Advancing cross-sectoral data linkage to understand and address the health impacts of social exclusion: Challenges and potential solutions.

The use of administrative health data for research, monitoring, and quality improvement has proliferated in recent decades, leading to improvements in health across many disease areas and across the life course. However, not all populations are equally visible in administrative health data, and those that are less visible may be excluded from the benefits of associated research. Socially excluded populations - including the homeless, people with substance dependence, people involved in sex work, migrants or asylum seekers, and people with a history of incarceration - are typically characterised by health inequity. Yet people who experience social exclusion are often invisible within routinely collected administrative health data because information on their markers of social exclusion are not routinely recorded by healthcare providers. These circumstances make it difficult to understand the often complex health needs of socially excluded populations, evaluate and improve the quality of health services that they interact with, provide more accessible and appropriate health services, and develop effective and integrated responses to reduce health inequity. In this commentary we discuss how linking data from multiple sectors with administrative health data, often called cross-sectoral data linkage, is a key method for systematically identifying socially excluded populations in administrative health data and addressing other issues related to data quality and representativeness. We discuss how cross-sectoral data linkage can improve the representation of socially excluded populations in research, monitoring, and quality improvement initiatives, which can in turn inform coordinated responses across multiple sectors of service delivery. Finally, we articulate key challenges and potential solutions for advancing the use of cross-sectoral data linkage to improve the health of socially excluded populations, using international examples.

Adverse childhood experiences, morbidity, mortality and resilience in socially excluded populations: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Socially excluded populations, defined by homelessness, substance use disorder, sex work or criminal justice system contact, experience profound health inequity compared with the general population. Cumulative exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including neglect, abuse and household dysfunction before age 18, has been found to be independently associated with both an increased risk of social exclusion and adverse health and mortality outcomes in adulthood.Despite this, the impact of ACEs on health and mortality within socially excluded populations is poorly understood. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will search MEDLINE, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Educational Resources Information Center, PsycINFO, Applied Social Science Index and Abstracts and Criminal Justice Database for peer-reviewed studies measuring ACEs and their impact on health and mortality in socially excluded populations.Three review questions will guide our data extraction and analysis. First, what is the prevalence of ACEs among people experiencing social exclusion in included studies? Second, what is the relationship between ACEs and health and mortality outcomes among people experiencing social exclusion? Does resilience modify the strength of association between ACEs and health outcomes among people experiencing social exclusion?We will meta-analyse the relationship between ACE exposure and health outcomes classified into six a prior categories: (1) substance use disorders; (2) sexual and reproductive health; (3) communicable diseases; (4) mental illness; (5) non-communicable diseases and (6) violence victimisation, perpetration and injury. If there are insufficient studies for meta-analysis, we will conduct a narrative synthesis. Study quality will be assessed using the MethodologicAl STandards for Epidemiological Research scale. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Our findings will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal, in presentations at academic conferences and in a brief report for policy makers and service providers. We do not require ethics approval as this review will use data that have been previously published. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022357565.

Validation and endorsement of health system performance measures for opioid use disorder in British Columbia, Canada: A Delphi panel study.

Background: Limited data exists on the performance of the healthcare system in opioid use disorder (OUD). We evaluated the face validity and potential risks of a set of health system performance measures for OUD collaboratively with clinicians, policymakers and people with lived experience of opioid use (PWLE) in the interest of establishing an endorsed set of measures for public reporting. Methods: Through a two-stage Delphi-panel approach, a panel of clinical and policy experts validated and considered 102 previously constructed OUD performance measures for endorsement using information on measurement construction, sensitivity analyses, quality of evidence, predictive validity, and feedback from local PWLE. We collected quantitative and qualitative survey responses from 49 clinicians and policymakers, and 11 PWLE. We conducted inductive and deductive thematic analysis to present qualitative responses. Results: A total of 37 measures of 102 were strongly endorsed (9/13 cascade of care, 2/27 clinical guideline compliance, 17/44 healthcare integration, and 9/18 healthcare utilization measures). Thematic analysis of responses revealed several themes regarding measurement validity, unintended consequences, and key contextual considerations. Overall, measures related to the cascade of care (excluding opioid agonist treatment dose tapering) received strong endorsements. PWLE highlighted barriers to accessing treatment, undignified aspects of treatment, and lack of a full continuum of care as their concerns. Conclusion: We defined 37 endorsed health system performance measures for OUD and presented a range of perspectives on their validity and use. These measures provide critical considerations for health system improvement in the care of people with OUD.

