340 research outputs found

    Facilitators and barriers experienced by federal cross-sector partners during the implementation of a healthy eating campaign

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    To identify facilitators and barriers that Health Canada’s (HC) cross-sector partners experienced while implementing the Eat Well Campaign: Food Skills (EWC; 2013–2014) and describe how these experiences might differ according to distinct partner types. A qualitative study using hour-long semi-structured telephone interviews conducted with HC partners that were transcribed verbatim. Facilitators and barriers were identified inductively and analysed according partner types. Implementation of a national mass-media health education campaign. Twenty-one of HC’s cross-sector partners (food retailers, media and health organizations) engaged in the EWC. Facilitators and barriers were grouped into seven major themes: operational elements, intervention factors, resources, collaborator traits, developer traits, partnership factors and target population factors. Four of these themes had dual roles as both facilitators and barriers (intervention factors, resources, collaborator traits and developer traits). Sub-themes identified as both facilitators and barriers illustrate the extent to which a facilitator can easily become a barrier. Partnership factors were unique facilitators, while operational and target population factors were unique barriers. Time was a barrier that was common to almost all partners regardless of partnership type. There appeared to be a greater degree of uniformity among facilitators, whereas barriers were more diverse and unique to the realities of specific types of partner. Collaborative planning will help public health organizations anticipate barriers unique to the realities of specific types of organizations. It will also prevent facilitators from becoming barriers. Advanced planning will help organizations manage time constraints and integrate activities, facilitating implementation

    Full-time employment, diet quality and food skills of Canadian parents

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    Purpose : To explore the associations between full-time employment status, food skills, and diet quality of Canadian parents. Methods : A sample of Canadian parents (n = 767) were invited to complete a web-based survey that included sociodemographic variables, questions about food skills, and a validated food frequency questionnaire. Results were analyzed with linear and logistic regression models, controlling for sociodemographic variables and multiple testing. Results : After controlling for covariates and multiple testing, there were no statistically significant differences in foods skills between parents’ employment status. Time was the most reported barrier for meal preparation, regardless of work status, but was significantly greater for full-time compared with other employment status (P < 0.0001). Additionally, parents who worked full-time had lower odds of reporting food preferences or dietary restrictions (P = 0.0001) and health issues or allergies (P = 0.0003) as barriers to food preparation, compared with parents with other employment status. These results remained statistically significant even after controlling for covariates and multiple testing. Conclusions : Overall, food skills did not differ significantly between parents’ employment status. Time, however, was an important barrier for most parents, especially those working full time. To promote home-based food preparation among parents, strategies to manage time scarcity are needed.Objectif : Explorer les associations entre une situation d’emploi à temps plein, les compétences alimentaires et la qualité de l’alimentation des parents canadiens. Méthodes : Un échantillon de parents canadiens (n = 767) a été invité à répondre à un sondage Web comprenant des variables sociodémographiques, des questions sur les compétences alimentaires et un questionnaire de fréquence alimentaire validé. Les résultats ont été analysés au moyen de modèles de régression linéaire et logistique en tenant compte des variables sociodémographiques et des tests multiples. Résultats : Après avoir tenu compte des covariables et des tests multiples, aucune différence statistiquement significative n’a été observée quant aux compétences alimentaires des parents en fonction de leur situation d’emploi. Le temps était l’obstacle à la préparation des repas le plus souvent mentionné, quelle que soit la situation d’emploi, mais il était considérablement plus important chez les personnes travaillant à temps plein comparativement aux personnes ayant une autre situation d’emploi (P < 0,0001). De plus, les parents qui travaillaient à temps plein avaient moins de chances d’indiquer que leurs préférences ou restrictions alimentaires (P = 0,0001) et leurs problèmes de santé ou leurs allergies (P = 0,0003) étaient des obstacles à la préparation des aliments, comparativement aux parents se trouvant dans une autre situation d’emploi. Ces résultats sont demeurés statistiquement significatifs même après avoir tenu compte des covariables et des tests multiples. Conclusions : Dans l’ensemble, les compétences alimentaires des parents ne différaient pas de façon significative en fonction de leur situation d’emploi. Le temps était cependant un obstacle important pour la plupart des parents, surtout pour ceux qui travaillent à temps plein. Afin de favoriser la préparation des aliments à la maison par les parents, des stratégies pour les aider à gérer le manque de temps sont nécessaires

    Eating-related and psychological outcomes of a Health at Every Size intervention in health and social services centers across the province of Quebec

