RESUMEN
Background: When the Public Health Agency of Canada's Human Pathogens and Toxins Act and Human Pathogens and Toxins Regulations came into force, the reporting of laboratory incidents to the Laboratory Incident Notification Canada (LINC) surveillance system became mandatory. This report summarizes the laboratory exposure and non-exposure data reported from 2016 to 2022, with a particular focus on factors that are not typically presented in LINC's annual report. Methods: Reported laboratory incidents from 2016 to 2022 were analyzed. Exposures were analyzed by severity, occurrence and root cause, and affected individuals were analyzed by disease outcome, role and applied interventions. Non-exposures were analyzed by incident type. Exposure and non-exposure incident rates were calculated. Results: Events reported to LINC totalled 928. Of those, 355 were confirmed non-exposures, 361 were confirmed exposures, and 111 were other events. Both exposure and non-exposure incident rates per 100 active licences peaked in 2018 (9.44 and 7.11, respectively). Most exposures were rated as minor or negligible severity. The most cited exposure occurrence types were sharps-related and procedure-related (23% each), and standard operating procedure-related root causes were most cited (24%). While 781 individuals were affected in the exposure incidents, most did not develop a laboratory-acquired infection (n=753; 96%) and received at least one form of treatment post-exposure (n=717; 92%). Inadvertent possession/production cases were the most common non-exposure incidents reported. Conclusion: Exposure and non-exposure incident rates have decreased since 2018. Among exposure incidents, sharps-related and procedure-related occurrences were the most common, and the root cause was usually a standard operating procedure. Non-exposure incidents were mostly inadvertent possession/production cases. Exposure and illness outcome severity was mostly minor.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Black Canadian youth remain disproportionally affected by an array of social and health issues, including sexually transmitted infections. While research exists in support of the involvement of parents as a key means to prevent or modify harmful behaviours among youth, less is known about how parent-child communication can serve as a prevention intervention strategy within Black families in Canada. This study explores sexual health communication between Black parents and youth in Nova Scotia and identifies facilitators, obstacles and issues that families face in dialoguing about sexual health. METHODS: Focus groups and in-depth interview sessions were held with a diverse sample of parents of Black youth, health and education professionals, and Black youth in Nova Scotia, as part of a larger study aimed at exploring parent-child communication on sexual health and HIV. The research team worked in partnership with and received feedback from key informants and a community advisory committee throughout the various stages of this study. All sessions were audio-taped with permission and thematic analysis was carried out on the verbatim transcripts. RESULTS: Six key themes emerged from the data analysis in relation to parent-child communication within Black families in Nova Scotia: 1. the gendered nature of [sexual] health communication; 2. fear and uncertainty as obstacles; 3. open and honest dialogue from an early age as a facilitator; 4. media as both a catalyst and a barrier; 5. peers as a catalyst; and 6. time constraints as an obstacle. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study reveal that parent-child communication regarding sexual health promotion within Black families in Nova Scotia remains varied and is heavily affected by a myriad of intersecting determinants of health faced by Black youth and their parents. Health promotion interventions aimed at fostering and supporting parent-child communication on sexual health must simultaneously target both parents and youth and further, such efforts must engage a high level of cultural competency in order to better meet the needs of this population.
