Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38691338›Full record

ArticleCanadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique2024

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social determinants of health, mental health, and substance use among key populations affected by sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections in Canada.

Herak Apelian, Josephine Aho, Elsie Wong, Joseph Cox

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 42% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Herak ApelianSexually Transmitted and Blood-Borne Infections Surveillance Division, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada. herak.apelian@phac-aspc.gc.ca.ORCID 0000-0003-0553-2172
Josephine AhoSexually Transmitted and Blood-Borne Infections Surveillance Division, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Elsie WongSexually Transmitted and Blood-Borne Infections Surveillance Division, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Joseph CoxSexually Transmitted and Blood-Borne Infections Surveillance Division, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Public Health Agency of Canada · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesWe assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social determinants of health, mental health, substance use, and access to mental health and harm reduction services among key populations disproportionately impacted by sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI).

methodsOnline surveys (2021‒2022) were conducted in Canada among people who use drugs or alcohol (PWUD); African, Caribbean, and Black people (ACB); and First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples (FNIM). Descriptive analyses were conducted on social determinants of health, substance use, and access to services, stratified by changes in mental health status since the start of the pandemic.

resultsA total of 3773 participants (1034 PWUD, 1556 ACB, and 1183 FNIM) completed the surveys, with 45.6% reporting a major/moderate impact of the pandemic on their ability to pay bills and 53% experiencing food insecurity since the start of the pandemic. Half (49.4%) of participants reported deteriorating mental health. A higher increase in substance use and related behaviours was seen in those with worsening mental health. Among those using substances, two thirds (69.4%) of those with worsening mental health reported increasing their use of substances alone, compared to 46.9% of those with better/similar mental health. Access to mental health and harm reduction services was low.

conclusionThese intersecting health issues are among the risk factors for STBBI acquisition and act as barriers to care. Equitable interventions and policies addressing downstream and upstream determinants of health, with meaningful and sustainable leadership from key populations, may improve their health and well-being, to lower STBBI impact and improve future pandemic responses.

Indexed as

COVID-19Health Services AccessibilitySexually Transmitted DiseasesSocial Determinants of HealthSubstance-Related DisordersAdultCanadaFemaleHarm ReductionHumansMaleMental HealthMiddle AgedYoung AdultKey populationsMental healthSocial determinants of healthSubstance use

Identifiers

PMID38691338
PMCPMC11133293
OpenAlexW4396547863

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.