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.

"Whatever Job I'm In, I'm Going to Find a Way to Make a Difference" - A Black Community Leader's Perspective on Engagement and Advocacy.

Camille Orridge is a patient and community-focused healthcare leader who has passionately and tirelessly worked for more than 50 years to address systemic barriers in the healthcare system, creating innovative equitable health solutions for underserved populations. She has founded a number of key initiatives, including Pathways to Education, the Canadian Home Care Association and the Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention (Black CAP) and has served on numerous boards, as a volunteer and in her capacity as the CEO of the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network. In this oral history narrative, Camille reflects on her extensive 50-year journey as a healthcare advocate, identifying victories but also areas that continue to be barriers for historically marginalized communities, such as Black communities.

Person-centered care for common mental disorders in Ontario's primary care patient-centered medical homes: a qualitative study of provider perspectives.

Background: For more than a decade, the Patient-Centered Medical Home model has been a guiding vision for the modernization of primary care systems. In Canada, Ontario's Family Health Teams (FHTs) were designed in the mid-2000s with the medical home model in mind. These primary care clinics aim to provide accessible, comprehensive, and person-centered primary care services to communities across Ontario.

A qualitative study on the Virtual Emergency Department care experiences of equity-deserving populations.

Patients from equity-deserving populations, such as those who are from racialized communities, the 2SLGBTQI+ community, who are refugees or immigrants, and/or who have a disability, may experience a unique set of challenges accessing virtual models of care. The objective of this qualitative study was to describe the experiences of patients from equity-deserving communities and their family members who received care from a Virtual Emergency Department (ED) in Toronto, Canada. Forty-three participants (36 patients and 7 family caregivers) with different and intersecting identities who used the Virtual ED participated in the study.

"Dual Pandemics": Intersecting Influences of Anti-Black Racism and the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of Black Youth.

Background: The intersection of the COVID-19 pandemic with systemic anti-Black racism in the form of police violence and the subsequent Black Lives Matter movement has created an especially critical juncture to examine the mental health of Black youth.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand the intersecting impacts of anti-Black racism and the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of Black youth.

Methods: A youth-engaged research approach and intersectionality framework were utilized.

Nurturing an organizational context that supports team-based primary mental health care: A grounded theory study.

Background: The expansion of the Patient-Centred Medical Home model presents a valuable opportunity to enhance the integration of team-based mental health services in primary care settings, thereby meeting the growing demand for such services. Understanding the organizational context of a Patient-Centred Medical Home is crucial for identifying the facilitators and barriers to integrating mental health care within primary care. The main objective of this paper is to present the findings related to the following research question: "What organizational features shape Family Health Teams' capacity to provide mental health services for depression and anxiety across Ontario, Canada?"

Methods: Adopting a constructivist grounded theory approach, we conducted interviews with various mental health care providers, and administrators within Ontario's Family Health Teams, in addition to engaging provincial policy informants and community stakeholders.

Access to Virtual Mental Healthcare and Support for Refugee and Immigrant Groups: A Scoping Review.

Immigrant and refugee populations face multiple barriers to accessing mental health services. This scoping review applies the (Levesque et al. in Int J Equity Health 12:18, 2013) Patient-Centred Access to Healthcare model in exploring the potential of increased access through virtual mental healthcare services VMHS for these populations by examining the affordability, availability/accommodation, and appropriateness and acceptability of virtual mental health interventions and assessments.

Patients, Caregivers, and Healthcare Providers' Experiences with COVID Care and Recovery across the Care Continuum: A Qualitative Study.

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, discharge timelines were accelerated and patients were moved across the continuum of care, from acute to post-acute care, to relieve the strain in health system capacity. This study aimed to investigate the COVID-19 care pathway from the perspective of patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers to understand their experiences with care and recovery within and across care settings.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive study.

Cultural adaptation considerations of a comprehensive housing outreach program for Indigenous youth exiting homelessness.

Generalist health interventions that aim to reduce chronic health disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations can be culturally adapted to better meet the needs of Indigenous people in Canada; however, little is known regarding best practices in implementing these adaptations. The present study first provides a review of the research process used to adapt a previous evidence-based housing initiative for Indigenous youth in Northwestern Ontario. Second, it includes an overview of the adaptations that were made and the associated rationale for such adaptations.

Housing Satisfaction Among Older Adults Living in Low-Income Seniors' Housing.