Challenging the Stereotypes: Unexpected Features of Sexual Exploitation among Homeless and Street-Involved Boys in Western Canada.

Research about the sexual exploitation of homeless and street-involved boys is limited and often combined with that of girls. As aggregation can distort unique issues among genders which are exploited, this study provides information about the context of exploitation for homeless boys. Boys participated in the anonymous, multi-city British Columbia (BC), Canada Homeless and Street-Involved Youth Health paper surveys of 2006 and 2014. Measures included questions about trading sex for money, shelter, or other consideration; age first exploited; for whom; where they were living when first traded sex; gender of exploiters; and demographics. Analyses, separately for younger/older boys, explored the prevalence, timing of exploitation vs. homelessness, and ANOVAs to evaluate the patterns of the age of first exploitation by the genders of exploiters. Just over one in four boys reported exploitation (n = 132), with a median age of 14-15 in most groups. Most were runaway or homeless before their first exploitation, but 25.5% (2006) and 41% (2014) were living with family. Most boys were exploited by women (78%-85%), with 62%-65% were exclusively exploited by women.

A rapid review of early guidance to prevent and control COVID-19 in custodial settings.

BACKGROUND: With over 11 million people incarcerated globally, prevention and control of COVID-19 in custodial settings is a critical component of the public health response. Given the risk of rapid transmission in these settings, it is important to know what guidance existed for responding to COVID-19 in the early stages of the pandemic. We sought to identify, collate, and summarise guidance for the prevention and control of COVID-19 in custodial settings in the first six months of 2020. We conducted a systematic search of peer-reviewed and grey literature, and manually searched relevant websites to identify publications up to 30 June 2020 outlining recommendations to prevent and/or control COVID-19 in custodial settings. We inductively developed a coding framework and assessed recommendations using conventional content analysis. RESULTS: We identified 201 eligible publications containing 374 unique recommendations across 19 domains including: preparedness; physical environments; case identification, screening, and management; communication; external access and visitation; psychological and emotional support; recreation, legal, and health service adaptation; decarceration; release and community reintegration; workforce logistics; surveillance and information sharing; independent monitoring; compensatory measures; lifting control measures; evaluation; and key populations/settings. We identified few conflicting recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: The breadth of recommendations identified in this review reflects the complexity of COVID-19 response in custodial settings. Despite the availability of comprehensive guidance early in the pandemic, important gaps remain in the implementation of recommended prevention and control measures globally, and in the availability of evidence assessing their effectiveness on reducing COVID-19 disease, impact on people in custody and staff, and implementation.

Correction to: A rapid review of early guidance to prevent and control COVID-19 in custodial settings.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s40352-021-00150-w.].

Non-disclosure of drug use in outpatient health care settings: Findings from a prospective cohort study in Vancouver, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Illicit drug use is associated with severe health-related harms, yet people who use drugs (PWUD) face substantial barriers to healthcare. We sought to identify factors associated with disclosure of drug use to a healthcare provider and describe differences in self-reported quality of care received based on disclosure status. METHODS: A client-reported experience questionnaire on healthcare access and quality, adapted from the World Health Organization Survey on Health and Health System Responsiveness, was administered within two ongoing prospective cohort studies of PWUD in Vancouver, Canada. Respondents not currently receiving addiction treatment were asked about experience of care and drug use disclosure to their most commonly accessed outpatient healthcare provider in the past 6 months. We used an adjusted logistic regression model to identify client characteristics associated with disclosure. RESULTS: From a total of 261 respondents (34.1% female), less than half (n = 125, 47.8%) reported disclosing drug use to their healthcare provider. Indigenous participants were less likely to disclose compared to non-Indigenous participants (adjusted OR: 0.55, 95% confidence interval: 0.30, 0.97). Disclosure was associated with lower self-reported quality of care (overall rating: disclosed 8.2 vs. did not disclose 8.8, p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: In a sample of PWUD accessing outpatient healthcare services, we observed low rates of drug use disclosure, particularly for Indigenous respondents, and reduced quality of care for those who disclosed. These findings highlight the need for culturally safe and non-stigmatizing care to address pervasive stereotyping in the healthcare system and improved screening for substance use disorder in outpatient healthcare services.

