Suchergebnisse

Smoking is a leading cause of death worldwide. Many nations have implemented bans on smoking in public places to try to increase national health and to relieve the economic burden caused by the deteriorating health of smokers. In 2012, Costa Rica passed similar legislation barring smoking in any area that was deemed a gathering place for people, including outdoor areas such as bus stops and parks.This project evaluated a verbal questionnaire in order to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and habits of smokers, as well as to ascertain establishment compliance, in San José and Jacó, Costa Rica. The survey was completed by 150 smokers and 54 establishments over a span of two months. General knowledge of the law was found to be at a relatively low level, with most participants only having the most basic knowledge of the specific locations in which the law prohibits smoking. However, it was also found that men were more likely to have a deeper knowledge of the law than women (p=0.02). A tendency was found between the type of smoker and the change in smoking habits after the law passed where heavy smokers diminished their tobacco use, medium smokers sustained the same use, and light smokers slightly increased their use. (p=0.19). When combining other demographic groups with their changes in smoking habits, no significant tendency was found; the law does not appear to have a direct effect on any specific subgroup. This is not for lack of proper implementation, as 81.48% of establishments had the required no smoking sign of correct size and color. The overall effectiveness of the new law in decreasing tobacco use has been minimal, regardless of education level, gender, or job type. ; El tabaquismo es una de las adiciones más mortales en el mundo. Muchos países han prohibido el uso del tabaco en lugares públicos. En 2012, Costa Rica aprobó una ley similar a los de otros países que prohíbe el fumado en lugares en que hay gente. Este investigación evaluó un cuestionario para determinar los conocimientos, actitudes, y hábitos de los fumadores, además de conocer la conformidad de los establecimientos en San José y Jacó, Costa Rica. La encuesta fue completada por 150 fumadores y 54 establecimientos. Los conocimientos generales de la ley demostraron ser muy bajos. Sin embargo, se encontró que los hombres tienen más conocimientos que las mujeres (p=0.02). Se encontró una correlación entre el tipo de fumador y los cambios en los hábitos de los fumadores después de la ley con fumadores empedernidos que disminuyeron su uso de tabaco, los fumadores del consumo medio mantuvieron su uso de tabaco, y los fumadores del consumo más bajo aumentaron ligeramente su uso de tabaco (p=0.19). La ley no parece tener un efecto directo en algún grupo demográfico específico. Esto no es por una falta de implementación ya que 81.48% de los establecimientos tuvieron los rótulos de prohibido fumar del tamaño y color correcto. En general, los efectos de la nueva ley de tabaco han sido mínimos sin una disminución grande en cualquier grupo demográfico.

IntroductionAdministrative health data (AHD) are typically not analyzed to produce evidence on the effectiveness and limitations of primary prevention programs and strategies. The value of AHD for answering research questions is generally recognized, but the challenges in accessing and using these data for research are not always know and documented.
Objectives and ApproachTo identify and advise on the facilitating factors and challenges of accessing select AHD in New Brunswick (NB) and Prince Edward Island (PEI) for the purpose of creating an intra-provincial Child Health Profile (CHP) and population-based birth cohort database, using existing AHD not been previously linked. This research is a cross-jurisdictional collaboration between NB and PEI with an integrated knowledge translation (iKT) approach that adheres to each province's unique data policies, data procedures, and data governance. The collaboration involves people in various roles: provincial government managers, policy-makers, data custodians, health practitioners, citizens, community organizations, in addition to academic researchers.
ResultsAccess to select AHD required considerable preparation, cross province coordination, and ongoing discussions over many months. Key facilitators were the NB Institute for Research, Data and Training, a newly established data repository that holds provincial AHD in NB, and the provincial health authority in PEI. In NB, the existence of well-documented protocols and support from designated personnel (including trained data analysts) were assets facilitating data access through the data repository. In PEI, REB approval was obtained more rapidly but challenges occurred in subsequent stages of data access directly through the health authority. This research supports the empowerment of stakeholders such as Public Health and researchers who are trying to leverage 'big data' resources to address research and practice questions regarding children's health.
Conclusion/ImplicationsAccessing AHD for the project was facilitated by the existence of well-documented protocols and other specialized resources that help streamline the process of data sharing while ensuring data privacy and security. Continued relationship-building among stakeholders is needed to facilitate and maximize the use of existing AHD in NB and PEI.