Evaluating an Integrated Local System Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Case Study of East Toronto Health Partners.

Introduction: East Toronto Health Partners (ETHP) is a network of organizations that serve residents of East Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ETHP is a newly formed integrated model of care in which hospital, primary care, community providers and patients/families work together to improve population health. We describe and evaluate the evolution of this emerging integrated care system as it responded to a global health crisis. Description: This paper begins by describing ETHP's pandemic response mapping out over two years of data. To evaluate the response, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 decision makers, clinicians, staff, and volunteers who were part of the response. The interviews were thematically analyzed, and emergent themes mapped onto the nine pillars of integrated care. Discussion: The ETHP pandemic response evolved rapidly. Early siloed responses gave way to collaborative efforts and equity emerged as a central priority. New alliances formed, resources were shared, leaders emerged, and community members stepped forward to contribute. Interviewees identified positives as well as many opportunities for improvement post-pandemic. Conclusion: The pandemic was a catalyst for change in East Toronto that accelerated existing initiatives to achieve integrated care. The East Toronto experience may serve as a useful guide for other emerging integrated care systems.

The impact of provincial lockdown policies and COVID-19 case and mortality rates on anxiety in Canada.

AIM: COVID-19 has had significant mental health impacts internationally and anxiety rates are estimated to have tripled during the pandemic, but the specific causes remain underexplored. This study's purpose was to investigate the associations of sociodemographic factors, COVID-19-related policies, and COVID-19 case/mortality rates with levels of anxiety among Canadians during the pandemic. METHODS: This study used linear regression models populated with three integrated sources of data: a repeated cross-sectional survey (n = 7008), Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker data, and COVID-19 case/mortality rates. Sociodemographic factors included were age, gender, race, province, income, education, rurality, household composition, and factors related to employment. RESULTS: Local COVID-19 case and mortality rates and stay-at-home orders were positively associated with anxiety symptom severity. Anxiety was most severe among those who: were female, Indigenous, or Middle Eastern; had postsecondary education; lived with others; and became unemployed or had working hours altered during the pandemic. Anxiety was less severe among: older adults; male, Caucasians, and black individuals; those with high incomes, and; those for whom employment did not change during the pandemic. CONCLUSION: Anxiety was primarily driven by socioeconomic factors among Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic. Policies that alleviate socioeconomic uncertainty for groups that are most vulnerable may reduce the long-term harm of the pandemic and associated lockdown policies.

Recommendations for the Design and Delivery of Transitions-Focused Digital Health Interventions: Rapid Review.

BACKGROUND: Older adults experience a high risk of adverse events during hospital-to-home transitions. Implementation barriers have prevented widespread clinical uptake of the various digital health technologies that aim to support hospital-to-home transitions. OBJECTIVE: To guide the development of a digital health intervention to support transitions from hospital to home (the Digital Bridge intervention), the specific objectives of this review were to describe the various roles and functions of health care providers supporting hospital-to-home transitions for older adults, allowing future technologies to be more targeted to support their work; describe the types of digital health interventions used to facilitate the transition from hospital to home for older adults and elucidate how these interventions support the roles and functions of providers; describe the lessons learned from the design and implementation of these interventions; and identify opportunities to improve the fit between technology and provider functions within the Digital Bridge intervention and other transition-focused digital health interventions. METHODS: This 2-phase rapid review involved a selective review of providers' roles and their functions during hospital-to-home transitions (phase 1) and a structured literature review on digital health interventions used to support older adults' hospital-to-home transitions (phase 2). During the analysis, the technology functions identified in phase 2 were linked to the provider roles and functions identified in phase 1. RESULTS: In phase 1, various provider roles were identified that facilitated hospital-to-home transitions, including navigation-specific roles and the roles of nurses and physicians. The key transition functions performed by providers were related to the 3 categories of continuity of care (ie, informational, management, and relational continuity). Phase 2, included articles (n=142) that reported digital health interventions targeting various medical conditions or groups. Most digital health interventions supported management continuity (eg, follow-up, assessment, and monitoring of patients' status after hospital discharge), whereas informational and relational continuity were the least supported. The lessons learned from the interventions were categorized into technology- and research-related challenges and opportunities and informed several recommendations to guide the design of transition-focused digital health interventions. CONCLUSIONS: This review highlights the need for Digital Bridge and other digital health interventions to align the design and delivery of digital health interventions with provider functions, design and test interventions with older adults, and examine multilevel outcomes. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045596.