Opioid agonist treatment and risk of mortality during opioid overdose public health emergency: population based retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the risk of mortality among people with opioid use disorder on and off opioid agonist treatment (OAT) in a setting with a high prevalence of illicitly manufactured fentanyl and other potent synthetic opioids in the illicit drug supply. DESIGN: Population based retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Individual level linkage of five health administrative datasets capturing drug dispensations, hospital admissions, physician billing records, ambulatory care reports, and deaths in British Columbia, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: 55 347 people with opioid use disorder who received OAT between 1 January 1996 and 30 September 2018. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: All cause and cause specific crude mortality rates (per 1000 person years) to determine absolute risk of mortality and all cause age and sex standardised mortality ratios to determine relative risk of mortality compared with the general population. Mortality risk was calculated according to treatment status (on OAT, off OAT), time since starting and stopping treatment (1, 2, 3-4, 5-12, >12 weeks), and medication type (methadone, buprenorphine/naloxone). Adjusted risk ratios compared the relative risk of mortality on and off OAT over time as fentanyl became more prevalent in the illicit drug supply. RESULTS: 7030 (12.7%) of 55 347 OAT recipients died during follow-up. The all cause standardised mortality ratio was substantially lower on OAT (4.6, 95% confidence interval 4.4 to 4.8) than off OAT (9.7, 9.5 to 10.0). In a period of increasing prevalence of fentanyl, the relative risk of mortality off OAT was 2.1 (95% confidence interval 1.8 to 2.4) times higher than on OAT before the introduction of fentanyl, increasing to 3.4 (2.8 to 4.3) at the end of the study period (65% increase in relative risk). CONCLUSIONS: Retention on OAT is associated with substantial reductions in the risk of mortality for people with opioid use disorder. The protective effect of OAT on mortality increased as fentanyl and other synthetic opioids became common in the illicit drug supply, whereas the risk of mortality remained high off OAT. As fentanyl becomes more widespread globally, these findings highlight the importance of interventions that improve retention on opioid agonist treatment and prevent recipients from stopping treatment.

The cascade of care for opioid use disorder: a retrospective study in British Columbia, Canada.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The 'cascade of care' framework, measuring attrition at various stages of care engagement, has been proposed to guide the public health response to the opioid overdose public health emergency in British Columbia, Canada. We estimated the cascade of care for opioid use disorder and identified factors associated with care engagement for people with opioid use disorder (PWOUD) provincially. DESIGN: Retrospective study using a provincial-level linkage of four health administrative databases. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: All PWOUD in BC from 1 January 1996 to 30 November 2017. MEASUREMENTS: The eight-stage cascade of care included diagnosed PWOUD, ever on opioid agonist treatment (OAT), recently on OAT, currently on OAT and retained on OAT: ≥ 1, ≥ 3, ≥ 12 and ≥ 24 months). Health-care use, homelessness and other demographics were obtained from physician billing records, hospitalizations, and drug dispensation records. Receipt of income assistance was indicated by enrollment in Pharmacare Plan C. FINDINGS: A total of 55 470 diagnosed PWOUD were alive at end of follow-up. As of 2017, a majority of the population (n = 39 456; 71%) received OAT during follow-up; however, only 33% (n = 18 519) were currently engaged in treatment and 16% (n = 8960) had been retained for at least 1 year. Compared with those never on OAT, those currently engaged in OAT were more likely to be aged under 45 years [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.75, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.64, 1.89], male (aOR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.64, 1.82), with concurrent substance use disorders (aOR = 2.56, 95% CI = 2.44, 2.70), hepatitis C virus (HCV) (aOR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.14, 1.33) and either homeless or receiving income-assistance (aOR = 4.35, 95% CI = 4.17, 4.55). Regular contact with the health-care system-either in out-patient or acute care settings-was common among PWOUD not engaged in OAT, regardless of time since diagnosis or treatment discontinuation. CONCLUSIONS: People with opioid use disorder in British Columbia, Canada show high levels of out-patient care prior to diagnosis. Younger age, male sex, urban residence, lower income level and homelessness appear to be independently associated with increased opioid agonist treatment engagement.

Estimates of opioid use disorder prevalence from a regression-based multi-sample stratified capture-recapture analysis.

