Housing is a key social determinant of health. Further to this, my research will show that it is through housing that all other health determinants are fully actualized. For refugee claimant (RC) families, housing is the most immediate and pressing need upon their arrival in Canada. The objective of this exploratory qualitative study is to examine the housing experiences of refugee claimant (RC) families in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and its impact on the health, well-being, settlement and integration of this population from the perspectives of services providers. Given the increasing inflows of asylum seekers in Canada over the past few years, there is an urgent need to examine their housing experiences and subsequent impacts on health and well-being. Using purposive sampling, seven service providers from five different refugee centres and family shelters in the GTHA were recruited. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted, recorded, transcribed, and then analyzed thematically. Findings demonstrate that accessing both emergency and permanent housing upon arrival is particularly difficult for RCs, given that the demand for housing continues to surpass availability in the emergency shelter system and private housing market in the GTHA. In their search for permanent housing, many RCs rely on the private housing market, where discrimination and affordability are common barriers. With an uneven and difficult trajectory towards housing access, many RCs face health issues associated with stress, poverty, and homelessness, which disrupt their settlement and integration in Canada. This research concludes by offering recommendations for policy and program level changes to improve refugee housing access in the GTHA. These recommendations include increasing service provision capacity in shelters, expanding transitional housing options for RCs, increasing investments in subsidized housing, limiting government involvement in REITS and increasing incentives to build more subsidized housing. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

In general, an individual commands a salary in return for their contribution to the production process at their place of employment. In the case of a quarterback for a National Football League team, the salary he commands depends on how much the team's owner expects him to contribute to the team and how unique his talents and services are. The salary of the quarterback is negotiated between the quarterback and the team and will vary greatly depending on the relative strengths of each side's bargaining position. The bilateral oligopoly provides a useful way to view how salaries are determined. This thesis uses an econometric model to explore the bilateral oligopoly framework for determining quarterback salaries. Within this framework, there are a set of on-field performance variables (related to the quarterback and the team) and off-field financial variables (related to the team) that are used to negotiate a quarterback's salary. This paper characterizes the quarterback-team relationship by identifying those variables that effect quarterback salaries. / Master of Arts

Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) play a crucial role in healthcare outcomes, yet identifying them from unstructured patient data remains a challenge. This research explores the potential of Large Language Models (LLMs) for automated SDOH identification from patient notes. We propose a general framework for SDOH screening that is simple and straightforward. We leverage existing SDOH datasets, adapting and combining them to create a more comprehensive benchmark for this task, addressing the research gap of limited datasets. Using the benchmark and proposed framework, we conclude by conducting several preliminary experiments exploring and comparing promising LLM system implementations. Our findings highlight the potential of LLMs for automated SDOH screening while emphasizing the need for more robust datasets and evaluation frameworks. / Master of Science / Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) have been shown to significantly impact health outcomes and are seen as a major contributor to global health inequities. However, their use within the healthcare industry is still significantly under emphasized, largely due to the difficulty of manually identifying SDOH factors. While previous works have explored automated approaches for SDOH identification, they lack standardization, data transparency and robustness, and are largely outdated compared to the latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) approaches. Therefore, in this work we propose a holistic framework for automated SDOH identification. We also present a higher quality SDOH benchmark, merging existing publicly available datasets, standardizing them, and cleaning them for errors. With this benchmark, we then conducted experiments to gain greater insights into the best performance across different state-of-the-art AI approaches. Through this work, we contribute a better way to think about automated SDOH screening systems, the first publicly accessible multi-clinic and multi-annotator benchmark, as well as greater insights into the latest AI approaches for state-of-the-art results.

