Background: Opioid overdoses have killed almost 20,000 Canadians since 2016. To address this, Canada has established supervised consumption sites where people can use drugs in the presence of trained staff and get access to pharmacological treatments such as methadone. However, there is very little research on whether supervised consumption clients use methadone, or whether their use of methadone prevents opioid overdose. Methods: A secondary data analysis of information collected from one supervised consumption site was undertaken in order to explore relationships between client self-reported methadone dosage and subsequent observed same-day opioid overdose. Results: Statistical analysis showed no correlation between methadone usage and reduced chance of opioid overdose. However, the most common dosage of methadone reported (30mg/day) was far below the minimum therapeutic dose of methadone. Conclusion: Clients of supervised consumption sites often report being prescribed methadone, but not at a dose high enough to reduce opioid overdose.

This dissertation examines whether place matters for Americans’ pessimism about the American Dream and if so, how place matters. First, I establish that place (conceptualized in terms of region and size of place) influences individual-level pessimism about the American Dream. Pessimism about the American Dream is measured with a General Social Survey (GSS) question on chances of improving one’s standard of living. I then use GSS data to analyze whether individual-level characteristics (race, sex, age, income, unemployment, educational attainment, marital status, and homeownership) help explain the influence of place on pessimism about the American Dream when respondents are nested in their county of residence; in other words, whether place matters because different places have different compositions of people. Next, I use GSS data merged with IPUMS USA (IPUMS) data to analyze whether county-level characteristics (race, sex, age, income, unemployment, educational attainment, marital status, and homeownership) help explain the influence of place on pessimism about the American Dream when respondents are nested in their county of residence; in other words, whether place matters because different places have different contexts. Finally, using the merged data, I analyze the interactions of the individual-level and county-level characteristics when respondents are nested in their county of residence; in other words, whether place matters differently for different people. While I am not able to quantify how much composition and/or context explain the influence of place on pessimism about the American Dream, I find that that different compositions of people in different places contributes to the influence of living in the Midwest compared to the Northeast. I also find that different age contexts in different places contribute to the influence of living in the Midwest compared to the Northeast, the influence of living in the West compared to the Northeast, and the influence of size of place (living in a suburban, exurban, micropolitan, and/or rural area compared to an urban area). County-level age is the only statistically significant county-level characteristic. My findings suggest that living in a county with a higher mean age is associated with increased odds of pessimism about the American Dream compared to living in a county with a lower mean age. I do not find any statistically significant interactions between the individual-level variables and the county-level variables. Throughout my dissertation, the influence of living in the South compared to the Northeast consistently remains statistically significant. I find that living in the South is associated with decreased odds of pessimism about the American Dream compared to living in the Northeast and that composition and context do not explain the influence of living in the South on pessimism about the America Dream. My findings suggest that the influence of living in the South on pessimism about the American Dream may be due to collective explanations, such as shared norms and values in the region. / Sociology

No description available.

Childhood obesity is a prevalent problem in the United States. Obesity increases the risk for many diseases. Obese children are likely to become obese adults with additional comorbidities. Studies have reported mixed findings regarding associations between reading nutrition labels and improved dietary behaviors/healthy weight status. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the frequency of children reading nutrition labels is related to frequency of performing 12 dietary behaviors. De-identified baseline data from a previous quasiexperimental pilot study were analyzed. Data were collected from 4th and 5th graders (n = 42) at an after-school program. An adapted paper survey was administered to the children to measure the number of days (0–7) they read nutrition labels and performed 12 dietary behaviors over the preceding week. Due to non-normal distribution of data, non-parametric Spearman rho correlations were conducted to determine relationships between frequency of reading nutrition labels and dietary behaviors. Positive correlations were found between frequency of reading nutrition labels and eating fruit for breakfast; eating vegetables at lunch/dinner; eating whole grain/multigrain bread (p < .05); eating fruit for a snack; eating vegetables for a snack (p < .01). Frequency of reading nutrition labels was inversely related to drinking soda/sugar-sweetened beverages (p < .05). Significant relationships were found between frequency of reading nutrition labels and several dietary behaviors associated with childhood obesity prevention. Findings are promising and support the need for further intervention research to determine potential direct influences of children reading nutrition labels on dietary behaviors.