Tenant experience surveys are a key tool for social housing landlords to gauge their success in providing high quality housing. This paper examines feedback from a tenant experience survey facilitated in a low-income housing seniors' housing community to: (1) examine their perceptions of their housing across key domains related to tenant satisfaction; and (2) identify opportunities they felt would improve their housing experience. A total of 1,114 households completed the survey.

The missing link: creating opportunities for older people to participate in academic conferences.

Including people with lived experience in knowledge co-creation and sharing processes is critical for enhancing the value and quality of health and social care research. In this brief report, we reflect on a collaboration between researchers and older people to judge a student poster competition at a virual seniors housing conference. We describe the steps taken to facilitate the judging process and present five recommendations to foster meaningful partnerships with older people at academic conferences and increase opportunities for emerging and established gerontological researchers to involve older people in their work.

'When the bedbugs come, that's another problem': exploring the lived experiences of bedbug infestations among low-income older adults and service providers who support them.

Aims: Older adults in low-income housing communities are more vulnerable to bedbug infestations. Prior research, however, has predominately focused on the effectiveness of integrated pest-management strategies, with little attention given to the lived experiences of tenants struggling with infestations. We used a qualitative approach to explore what it is like to live with and treat bedbug infestations from the perspectives of low-income older adults and service providers.

Designing and Implementing a New Seniors Services Coordinator Role for Low-Income Housing: A Qualitative Study.

Older adults living in social housing are disproportionally impacted by poverty, social isolation, and chronic health conditions that negatively impact their housing stability. In response, service coordination models of care that provide proactive case management have seen widespread adoption across low-income seniors housing communities. We examined the design and implementation of a new "seniors services coordinator" (SSC) role that was introduced by a social housing provider in Toronto, Canada.

South Asian youth mental health in Peel Region, Canada: Service provider perspectives.

The Peel Region of Toronto, Canada is home to over a third of the province's South Asian population. Youth are at a vulnerable time period in terms of their mental health. South Asian youth populations may face additional challenges to their mental health such as acculturative stress, intergenerational conflict, and racism and discrimination.

Advancing Curriculum Development and Design in Health Professions Education: A Health Equity and Inclusion Framework for Education Programs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing health inequities in vulnerable and marginalized patient populations. Continuing professional development (CPD) can be a critical driver of change to improve quality of care, health inequities, and system change. In order for CPD to address these disparities in care for patient populations most affected in the health care system, CPD programs must first address issues of equity and inclusion in their education development and delivery.

Assessing Virtual Mental Health Access for Refugees during the COVID-19 Pandemic Using the Levesque Client-Centered Framework: What Have We Learned and How Will We Plan for the Future?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health services rapidly transitioned to virtual care. Although such services can improve access for underserved populations, they may also present unique challenges, especially for refugee newcomers. This study examined the multidimensional nature of access to virtual mental health (VMH) care for refugee newcomers during the COVID-19 pandemic, using Levesque et al.

Toward equity-oriented cancer care: a Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) protocol to promote equitable access to lung cancer screening.

Background: Screening for lung cancer with low dose CT can facilitate the detection of early-stage lung cancers that are amenable to treatment, reducing mortality related to lung cancer. Individuals are considered eligible for lung cancer screening if they meet specific high-risk criteria, such as age and smoking history. Population groups that are at highest risk of lung cancer, and therefore, the target of lung cancer screening interventions, are also the least likely to participate in lung cancer screening.

Who Deserves Health Care in a Global Pandemic?

The COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity for reflection on universal health coverage. We look at the case of the province of Ontario, Canada, which expanded health care entitlement during the pandemic to people not normally eligible for coverage, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status. We use the concept of health-related deservingness to examine why certain groups of people are deemed undeserving and are excluded in ordinary times but included in extraordinary times.

Subjective housing stability in the transition away from homelessness.

Housing stability is a complex concept to measure. One set of factors under consideration are those based on a personal or subjective sense of stability. We explore the variables associated with subjective stability and explore how subjective stability relates to housing stability across time.

Protocol for a multi-phase, mixed methods study to develop and evaluate culturally adapted CBT to improve community mental health services for Canadians of south Asian origin.

Background: Canadians of South Asian (SA) origin comprise the largest racialized group in Canada, representing 25.6% of what Statistics Canada terms "visible minority populations". South Asian Canadians are disproportionately impacted by the social determinants of health, and this can result in high rates of mood and anxiety disorders.