Yes / If global palliative care is to successfully address challenges of unequal access, continuity of care, and health services reductionism, new practice models to address these issues need to be identified, debated and tested. This paper offers one such practice model based on a public health approach to palliative care that has so far shown promising evidence of effectiveness. Methods: We describe how four essential elements within a public health model can work together to address quality and continuity of care as well as addressing the numerous barriers of access. These elements are: (I) specialist, and (II) generalist palliative care services working with (III) communities and neighbourhoods, working in their turn with their (IV) key civic institutions. Results: The positive and negative impact and advantages of each of these elements is described and discussed. Conclusions: A solely clinical model of palliative care is inadequate to addressing the multiple comorbidities and access issues characteristic of modern palliative care. A public health approach based on a close partnership between clinical services and communities/civic institutions is the optimal practice model.

Yes / This study aimed to explore more on contributing factors and prevention of overweight and obesity among Pacific islanders. Methods: Using Cochrane library guideline, four electronic databases, PubMed, Embase, Scopus and CINAHL, were systematically searched from 2010 to 2020. Search strategy included key concepts, free text terms, and database-controlled vocabulary terms to identify articles on determinants and preventative strategies of overweight and obesity in the Pacific countries. A data extraction sheet was developed to extract relevant information required for analysis and theme development for this study. Results: A total of 22 articles were summarized and categorized. Determinants of overweight and obesity identified two themes: environmental related factors 13.6% (3/22) and sociocultural related factors 27.3% (6/22). The preventative strategies of overweight and obesity was categorized into behavioural change 22.7% (5/22), school-related 18.2% (4/22), and policies 50% (11/22). The quality assessment of articles showed “Good” 68.2% (15/22), and “Fair” 31.8% (7/22). Conclusion: This study highlighted two contributing, non-medication factors affecting overweight and obesity are both environmental and socio-cultural issues. Overweight and obesity preventative strategies identified in the Pacific context considered behavioural change, knowledge enhancement, and policy development. Further research should aim at exploring the current preventative strategies in-depth, to appreciate the most feasible and recommended preventative approach within the Pacific society.

Yes / Reviewing job satisfaction is crucial as it has an impact on a person's physical and mental wellbeing, as well as leading to a better organizational commitment of employees that enhances the organizations succession and progress as well as better staff retention. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of job satisfaction amongst Dental Health Professionals (DHPs) in Fiji and associated factors. This study used a phenomenological qualitative method approach commencing from August to November, 2021. The target group for this study were the DHPs who provide prosthetic services. This study was conducted among DHPs from 4 purposively selected clinics in Fiji. A semi- structured open-ended questionnaire was used to collect data. Thematic analysis was used to transcribe and analyze the audio qualitative data collected from the interviews. Twenty-nine DHPs took part in the in-depth interview and the responses were grouped into three themes. The findings from the study indicate that DHPs are most satisfied with their teamwork and the relationship they have with their colleagues and co-workers, followed by the nature of the work and the supervision they received. The participants indicated that they were less satisfied with professional development opportunities and least satisfied with their pay and organizational support they receive. The results of this study have identified gaps and areas for improvement of job satisfaction for DHPs who provide prosthetic services in Fiji such as need for more career and professional development pathways, improved infrastructure to support prosthetic service delivery in Fiji and improve remuneration for DHPs. Understanding the factors that affect satisfaction levels and being able to act accordingly are likely to lead to positive outcomes both for DHPs and their organization.

Yes / The COVID-19 pandemic, whose origin was established to be in China, wreaked havoc across the world infecting and killing huge numbers of people. Healthcare workers (HCWs) were affected in many ways especially mentally. The study aims at establishing how anxiety affected HCWs in Europe. Methodology: A systematic review study was carried out based on the Prefrred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) using five databases. The search period was from September 27th to December 7, 2021, and 2326 articles were yielded. Of these, 22 met the inclusion criteria. All the data was inputted onto a data extraction sheet and thematic analysis was carried out on the study outcomes to identify themes. Results: It was established that there was a significant increase in anxiety among HCWs in Europe. It was likewise found that there were non-modifiable (sex and age) and modifiable (nature of work, vulnerability, comorbidities, workload, social factors and geographical location) risk factors for anxiety among the workers. Young female HCWs were found to have a higher prevalence of anxiety compared to male health workers. Anxiety is also associated with other mental health issues as well as suicidal thoughts. Conclusion: There was a marked increase in anxiety among HCWs in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health during disease emergencies should be a priority in terms of policy among healthcare employers. There is a need for further research in this area of mental health to build more evidence that informs policy.

