Kevin Pottie

Recommendations on screening for cervical cancer

cervical cancer were diagnosed in Canada, with about 350 deaths. The number of cases of diagnosed cervical cancer in creases among women aged 25 years and older, peaking during the fifth decade of life (Figure 1). The incidence of and mortality due to cervical cancer in Canada have decreased substantially in the past 50 years, and long-term survival rates after treatment are high. Lifetime incidence was 1.5% in 1972, and is now 0.7%; risk of death from cervical cancer is now 0.2%. Most advanced cervical cancer (and associated mortality) occurs among women who have never undergone screening or who have had a long interval between Papanicolaou (Pap) tests. Screening for cervival cancer using the Pap test detects precursor lesions, thereby allowing earlier and potentially less invasive treatment than is re quired for disease that causes symptoms. The benefits of such screening on the incidence of invasive disease and death due to cervical cancer have been consistently shown in cohort and case–control studies. It is likely that much of the change seen in the incidence of cervical cancer in Canada is due to screening, but early and frequent (often annual) cervical screening is unnecessary: other countries have achieved similar outcomes with less frequent testing and starting screening at older ages. The similar levels of success with different approaches highlights uncertainties regarding the best ages at which to start and stop screening, screening intervals and screening methods. Furthermore, the benefits of screening must be balanced against its potential harms, such as additional follow-up tests for abnormal results and unnecessary treatment (e.g., owing to false -positives and overdiagnosis). The likelihood of abnormal Pap test results is highest for young women, and decreases with increasing age. Because the prevalence of highgrade abnormalities declines steadily with age, al though the incidence of cancer is higher, the proportion of abnormal results that represent serious abnormalities is greater among older women. Women whose initial Pap test result is abnormal may be asked to undergo a repeat test or have a colposcopy. The colposcopist may then biopsy the cervix. If the biopsy shows cervical intra epithelial neoplasia, the colposcopist may then treat the cervix by excising the transformation zone using various methods. These procedures cause short-term pain, bleeding and discharge, and may cause early loss of future pregnancies or premature labour. It is likely that many of these procedures can be considered overtreatment, because fewer than one-third of even high-grade abnormalities progress to cancer. This guideline provides updated recommendations for screening for cervical cancer in Canada based on new information about the epidemiology and diagnosis of cervical cancer and a new systematic search of the literature. This guideline updates the recommendations of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care that were last revised in 1994. Recommendations are presented for the use of Pap tests for women with no symptoms of cervical cancer who are or who have been sexually active, regardless of sexual orientation. Separate recommendations are provided for screening in women in the following age categories: younger than 20 years, 20–24 years, 25–29 years, 30– 69 years and 70 years or older. Re com mend ations Recommendations on screening for cervical cancer

Migration and health in Canada: health in the global village

Background: Immigration has been and remains an important force shaping Canadian demography and identity. Health characteristics associated with the movement of large numbers of people have current and future implications for migrants, health practitioners and health systems. We aimed to identify demographics and health status data for migrant populations in Canada. Methods: We systematically searched Ovid MEDLINE (1996–2009) and other relevant web-based databases to examine immigrant selection processes, demographic statistics, health status from population studies and health service implications associated with migration to Canada. Studies and data were selected based on relevance, use of recent data and quality. Results: Currently, immigration represents two-thirds of Canada’s population growth, and immigrants make up more than 20% of the nation’s population. Both of these metrics are expected to increase. In general, newly arriving immigrants are healthier than the Canadian population, but over time there is a decline in this healthy immigrant effect. Immigrants and children born to new immigrants represent growing cohorts; in some metropolitan regions of Canada, they represent the majority of the patient population. Access to health services and health conditions of some migrant populations differ from patterns among Canadian-born patients, and these disparities have implications for preventive care and provision of health services. Interpretation: Because the health characteristics of some migrant populations vary according to their origin and experience, improved understanding of the scope and nature of the immigration process will help practitioners who will be increasingly involved in the care of immigrant populations, including prevention, early detection of disease and treatment.

Recommendations on screening for depression in adults

See related commentary by Bland and Streiner on page [753][1] and at [www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.130634][2]nnDepression is a mood disorder that affects the way a person feels, thinks or behaves, which may impair social or occupational functioning.[1][3] The onset of depression can be

Development of guidelines for recently arrived immigrants and refugees to Canada: Delphi consensus on selecting preventable and treatable conditions

Background: Setting priorities is critical to ensure guidelines are relevant and acceptable to users, and that time, resources and expertise are used cost-effectively in their development. Stakeholder engagement and the use of an explicit procedure for developing recommendations are critical components in this process. Methods: We used a modified Delphi consensus process to select 20 high-priority conditions for guideline development. Canadian primary care practitioners who care for immigrants and refugees used criteria that emphasize inequities in health to identify clinical care gaps. Results: Nine infectious diseases were selected, as well as four mental health conditions, three maternal and child health issues, caries and periodontal disease, iron-deficiency anemia, diabetes and vision screening. Interpretation: Immigrant and refugee medicine covers the full spectrum of primary care, and although infectious disease continues to be an important area of concern, we are now seeing mental health and chronic diseases as key considerations for recently arriving immigrants and refugees.