Inclusion of Older Adults in Digital Health Technologies to Support Hospital-to-Home Transitions: Secondary Analysis of a Rapid Review and Equity-Informed Recommendations.

BACKGROUND: Digital health technologies have been proposed to support hospital-to-home transition for older adults. The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated physical distancing guidelines have propelled a shift toward digital health technologies. However, the characteristics of older adults who participated in digital health research interventions to support hospital-to-home transitions remain unclear. This information is needed to assess whether current digital health interventions are generalizable to the needs of the broader older adult population. OBJECTIVE: This rapid review of the existing literature aimed to identify the characteristics of the populations targeted by studies testing the implementation of digital health interventions designed to support hospital-to-home transitions, identify the characteristics of the samples included in studies testing digital health interventions used to support hospital-to-home transitions, and create recommendations for enhancing the diversity of samples within future hospital-to-home digital health interventions. METHODS: A rapid review methodology based on scoping review guidelines by Arksey and O'Malley was developed. A search for peer-reviewed literature published between 2010 and 2021 on digital health solutions that support hospital-to-home transitions for older adults was conducted using MEDLINE, Embase, and CINAHL databases. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis. The Sex- and Gender-Based Analysis Plus lens theoretically guided the study design, analysis, and interpretation. RESULTS: A total of 34 studies met the inclusion criteria. Our findings indicate that many groups of older adults were excluded from these interventions and remain understudied. Specifically, the oldest old and those living with cognitive impairments were excluded from the studies included in this review. In addition, very few studies have described the characteristics related to gender diversity, education, race, ethnicity, and culture. None of the studies commented on the sexual orientation of the participants. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first review, to our knowledge, that has mapped the literature focusing on the inclusion of older adults in digital hospital-to-home interventions. The findings suggest that the literature on digital health interventions tends to operationalize older adults as a homogenous group, ignoring the heterogeneity in older age definitions. Inconsistency in the literature surrounding the characteristics of the included participants suggests a need for further study to better understand how digital technologies to support hospital-to-home transitions can be inclusive.

The Cost-Effectiveness of Intermediate-Acting, Long-Acting, Ultralong-Acting, and Biosimilar Insulins for Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVES: The incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus is increasing every year requiring substantial expenditure on treatment and complications. A systematic review was conducted on the cost-effectiveness of insulin formulations, including ultralong-, long-, or intermediate-acting insulin, and their biosimilar insulin equivalents. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, HTA, and NHS EED were searched from inception to June 11, 2021. Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses were included if insulin formulations in adults (≥ 16 years) with type 1 diabetes mellitus were evaluated. Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts, and full-text articles, extracted study data, and appraised their quality using the Drummond 10-item checklist. Costs were converted to 2020 US dollars adjusting for inflation and purchasing power parity across currencies. RESULTS: A total of 27 studies were included. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios ranged widely across the studies. All pairwise comparisons (11 of 11, 100%) found that ultralong-acting insulin was cost-effective compared with other long-acting insulins, including a long-acting biosimilar. Most pairwise comparisons (24 of 27, 89%) concluded that long-acting insulin was cost-effective compared with intermediate-acting insulin. Few studies compared long-acting insulins with one another. CONCLUSIONS: Long-acting insulin may be cost-effective compared with intermediate-acting insulin. Future studies should directly compare biosimilar options and long-acting insulin options and evaluate the long-term consequences of ultralong-acting insulins.

Dread and solace: Talking about perinatal mental health.