BACKGROUND: Behavioral risk factors are known to co-occur among youth, and to increase risks of chronic diseases morbidity and mortality later in life. However, little is known about determinants of multiple chronic disease behavioral risk factors, particularly among youth. Previous studies have been cross-sectional and carried out without a sound theoretical framework. METHODS: Using longitudinal data (n = 1135) from Cycle 4 (2000-2001), Cycle 5 (2002-2003) and Cycle 6 (2004-2005) of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, a nationally representative sample of Canadian children who are followed biennially, the present study examines the influence of a set of conceptually-related individual/social distal variables (variables situated at an intermediate distance from behaviors), and individual/social ultimate variables (variables situated at an utmost distance from behaviors) on the rate of occurrence of multiple behavioral risk factors (physical inactivity, sedentary behavior, tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, and high body mass index) in a sample of children aged 10-11 years at baseline. Multiple behavioral risk factors were assessed using a multiple risk factor score. All statistical analyses were performed using SAS, version 9.1, and SUDAAN, version 9.01. RESULTS: Multivariate longitudinal Poisson models showed that social distal variables including parental/peer smoking and peer drinking (Log-likelihood ratio (LLR) = 187.86, degrees of freedom (DF) = 8, p < .001), as well as individual distal variables including low self-esteem (LLR = 76.94, DF = 4, p < .001) increased the rate of occurrence of multiple behavioral risk factors. Individual ultimate variables including age, sex, and anxiety (LLR = 9.34, DF = 3, p < .05), as well as social ultimate variables including family socioeconomic status, and family structure (LLR = 10.93, DF = 5, p = .05) contributed minimally to the rate of co-occurrence of behavioral risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest targeting individual/social distal variables in prevention programs of multiple chronic disease behavioral risk factors among youth.

Charles University in Prague Faculty of Social Sciences Institute of Economic Studies Master's thesis Trade and Politics: Political Determinants of International Trade Flows Author: Bc. Jan Sosnovec Supervisor: Ing. Vilém Semerák, M.A., Ph.D. January 3, 2018 Abstract This thesis takes a comprehensive look at the relationship between international trade and politics. The first part of this thesis is theoretical. Besides providing a useful overview of this highly complex subject, it makes a contribution to the contemporary theory by proposing two simple models. The first of these models explains how because of complementarity of institutions, countries end up stuck with inefficient institutions and consequently high trade costs; countries can break out of this inefficient equilibrium only by coordinating their actions. The second proposed model shows how governments set trade barriers in order to pursue their political aims, while at the same time staying popular in order to remain in power. This model is consistent with a wide variety of regime types and ideologies, and takes into account voter heterogeneity. The second part of this thesis is empirical. It uses the gravity model of trade, with multilateral resistance terms represented either by fixed effects or by the Baier-Bergstrand linear approximation of...

We investigate the effect of migration policy reforms on the number of asylum applications into 22 EU countries. This is done by using the Determinants of International Migration Policy, DEMIG policy index as a proxy for policy reforms in EU countries and the number of asylum applications from UNHCR. We perform OLS regressions with destination country fixed effects with HAC clustered standard errors. We contribute to the existing literature by using the DEMIG policy index which, to our knowledge, has not been used in earlier literature. We also thoroughly investigate the effect of migration policy, including both more restrictive and less restrictive policy. Through the investigation of the destination fixed effects, we find robust empirical evidence that migration policy does have an effect on asylum flows, which suggests, in addition to earlier literature, that migration policy is an important factor to have in consideration. Furthermore, we explore whether the push and pull factors examined in previous literature are consistent with our results. We find that the results vary, but are consistently in line with most of the earlier literature. In addition, we find that when other determinants of migration are included, the effect of migration policy diminishes.