Saskatchewan Health

About: Saskatchewan Health is a government organization based out in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 442 authors who have published 489 publications receiving 7728 citations.

A Retrospective Study of Chronic Kidney Disease Burden in Saskatchewan's First Nations People.

Abstract: Background:Chronic kidney disease is more prevalent among First Nations people than in non-First Nations people. Emerging research suggests that First Nations people are subject to greater disease ...

Identifying Barriers to Healthcare Access for New Immigrants: A Qualitative Study in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

Abstract: Despite universal healthcare, immigrants often face unique challenges accessing healthcare. Employing an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach, four focus groups were conducted with 29 women and eight men from 15 different countries attending English language classes hosted at a non-governmental organization in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada in 2016 and 2017. Personal factors such as language barrier, lack of transportation, childcare and others interacted with systemic factors such as lack of appointment, long wait times, etc. delaying access at each point of contact with the healthcare system. Participants expressed dissatisfaction with the potency of medications, time spent in appointments and the way healthcare professionals communicated health information. The referral process and wait times were viewed as barriers to accessing specialist, diagnostic and acute care services. Participants were concerned that appropriate healthcare will be unavailable when needed. Strategies addressing systemic and person-specific barriers are needed to provide equitable client-centered care.

Handgrip Strength, but Not 5-Meter Walk, Adds Value to a Clinical Nutrition Assessment.

Abstract: BACKGROUND Decreased physical functioning is associated with malnutrition and common in acute care patients; determining loss of function is often considered part of a comprehensive nutrition assessment. Handgrip strength (HGS) and 5-meter timed walk (5m) are functional measures used in a variety of settings. This analysis sought to determine which functional measure could be added to a hospital nutrition assessment, based on its feasibility and capacity to discriminate patient subgroups. METHODS Eligible medical patients (no delirium/dementia, admitted from community; n = 1250), recruited from 5 hospitals that participated in a previous multisite action research study, provided data on demographics, HGS, 5m, nutrition status, perceived disability, and other characteristics. RESULTS Significantly more patients (z = 17.39, P < .00001) were able to complete HGS than 5m (92% versus 43%, respectively). Median HGS was 28.0 kg for men and 14.7 kg for women. Of patients who completed the 5m, mean completion time was 8.98 seconds (median, 6.79 seconds, SD = 6.59). 5m and HGS scores were significantly worse with patient-perceived disability (z = -9.56, t = 10.69, respectively; P < .0001; 95% confidence interval [CI], [7.33, 10.63]; [1.76, 3.18]). HGS was associated with nutrition status (t = 4.13, P < .001; 95% CI [2.02, 5.67]), although it showed poor validity as a single nutrition indicator. CONCLUSIONS These data indicate that HGS is a more useful functional measure than 5m when added to a hospital nutrition assessment. Determination of HGS cutpoints to identify low strength in acute care patients will promote its use.

Validity of an algorithm to identify cardiovascular deaths from administrative health records: a multi-database population-based cohort study.

Abstract: Background Cardiovascular death is a common outcome in population-based studies about new healthcare interventions or treatments, such as new prescription medications. Vital statistics registration systems are often the preferred source of information about cause-specific mortality because they capture verified information about the deceased, but they may not always be accessible for linkage with other sources of population-based data. We assessed the validity of an algorithm applied to administrative health records for identifying cardiovascular deaths in population-based data.