A Youth Suicide Prevention Plan for Canada: A Systematic Review of Reviews.

OBJECTIVE: We conducted an expedited knowledge synthesis (EKS) to facilitate evidence-informed decision making concerning youth suicide prevention, specifically school-based strategies and nonschool-based interventions designed to prevent repeat attempts. METHODS: Systematic review of review methods were applied. Inclusion criteria were as follows: systematic review or meta-analysis; prevention in youth 0 to 24 years; peer-reviewed English literature. Review quality was determined with AMSTAR (a measurement tool to assess systematic reviews). Nominal group methods quantified consensus on recommendations derived from the findings. RESULTS: No included review addressing school-based prevention (n = 7) reported decreased suicide death rates based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or controlled cohort studies (CCSs), but reduced suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, and proxy measures of suicide risk were reported (based on RCTs and CCSs). Included reviews addressing prevention of repeat suicide attempts (n = 14) found the following: emergency department transition programs may reduce suicide deaths, hospitalizations, and treatment nonadherence (based on RCTs and CCSs); training primary care providers in depression treatment may reduce repeated attempts (based on one RCT); antidepressants may increase short-term suicide risk in some patients (based on RCTs and meta-analyses); this increase is offset by overall population-based reductions in suicide associated with antidepressant treatment of youth depression (based on observational studies); and prevention with psychosocial interventions requires further evaluation. No review addressed sex or gender differences systematically, Aboriginal youth as a special population, harm, or cost-effectiveness. Consensus on 6 recommendations ranged from 73% to 100%. CONCLUSIONS: Our EKS facilitates decision maker access to what is known about effective youth suicide prevention interventions. A national research-to-practice network that links researchers and decision makers is recommended to implement and evaluate promising interventions; to eliminate the use of ineffective or harmful interventions; and to clarify prevention intervention effects on death by suicide, suicide attempts, and suicidal ideation. Such a network could position Canada as a leader in youth suicide prevention.

Effectiveness of school-based violence prevention for children and youth: a research report.

Aggression, bullying and violence in children and youth are prevalent in Canada (18%) and internationally. The authors evaluated the effectiveness of Roots of Empathy (ROE), a school-based mental health promotion and violence prevention program for children that has been widely implemented but rarely evaluated. Eight school divisions were randomly assigned to either a treatment group that received ROE in 2002-2003 (445 students) or a wait-list control group (315 students). These were compared on three child mental health outcomes (physical aggression, indirect aggression and pro-social behaviour), rated by teachers and students (self-rated). The three wait-list school divisions received ROE in 2003-2004 (new cohort of 265 students) and were compared with the control group from 2002-2003 on the three outcomes, for replication purposes. For both comparisons, the authors report multi-level modelling analyses regarding (1) immediate effects after ROE completion at the end of the school year (pretest to post-test) and (2) long-term ROE effects up to three years after post-test. ROE had replicated, beneficial effects on all teacher-rated outcomes, which were generally maintained or further improved across follow-up. However, ROE had almost no statistically significant or replicated effects on student-rated outcomes. This is the first evaluation to suggest that ROE appears effective when implemented on a large scale under real-world delivery conditions.

Influence of Temperament As a Risk Indicator for Early Childhood Caries.

Purpose: To evaluate the association between temperament and caries. Methods: A total of 408 primary caregiver-child pairs were followed for 36 months; they completed the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire Very Short-Form (ECBQ-VSF) at age four years. Demographic, behavioral, and clinical data were obtained at ages one, two-and-a-half, and four years, with caries experience assessed each time using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS). The ECBQ-VSF (36 items) was used to measure three child temperament domains: (1) surgency; (2) negative affect; and (3) effortful control. The associations between cavitated carious lesion experience by age four years (decayed, missing, and filled primary surfaces [dmfs] score greater than zero; d equals ICDAS score greater than or equal to three) and the three ECBQ-VSF temperament domains were analyzed using generalized estimating equation models. Results: Temperament domains predicted the number of carious surfaces (dmfs). After adjusting for covariates, every one-point increase in surgency and one-point increase in negative affect were associated with 77 percent and 31 percent increases in dmfs, respectively (P<0.05), and every one-point increase in effortful control was associated with a 39 percent decrease in dmfs (P<0.05). Conclusions: By age four years, children with higher levels of surgency and negative affect have a higher caries experience, whereas children with greater effortful control have a lower caries experience.