Perinatal mental health issues are a global public health challenge. Worldwide, it is estimated that 10% of pregnant women, and 13% of women who have just given birth, experience a mental disorder. Yet, for many reasons - including stigma, limited access to services, patients' lack of awareness about symptoms, and inadequate professional intervention - actual rates of clinical and subclinical perinatal mental health issues are likely higher. Studies have explored experiences such as postpartum depression, but few involve a wider-ranging exploration of a variety of self-reported perinatal mental health issues through personal narrative. We conducted 21 narrative interviews with women, in two Canadian provinces, about their experiences of perinatal mental health issues. Our aim was to deepen understanding of how individual and cultural narratives of motherhood and perinatal mental health can be sources of shame, guilt, and suffering, but also spaces for healing and recovery. We identified four predominant themes in women's narrative: feeling like a failed mother; societal silencing of negative experiences of motherhood; coming to terms with a new sense of self; and finding solace in shared experiences. These findings are consistent with other studies that highlight the personal challenges associated with perinatal mental health issues, particularly the dread of facing societal norms of the 'good mother'. We also highlight the positive potential for healing and self-care through sharing experiences, and the power of narratives to help shape feelings of self-worth and a new identity. This study adheres to the expectations for conducting and reporting qualitative research.

How digital health solutions align with the roles and functions that support hospital to home transitions for older adults: a rapid review study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Older adults may experience challenges during the hospital to home transitions that could be mitigated by digital health solutions. However, to promote adoption in practice and realise benefits, there is a need to specify how digital health solutions contribute to hospital to home transitions, particularly pertinent in this era of social distancing. This rapid review will: (1) elucidate the various roles and functions that have been developed to support hospital to home transitions of care, (2) identify existing digital health solutions that support hospital to home transitions of care, (3) identify gaps and new opportunities where digital health solutions can support these roles and functions and (4) create recommendations that will inform the design and structure of future digital health interventions that support hospital to home transitions for older adults (eg, the pre-trial results of the Digital Bridge intervention; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04287192). METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A two-phase rapid review will be conducted to meet identified aims. In phase 1, a selective literature review will be used to generate a conceptual map of the roles and functions of individuals that support hospital to home transitions for older adults. In phase 2, a search on MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL will identify literature on digital health solutions that support hospital to home transitions. The ways in which digital health solutions can support the roles and functions that facilitate these transitions will then be mapped in the analysis and generation of findings. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This protocol is a review of the literature and does not involve human subjects, and therefore, does not require ethics approval. This review will permit the identification of gaps and new opportunities for digital processes and platforms that enable care transitions and can help inform the design and implementation of future digital health interventions. Review findings will be disseminated through publications and presentations to key stakeholders.

Cost-Utility Analysis of Electroconvulsive Therapy and Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Treatment-Resistant Depression in Ontario.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and combining both treatments in a stepped care pathway for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) in Ontario. METHODS: A cost-utility analysis evaluated the lifetime costs and benefits to society of rTMS and ECT as first-line treatments for TRD using a Markov model, which simulates the costs and health benefits of patients over their lifetime. Health states included acute treatment, maintenance treatment, remission, and severe depression. Treatment efficacy and health utility data were extracted and synthesized from randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses evaluating these techniques. Direct costing data were obtained from national and provincial costing databases. Indirect costs were derived from government records. Scenario, threshold, and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to test robustness of the results. RESULTS: rTMS dominated ECT, as it was less costly and produced better health outcomes, measured in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), in the base case scenario. rTMS patients gained an average of 0.96 additional QALYs (equivalent to approximately 1 year in perfect health) over their lifetime with costs that were $46,094 less than ECT. rTMS remained dominant in the majority of scenario and threshold analyses. However, results from scenarios in which the model's maximum lifetime allowance of rTMS treatment courses was substantially limited, the dominance of rTMS over ECT was attenuated. The scenario that showed the highest QALY gain (1.19) and the greatest cost-savings ($46,614) was when rTMS nonresponders switched to ECT. CONCLUSION: From a societal perspective utilizing a lifetime horizon, rTMS is a cost-effective first-line treatment option for TRD relative to ECT, as it is less expensive and produces better health outcomes. The reduced side effect profile and greater patient acceptability of rTMS that allow it to be administered more times than ECT in a patient's lifetime may contribute to its cost-effectiveness.