The purpose of this thesis was to determine the relationships between gender or sex with mobility in middle aged and older community-dwelling adults with chronic conditions. Study one was a systematic review of published literature on whether gender or sex predict mobility in middle aged and older adults with chronic conditions in community-dwelling setting. Study two was a secondary analysis study (data from a randomized controlled trial where there were no statistically significant differences between rehabilitation intervention group and control group) to determine whether age and sex predict self-reported and performance-based mobility-related outcomes in community-dwelling middle and older aged adults with chronic conditions. This relationship was also examined in the context of sociodemographic and comorbidity variables. The information gained from these studies could be used to inform and guide future research and prevention intervention programs for people with risk of mobility limitation. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

<b>Introduction:</b> Health-related websites have developed to be much more than information sites: they are used to exchange experiences and find support as well as information and advice. It is important that health professionals and website developers understand how content may impact users. This thesis documents the development and application of a tool to measure the impact of using health-related websites which contain experiential and/or factual information. <b>Methods:</b> A multi-method study with five stages. Stage 1: Questionnaire items based upon themes relating to the impact of using health-related websites were constructed following qualitative secondary analysis of 93 interviews relating to patient and carer experiences of health and a recent literature review. Items were assessed by an expert panel. Stage 2: Cognitive interviews were carried out to confirm acceptability of items. Stage 3: Item reduction steps were used to reduce the number of items. Stage 4: The validity and reliability of the remaining items were tested using traditional and modern psychometric methods. Stage 5: The new questionnaire was piloted in a randomised controlled trial. <b>Results:</b> Eighty-two items were constructed according to the key themes identified in Stage 1. Following expert and patient refinement, two independent item pools entered psychometric testing. The first item pool related to general views of using the internet in relation to health and the second item pool related to the impact of using a specific health-related website. Sub-scales and summary scores were found to have high construct validity, internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The questionnaire showed high completion rates and low counts of missing data in a trial setting. <b>Conclusion:</b> Analysis confirmed good psychometric properties in the eHIQ-Part 1 (11 items) and the eHIQ-Part 2 (26 items). Preliminary findings of trial data demonstrate the acceptability and feasibility of including the eHIQ in randomised controlled trials. This tool will enable the measurement of the impact of health-related websites containing various styles of information and support across a range conditions and facilitate their accurate evaluation in clinical trials.

<p>This study is located within the theoretical framework of construct validation theory. Data for this Secondary Data Analysis study was drawn from the &ldquo / Impact of Hope and Exposure to Community Violence on children&rsquo / s perception of Well-being&rdquo / study. The primary study employed stratified interval criterion sampling to select 565 grade 9 learners, aged 14-18 from six public schools. The dataset for the current study comprised all participants (N=565) of the broader study. As the initial step in validation of the KIDSCREEN-52 within South Africa, the current study examined the factor structure of the KIDSCREEN-52 within this context by means of exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis with oblimin rotations. It also assessed the internal consistency reliability of each of the scales using Cronbach&rsquo / s alpha. Exploratory factor analysis revealed the same 10 factors as identified by previous European studies with some deviation in the last two factors, which warrants further examination. Internal consistency of the measure was shown to be acceptable, with Cronbach&rsquo / s alpha values ranging from 0.76 to 0.81 for the 10 scales.</p>

<p>This study is located within the theoretical framework of construct validation theory. Data for this Secondary Data Analysis study was drawn from the &ldquo / Impact of Hope and Exposure to Community Violence on children&rsquo / s perception of Well-being&rdquo / study. The primary study employed stratified interval criterion sampling to select 565 grade 9 learners, aged 14-18 from six public schools. The dataset for the current study comprised all participants (N=565) of the broader study. As the initial step in validation of the KIDSCREEN-52 within South Africa, the current study examined the factor structure of the KIDSCREEN-52 within this context by means of exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis with oblimin rotations. It also assessed the internal consistency reliability of each of the scales using Cronbach&rsquo / s alpha. Exploratory factor analysis revealed the same 10 factors as identified by previous European studies with some deviation in the last two factors, which warrants further examination. Internal consistency of the measure was shown to be acceptable, with Cronbach&rsquo / s alpha values ranging from 0.76 to 0.81 for the 10 scales.</p>

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / The absence of a suitable measure to assess the health related quality of life (HRQoL) of children and adolescents in South Africa, led to the use of the KIDSCREEN-52 questionnaire in this study. This questionnaire was developed and standardised in Europe and it assesses quality of life from the subjective perception of children and adolescents in terms of their physical, mental and social well-being. The use of assessment measures with different populations or in different milieu from the original standardisation context necessitates establishing the validity of such measures for the new utilization context. Thus, the aim of this quantitative study is specifically directed at examining the construct validity of the KIDSCREEN-52 within a South African context. Accordingly, this study is located within the theoretical framework of construct validation theory. Data for this Secondary Data Analysis study was drawn from the “Impact of Hope and Exposure to Community Violence on children’s perception of Well-being” study. The primary study employed stratified interval criterion sampling to select 565 grade 9 learners, aged 14-18 from six public schools. The dataset for the current study comprised all participants (N=565) of the broader study. As the initial step in validation of the KIDSCREEN-52 within South Africa, the current study examined the factor structure of the KIDSCREEN-52 within this context by means of exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis with oblimin rotations. It also assessed the internal consistency reliability of each of the scales using Cronbach’s alpha. Exploratory factor analysis revealed the same 10 factors as identified by previous European studies with some deviation in the last two factors, which warrants further examination. Internal consistency of the measure was shown to be acceptable, with Cronbach’s alpha values ranging from 0.76 to 0.81 for the 10 scales. / South Africa