Unconditional Prenatal Income Supplement and Birth Outcomes.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Perinatal outcomes have improved in developed countries but remain poor for disadvantaged populations. We examined whether an unconditional income supplement to low-income pregnant women was associated with improved birth outcomes. METHODS: This study included all mother-newborn pairs (2003-2010) in Manitoba, Canada, where the mother received prenatal social assistance, the infant was born in the hospital, and the pair had a risk screen (N = 14 591). Low-income women who received the income supplement (Healthy Baby Prenatal Benefit [HBPB], n = 10 738) were compared with low-income women who did not receive HBPB (n = 3853) on the following factors: low birth weight, preterm, small and large for gestational age, Apgar score, breastfeeding initiation, neonatal readmission, and newborn hospital length of stay (LOS). Covariates from risk screens were used to develop propensity scores and to balance differences between groups in regression models; γ sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess sensitivity to unmeasured confounding. Population-attributable and preventable fractions were calculated. RESULTS: HBPB was associated with reductions in low birth weight (aRR, 0.71 [95% CI, 0.63-0.81]), preterm births (aRR, 0.76 [95% CI, 0.69-0.84]) and small for gestational age births (aRR, 0.90 [95% CI, 0.81-0.99]) and increases in breastfeeding (aRR, 1.06 [95% CI, 1.03-1.09]) and large for gestational age births (aRR, 1.13 [95% CI, 1.05-1.23]). For vaginal births, HBPB was associated with shortened LOS (weighted mean, 2.86; P < .0001). Results for breastfeeding, low birth weight, preterm birth, and LOS were robust to unmeasured confounding. Reductions of 21% (95% CI, 13.6-28.3) for low birth weight births and 17.5% (95% CI, 11.2-23.8) for preterm births were associated with HBPB. CONCLUSIONS: Receipt of an unconditional prenatal income supplement was associated with positive outcomes. Placing conditions on income supplements may not be necessary to promote prenatal and perinatal health.

Effectiveness of peer-based healthy living lesson plans on anthropometric measures and physical activity in elementary school students: a cluster randomized trial.

IMPORTANCE: Schools are considered an attractive setting to promote healthy living behaviors in children, but previous school-based interventions aimed at preventing weight gain in children have yielded mixed results. Novel school-based approaches are needed to modify healthy living behaviors and attenuate weight gain in children. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of a peer-led healthy living program called Healthy Buddies on weight gain and its determinants when disseminated at the provincial level to elementary school students. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Cluster-randomized effectiveness trial performed during the 2009-2010 school year. Baseline and follow-up measurements were made in October 2009 and May 2010, respectively. The study was performed in 19 elementary schools in Manitoba, Canada, and included 647 elementary school students aged 6 to 12 years (48% girls). INTERVENTION: Schools were randomized to receive regular curriculum or Healthy Buddies lesson plans. Lesson plans were delivered by older (9- to 12-year-old) elementary school students to the younger (6- to 8-year-old) peers and targeted 3 components of health: physical activity, healthy eating, and self-esteem and body image. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome measures were the change in waist circumference and body mass index z score. Secondary outcomes included physical activity (steps per day), cardiorespiratory fitness, self-efficacy, healthy living knowledge, and self-reported dietary intake. RESULTS: At baseline, 36% of children were overweight or obese and 11% achieved the recommended 13,500 steps per day. Intention-to-treat analyses showed that waist circumference declined significantly in the intervention group relative to controls: -1.42 cm (-2.68 to -0.17; P = .03). Reductions in waist circumference were particularly significant for children who were younger, overweight or obese, or attending First Nations schools. No difference in body mass index z score was observed between groups. Self-efficacy, healthy living knowledge, and dietary intake significantly improved in younger peers who received the intervention compared with students from control schools. No differences were observed in daily step counts or cardiorespiratory fitness between the groups. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The implementation of Healthy Buddies lesson plans delivered by older peers within an elementary school setting is an effective method for attenuating increases in central adiposity and improving knowledge of healthy living behaviors among elementary school students. Improvements were achieved with parallel improvements in diet quality, self-efficacy, and knowledge of healthy living. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01979978.