provider and Service User Perspectives of Cervical Screening in Ontario, Canada.

Cervical cancer is largely preventable through screening and treatment of cervical lesions. In the province of Ontario, South Asian women have some of the lowest rates of screening. The roles of service providers-those in healthcare and community services-and their interactions with screen-eligible people can greatly impact the uptake of screening.

Health Care Utilization After a Visit to a Within-Group Family Physician vs a Walk-In Clinic Physician.

Purpose: Primary care access is a key health system metric, but little research has compared models to provide primary care access when one's regular physician is not available. We compared health system use after a visit with a patient's own family physician group (ie, within-group physician who was not the patient's primary physician) vs a visit with a walk-in clinic physician who was not part of the patient's family physician group.

Methods: We conducted a population-based, retrospective cohort study using administrative data from Ontario, Canada, including all individuals formally enrolled with a family physician, from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020.

Sex differences in COVID-19 vaccine confidence in people living with HIV in Canada.

Background: Understanding the roots of vaccine confidence in vulnerable populations, such as persons living with HIV (PLWH), is important to facilitate vaccine uptake, thus mitigating infection and spread of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases. In an online survey of PLWH conducted in Canada during winter 2022 (), we reported that the overall COVID-19 vaccination uptake rate in PLWH was similar by sex. Here, we examined attitudes and beliefs towards vaccination against COVID-19 based on sex.

Publication-driven consistency in food web structures: Implications for comparative ecology.

Large collections of freely available food webs are commonly reused by researchers to infer how biological or environmental factors influence the structure of ecological communities. Although reusing food webs expands sample sizes for community analysis, this practice also has significant drawbacks. As food webs are meticulously crafted by researchers for their own specific research endeavors and resulting publications (i.

Frequency of supervised consumption service use and acute care utilization in people who inject drugs.

Background: Supervised consumption service (SCS) use among people who inject drugs may reduce acute care utilization; however, prior studies have been limited by self-reported outcomes and dichotomous exposures.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study using linked questionnaire and health administrative data among people who inject drugs in Toronto, Canada (2018-2020). Baseline SCS use frequency was defined by a participant's self-reported proportion of injections performed at an SCS over the past six months: "all/most" (≥75 %), "some" (26-74 %), "few" (1-25 %), or "none" (0 %).