Effect of rapid HIV testing on HIV incidence and services in populations at high risk for HIV exposure: an equity-focused systematic review

Objective To assess the effects of rapid voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV on HIV incidence and uptake of HIV/AIDS services in people at high risk for HIV exposure. Design Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources We searched PubMed, EMBASE, AIDSearch, LILACS, Global Health, Medline Africa, PsychInfo, CINAHL, Cochrane CENTRAL, Cochrane HIV/AIDS Group Specialized Register and grey literature from 1 January 2001 to 5 June 2014 without language restriction. Data selection We included controlled studies that compared rapid VCT with conventional testing among people at risk for HIV exposure. Data extraction Two reviewers extracted data. We used Cochrane risk of bias tool and GRADE criteria: risk of bias, inconsistency, indirectness, imprecision and publication bias. For observational studies we used the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. We used the PRISMA-Equity reporting guideline. Results From 2441 articles, we included 8 randomised controlled trials and 5 observational studies. Rapid VCT was associated with a threefold increase in HIV-testing uptake (relative risk (RR)=2.95 95% CI 1.69 to 5.16) and a twofold increase in the receipt of test results (RR=2.14, 95% CI 1.08 to 4.24). Women accepted testing more often than men in rapid VCT arm, but no differences in effect for age or socioeconomic status. Observational studies also showed rapid VCT led to higher rates of uptake of testing. Heterogeneity was high. A cluster-randomised trial reported an 11% reduction in HIV incidence in intervention communities (RR=0.89, 95% CI=0.63 to 1.24) over 3u2005years trial. Conclusions Rapid VCT in health facilities and communities was associated with a large increase in HIV-testing uptake and receipt of results. This has implications for WHO guidelines. The routine use of rapid VCT may also help avoid human rights violations among marginalised populations where testing may occur without informed consent and where existing stigma may create barriers to testing.

Process for guideline development by the reconstituted Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care

The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care, formerly known as the Canadian Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination, was established in 1976. In 1994, the task force published 81 of its recommendations in a compilation called The Canadian Guide to Clinical Preventive Health Care .[1][1]

Recommendations on screening for developmental delay

CMAJ 2016. DOI:10.1503 /cmaj.151437 Developmental delay in children may be transitory or sustained and is characterized by a significant delay (i.e., performance 1.5 standard deviations or more below age-expected norms) in one or more of the following domains: gross and fine motor skills, speech and language, social and personal skills, activities of daily living and cognition.1,2 Children with sustained developmental delay are at higher risk of learning difficulties, behavioural problems and functional impairments later in life.2,3 Many factors are associated with increased risk of developmental delay, including poor maternal health during pregnancy, birth complications, infections, genetic characteristics, exposure to toxins, trauma, maltreatment and possibly low socioeconomic status.1,3–7 There is considerable interest in the possibility that early identification and intervention may improve health outcomes among children with developmental delay.1,8,9 Population-based screening of all preschool children has been proposed to facilitate early identification and treatment. For example, the province of Ontario recommends developmental screening of all children at 18 months,10 and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends developmental screening at 9, 18 and 30 months and autism screening at 24 and 30 months.11,12 The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care assessed the evidence on the effectiveness of populationbased screening for developmental delay in primary care settings. To inform the resulting recommendations, the task force also assessed evidence on the accuracy of screening tools to identify undetected developmental delay and the effectiveness of behavioural interventions.

Recommendations on screening for cognitive impairment in older adults

As people age, changes to the structure and the function of the brain may result in cognitive decline. These changes, however, do not equally affect all cognitive domains or all people. Older adults may perform as well as younger adults in some or all cognitive domains, and some may even perform

Prevention and assessment of infectious diseases among children and adult migrants arriving to the European Union/European Economic Association: a protocol for a suite of systematic reviews for public health and health systems

Introduction The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control is developing evidence-based guidance for voluntary screening, treatment and vaccine prevention of infectious diseases for newly arriving migrants to the European Union/European Economic Area. The objective of this systematic review protocol is to guide the identification, appraisal and synthesis of the best available evidence on prevention and assessment of the following priority infectious diseases: tuberculosis, HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis (polio), Haemophilus influenza disease, strongyloidiasis and schistosomiasis. Methods and analysis The search strategy will identify evidence from existing systematic reviews and then update the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness evidence using prospective trials, economic evaluations and/or recently published systematic reviews. Interdisciplinary teams have designed logic models to help define study inclusion and exclusion criteria, guiding the search strategy and identifying relevant outcomes. We will assess the certainty of evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Ethics and dissemination There are no ethical or safety issues. We anticipate disseminating the findings through open-access publications, conference abstracts and presentations. We plan to publish technical syntheses as GRADEpro evidence summaries and the systematic reviews as part of a special edition open-access publication on refugee health. We are following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Protocols reporting guideline. This protocol is registered in PROSPERO: CRD42016045798.

Narrative reports to monitor and evaluate the integration of pharmacists into family practice settings.

PURPOSE Narratives can capture unfolding events and negotiation of roles and thus can help to evaluate interventions in interdisciplinary health care teams. We describe a practical qualitative method, the narrative report, and its role in evaluating implementation research. METHODS We used narrative reports as a means to evaluate an intervention to integrate pharmacists into group family practices. The pharmacists submitted 63 written narrative reports during a 1-year period. Our interdisciplinary research team analyzed these reports to monitor the progress of the implementation, to identify pharmacists’ needs, and to capture elements of the integration process. RESULTS The monthly narrative reports allowed the research team to document early learning and calibrate the program in terms of clinical support, adapting roles, and realigning expectations. The reports helped the research team stay in tune with practice-related implementation challenges, and the preliminary summary of narrative findings provided a forum for sharing innovations among the integrating pharmacists. CONCLUSION The narrative report can be a successful qualitative tool to track and evaluate the early stages of an intervention in the context of evolving primary health care teams.