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    Purpose: To report the outcomes of a Health at Every Size (HAES) intervention in a real-world setting. Design: Quasi-experimental design evaluating eating behaviors and psychological factors. Setting: The HAES intervention is offered in Health and Social Services Centers in Québec (Canada). Participants: For this study, 216 women (body mass index [BMI]: 35.76 [6.80] kg/m²) who participated to the HAES intervention were compared to 110 women (BMI: 34.56 [7.30] kg/m²) from a comparison group. Intervention: The HAES intervention is composed of 14 weekly meetings provided by health professionals. It focuses on healthy lifestyle, self-acceptance, and intuitive eating. Measures: Eating behaviors (ie, flexible restraint, rigid restraint, disinhibition, susceptibility to hunger, intuitive eating, and obsessive-compulsive eating) and psychological correlates (ie, body esteem, self-esteem, and depression) were assessed using validated questionnaires at baseline, postintervention, and 1-year follow-up. Analysis: Group, time, and interaction effects analyzed with mixed models. Results: Significant group by time interactions were found for flexible restraint (P = .0400), disinhibition (P < .0001), susceptibility to hunger (P < .0001), intuitive eating (P < .0001), obsessive–compulsive eating (P < .0001), body-esteem (P < .0001), depression (P = .0057), and self-esteem (P < .0001), where women in the HAES group showed greater improvements than women in the comparison group at short and/or long term. Conclusion: The evaluation of this HAES intervention in a real-life context showed its effectiveness in improving eating-, weight-, and psychological-related variables among women struggling with weight and body image

    A health at every size intervention improves intuitive eating and diet quality in Canadian women

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    Background & aims: Health at Every Size® (HAES®) interventions focus on healthy lifestyle by promoting behavioral changes related to diet and physical activity while emphasizing self-acceptance and well-being through an empowerment and intuitive approach. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a HAES® program on intuitive eating and diet quality in women. Methods: The HAES® intervention, offered by professionals from Health and Social Services Centers in Quebec (Canada), was composed of thirteen 3-h weekly meetings and a 6-h intensive day. For this study, 216 women (1.9% normal-weight, 21.1% overweight, 77.0% obese) who took part to the HAES program were compared to 110 women (3.9% normal-weight, 23.3% overweight, 72.8% obese) from a control group (waiting list). Intuitive eating was assessed using the Intuitive Eating Scale and diet quality was evaluated through the calculation of the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) from a validated web-based self-administrated food frequency questionnaire. Measurements were performed at baseline, post-intervention, and at one-year follow-up. Results: Women who participated in the HAES® program significantly increased their intuitive eating score compared to women in the control group at post-intervention and at follow-up (group by time interaction, p = 0.0002). A significant improvement in diet quality was also observed in the HAES® group in comparison with the control group at post-intervention (group by time interaction, p = 0.0139). The intuitive eating score and the HEI score were positively associated in the HAES® group at post-intervention (r = 0.20, p = 0.0237) and one-year follow-up (r = 0.22, p = 0.0359), but no such associations were noted in the control group (post-intervention, r = 0.04, p = 0.70; one-year follow-up, r = -0.15, p = 0.30). Conclusions: The HAES® program seems effective in improving intuitive eating and also favours improvements in diet quality. However, the association between intuitive eating and diet quality remains unclear, being positive and significant only after the HAES® intervention

    Impact of sex and sex hormones on pathophysiology and progression of aortic stenosis in a murine model

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    The lesions observed in AS have been shown to be sex specific, with women presenting extensive fibrotic remodeling while men developing more calcification deposit. We thus aimed to evaluate the influence of sex and sex hormones on the pathophysiology of aortic valve stenosis (AS) in our mouse model of AS. LDLr-/- ApoB100/100 IGF-II+/- mice (n = 210) were separated in six different groups: (1) intact male (IM), (2) intact female (IF), (3) castrated male (CM), (4) ovariectomized females (OF), (5) CM with testosterone supplementation (CMT), and (6) OF with 17β-estradiol supplementation (OFE). Mice were fed a high-fat/high-sucrose/high-cholesterol diet for 6 months. Hemodynamic progression of AS was followed by transthoracic echocardiography (at 12 and 36 weeks) and analyzed in all mice alive at 36 weeks. Aortic valves were collected for histological and digital droplet PCR* analysis. Increases in peak velocity were comparable in IF and IM (24.2 ± 5.7 vs. 25.8 ± 5.3 cm/s; p = 0.68), but IF presented with less severe AS. Between the three groups of male mice, AS progression was more important in IM (increase in peak velocity: 24.2 ± 5.7 cm/s; p < 0.001) compared to CM (6.2 ± 1.4; p = 0.42), and CMT (15.1 ± 3.5; p = 0.002). In the three groups of female mice, there were no statistical differences in AS progression. Digital PCR analysis revealed an important upregulation of the osteogenic gene RunX2 in IM (p < 0.0001) and downregulation of the pro-calcifying gene ALPL in IF (p < 0.05). Male sex and testosterone play an important role in upregulation of pro-calcifying genes and hemodynamic progression of AS. However, female mice appeared to be protected against calcification, characterized by downregulation of pro-osteogenic genes, but presented a similar AS hemodynamic progressio

    Effect of age and aortic valve anatomy on calcification and haemodynamic severity of aortic stenosis