BACKGROUND: An epidemic of opioid overdose has spread across North America, with illicit drug-related overdose emerging as a leading cause of death in recent years. Estimates of opioid use disorder (OUD) prevalence at the level of the public health service delivery area are needed to project resource needs and identify priority areas for targeted intervention. Our objective is to estimate the annual prevalence of OUD in British Columbia (BC), Canada, from 2000 to 2017. METHODS: We performed a multi-sample stratified capture-recapture analysis to estimate OUD prevalence in BC. The analysis included individuals identified from 3 administrative databases for 2000-2011 and 4 databases for 2012-2017, linked at the individual level. Negative binomial regression models on the counts of individuals within these strata were used to estimate prevalence, adjusting for dependency between databases. RESULTS: OUD prevalence in BC among people aged 12 years or older was 1.00 % (N = 34,663 individuals) in 2000 and increased to 1.54 % (N = 61,080) in 2011. Between 2013 and 2017 prevalence increased from 1.57 % (95 % confidence interval: 1.56-1.58) to 1.92 % (1.89-1.95; N = 83,760; 82,492-84,855). The greatest increases in prevalence were observed among males 12-30 years old and 31-44 years old, with 43.2 % and 40.2 % increases from 2013 to 2017. CONCLUSIONS: In BC, the OUD prevalence was 1.92 % among people 12 years or older in 2017. We estimated that prevalence has nearly doubled since 2000, with the highest increases in prevalence observed among males under 45.

An evaluation of Take Home Naloxone program implementation in British Columbian correctional facilities.

PURPOSE: To understand how the Take Home Naloxone (THN) program is implemented in two pilot correctional facilities in British Columbia (BC), Canada, in order to identify areas for program improvement and inform the expansion of the program to other Canadian correctional facilities The paper aims to discuss these issues. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Two focus groups and one interview were conducted with healthcare staff at two pilot correctional facilities. Sessions were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and divergent and convergent experiences within and between the facilities were explored in an iterative process. Key themes and lessons learned were identified and later validated by focus group participants. FINDINGS: Key themes that emerged included: challenges and importance of the train-the-trainer program for healthcare staff conducting participant training sessions; potential for improved prison population engagement and awareness of the program; tailoring program resources to the unique needs of an incarcerated population; challenges connecting participants to community harm reduction resources following release; and clarifying and enhancing the role of correctional officers to support the program. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The correctional setting presents unique challenges and opportunities for the THN program that must be considered for program effectiveness. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This evaluation was conducted to inform program expansion amidst a historic opioid overdose epidemic in BC, and adds to the limited yet growing body of literature on the implementation and evaluation of this program in correctional settings globally.

Identifying mental health and substance use disorders using emergency department and hospital records: a population-based retrospective cohort study of diagnostic concordance and disease attribution.

OBJECTIVES: Administrative data are increasingly being used for surveillance and monitoring of mental health and substance use disorders (MHSUD) across Canada. However, the validity of the diagnostic codes specific to MHSUD is unknown in emergency departments (EDs). Our objective was to determine the concordance, and individual-level and hospital-level factors associated with concordance, between diagnosis codes assigned in ED and at discharge from hospital for MHSUD-related conditions. DESIGN: Population-based retrospective cohort study. SETTING: EDs and hospitals within Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCH), British Columbia, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: 16 926 individuals who were admitted into a VCH hospital following an ED visit from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2017, contributing to 48 116 pairs of ED and hospital discharge diagnoses. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: We examined concordance in identifying MHSUD between the primary discharge diagnosis codes based on the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, 9th and 10th Revisions (Canada) assigned in the ED and those assigned in the hospital among all ED visits resulting in a hospital admission. We calculated the percent overall agreement, positive agreement, negative agreement and Cohen's kappa coefficient. We performed multiple regression analyses to identify factors independently associated with discordance. RESULTS: We found a high level of concordance for broad categories of MH conditions (overall agreement=0.89, positive agreement=0.74 and kappa=0.67), and a fair level of concordance for SUDs (overall agreement=0.89, positive agreement=0.31 and kappa=0.27). SUDs were less likely to be indicated as the primary cause in ED as opposed to in hospital (3.8% vs 11.7%). In multiple regression analyses, ED visits occurring during holidays, weekends and overnight (21:00-8:59 hours) were associated with increased odds of discordance in identifying MH conditions (adjusted OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.93; 1.27, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.40; 1.30, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.42, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: ED data could be used to improve surveillance and monitoring of MHSUD. Future efforts are needed to improve screening for individuals with MHSUD and subsequently connect them to treatment and follow-up care.