Health Reports

A Canadian peer-reviewed journal of population health and health services research

December 2022

The role of neighbourhood environments in hospitalization risk for diabetes and related conditions: A population-based cohort analysis by remoteness and deprivation indices

by Neeru Gupta, Dan Lawson Crouse, Pablo Miah and Tim Takaro

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in adults is increasing in Canada and worldwide because of population aging as well as various social, environmental and genetic factors. Diabetes is a chronic disease that frequently co-exists with other conditions, and can result in a wide range of acute and long-term complications that may lead to physical and mental limitations, disabilities, and the need for costly hospital services. It has long been suggested, however, that many diabetes-related hospitalizations can be avoided or delayed through appropriate primary and community-based care. Given the rising health and economic burden of diabetes to families, communities, workplaces and healthcare systems, interest is growing in research on patients’ social characteristics, such as risk and protective factors for hospitalization for diabetes and other ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) that could serve to help inform policy options to reduce health disparities. Until recently, epidemiological studies on diabetes tended to focus on potential individual-level predictors of incidence or prevalence of the disease and its control, but it is increasingly recognized that neighbourhood socioeconomic and physical environmental factors may also contribute to inequities in adverse health outcomes. Different features of where people live may influence the distribution of risk factors, such as chronic stressors, food insecurity, tobacco environments, poverty concentration and quality of healthcare.

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Adolescent social media use and its association with relationships and connections: Canadian Health Behaviour in School-aged Children, 2017/2018

by Suzy-Lai Wong, Nathan King, Geneviève Gariépy, Valerie Michaelson, Olivia Canie, Matthew King, Wendy Craig, and William Pickett

Strong, positive relationships are critical to the healthy development of adolescents in their transition to adulthood. Positive relationships buffer against negative social influences, foster the formation of identity, support the development of social skills and self-esteem, and assist young people in establishing autonomy. Qualities of healthy and unhealthy adolescent relationships can be measured in diverse manners. Sometimes they are measured in terms of the extent of the connections young people have with the people surrounding them and their environment, whether these connections are to oneself, others, nature and the land, or the transcendent. Alternatively, they can be measured in terms of the strengths of the social supports to which young people have access, including those emergent from family, peer groups, schools and the broader community. Despite how they are conceived and what aspects of development they support, positive and healthy relationships during adolescence act as positive assets leading to better self-reported health, higher life satisfaction and fewer health complaints. Supportive relationships are also strongly protective against the effects of structural inequalities in determinants of health, such as poverty and other forms of deprivation.

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Sociodemographic and endogenous factors associated with access to eye care in Canada, 2016 to 2019

by Philippe Finès

Eye health is an indicator of health in general, and of quality of life in particular. A comprehensive eye exam, with the advantage of being non-invasive, may detect potential diseases that might later be confirmed through a more specific exam. Generally, vision problems or eye diseases increase the need for eye care. The eye care professional is thus an important health care provider. Most guidelines recommend having an eye exam once a year for people aged 6 to 18 or 65 years and older, as well as for those with diabetes or an eye disease. For healthy people aged 19 to 64, one visit per two years is considered sufficient.

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Sociodemographic disparities in COVID-19 vaccine uptake and vaccination intent in Canada

by Mireille Guay, Aubrey Maquiling, Ruoke Chen, Valérie Lavergne, Donalyne-Joy Baysac, Jackie Kokaua, Catherine Dufour, Eve Dubé, Shannon E. MacDonald and Nicolas L. Gilbert

Canada’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign began on December 14, 2020, with the arrival of a limited number of doses that were prioritized for high-risk populations identified by Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), such as the elderly, residents and staff of congregate living settings, frontline health care workers, and Indigenous populations. As vaccines became more widely available, provinces and territories considered NACI advice and assessed their local situation to determine their vaccine rollout plans. COVID-19 vaccine prioritization therefore varied by province or territory, with the elderly being among the first to be vaccinated, followed by priority age groups identified by decreasing 5- or 10-year age bands. By mid-April 2021, most provinces had started vaccinating adults aged 60 years and older, except for New Brunswick (which began on April 27, 2021), Nova Scotia (April 19, 2021), and Newfoundland and Labrador (May 3, 2021). Following the establishment of the vaccination campaigns, evidence of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness has started to emerge worldwide. In Canada, studies have shown up to 95% protection against symptomatic infection and severe outcomes with various vaccine products and dose intervals. Therefore, ensuring equitable distribution and high uptake of COVID-19 vaccines is critical to protecting the population from infection, thereby reducing transmission and the risks associated with COVID-19 morbidity and mortality.

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Sociodemographic disparities in COVID-19 vaccine uptake and vaccination intent in Canada

  • Cabot J, Bushnik T. Compliance with precautions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Canada. Health Reports. 2022;33(9): DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x202200900001-eng

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