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    OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of age and aortic valve anatomy (tricuspid (TAV) vs bicuspid (BAV) aortic valve) on the relationship between the aortic valve calcification (AVC) and the haemodynamic parameters of aortic stenosis (AS) severity. METHODS: Two hundred patients with AS and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction were prospectively recruited in the PROGRESSA (Metabolic Determinants of the Progression of Aortic Stenosis) study and underwent a comprehensive Doppler echocardiography and multidetector CT (MDCT). Mean transvalvular gradient (MG) measured by Doppler echocardiography was used to assess AS haemodynamic severity and AVC was evaluated by MDCT using the Agatston method and indexed to the left ventricular outflow tract area to obtain AVC density (AVCd). All analyses were adjusted for sex. RESULTS: Thirty-nine patients had a BAV and 161 a TAV. Median age was 51 and 72 years for BAV and TAV patients, respectively. There was a modest correlation between MG and AVCd (p=0.51, p<0.0001) in the whole cohort. After dichotomisation for valve anatomy, there was a good correlation between AVCd and MG in the TAV group (p=0.61, p<0.0001) but weak correlation in the BAV group (p=0.32, p=0.046). In the TAV group, the strength of the AVCd-MG correlation was similar in younger (<72 years old; p=0.59, p<0.0001) versus older (=72 years old; p=0.61, p<0.0001) patients. In the BAV group, there was no correlation between AVCd and MG in younger patients (<51 years old; p=0.12, p=0.65), whereas there was a good correlation in older patients (=51 years old; p=0.55, p=0.009). AVCd (p=0.005) and age (p=0.02) were both independent determinants of MG in BAV patients while AVCd (p<0.0001) was the only independent determinant of MG in TAV patients. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with TAV as well as in older patients with BAV, AVCd appears to be the main factor significantly associated with the haemodynamic severity of AS and so it may be used to corroborate AS severity in case of uncertain or discordant findings at echocardiography. However, among younger patients with BAV, some may have a haemodynamically significant stenosis with minimal AVCd. The results of MDCT AVCd should thus be interpreted cautiously in this subset of patients

    Exercise Guidelines to Counteract Physical Deconditioning in Long-Term Care Facilities: What to Do and How to Do It?

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    peer reviewedWith age, older adults experience a decrease in muscle function and changes in body composition, which raise the risk of functional incapacity and loss of autonomy. These declines are more pronounced in older adults living in long-term care (LTC) facilities than those living in the community (ie, sarcopenia prevalence: ∼41% vs ∼10%; obesity prevalence: 30% vs17%). The main cause of these declines is chronic diseases, which are a driver of higher rates of sedentary behavior (85% of time in LTC). Exercise, however, is recognized to help counteract age-related decline, yet it is not integrated into clinical practice

    Accuracy of stroke volume measurement with phase-contrast cardiovascular magnetic resonance in patients with aortic stenosis

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    Background: Phase contrast (PC) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in the ascending aorta (AAo) is widely used to calculate left ventricular (LV) stroke volume (SV). The accuracy of PC CMR may be altered by turbulent fow. Measurement of SV at another site is suggested in the presence of aortic stenosis, but very few data validates the accuracy or inaccuracy of PC in that setting. Our objective is to compare fow measurements obtained in the AAo and LV outfow tract (LVOT) in patients with aortic stenosis. Methods: Retrospective analysis of patients with aortic stenosis who had CMR and echocardiography. Patients with mitral regurgitation were excluded. PC in the AAo and LVOT were acquired to derive SV. LV SV from end-systolic and end-diastolic tracings was used as the reference measure. A diference≥10% between the volumetric method and PC derived SVs was considered discordant. Metrics of turbulence and jet eccentricity were assessed to explore the predictors of discordant measurements. Results: We included 88 patients, 41% with bicuspid aortic valve. LVOT SV was concordant with the volumetric method in 79 (90%) patients vs 52 (59%) patients for AAo SV (p=0.015). In multivariate analysis, aortic stenosis fow jet angle was a strong predictor of discordant measurement in the AAo (p=0.003). Mathematical correction for the jet angle improved the concordance from 59 to 91%. Concordance was comparable in patients with bicuspid and trileafet valves (57% and 62% concordance respectively; p=0.11). Accuracy of SV measured in the LVOT was not infuenced by jet eccentricity. For aortic regurgitation quantifcation, PC in the AAo had better correlation to volumetric assessments than LVOT PC. Conclusion: LVOT PC SV in patients with aortic stenosis and eccentric jet might be more accurate compared to the AAo SV. Mathematical correction for the jet angle in the AAo might be another alternative to improve accuracy

    Towards a data sharing Code of Conduct for international genomic research

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    Data sharing is increasingly regarded as an ethical and scientific imperative that advances knowledge and thereby respects the contributions of the participants. Because of this and the ever-increasing amount of data access requests currently filed around the world, three groups have decided to develop data sharing principles specific to the context of collaborative international genomics research. These groups are: the international Public Population Project in Genomics (P3G), an international consortium of projects partaking in large-scale genetic epidemiological studies and biobanks; the European Network for Genetic and Genomic Epidemiology (ENGAGE), a research project aiming to translate data from large-scale epidemiological research initiatives into relevant clinical information; and the Centre for Health, Law and Emerging Technologies (HeLEX). We propose seven different principles and a preliminary international data sharing Code of Conduct for ongoing discussion
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