Chronic Dis Can
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Acceptability of micronutrient sprinkles: a new food-based approach for delivering iron to First Nations and Inuit children in Northern Canada.
Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a significant public health problem among Canadian Aboriginal children. The objectives of this study were to determine the acceptability and safety of microencapsulated-iron sprinkles, a new powdered form of iron packaged in a single-serving sachet for prevention of IDA. A total of 102 non-anemic children aged 4 to 18 months from three communities were randomized to receive sprinkles containing 30 mg Fe/day (NR = 49) or placebo (NR = 53) for six months. ⋯ There were no differences in adherence, SF, anthropometric status or side effects between groups. Although there were no differences in hemoglobin (Hb) concentration and anemia prevalence from baseline to end and between groups, the Hb curve shifted to the right (increased) for the sprinkles group and to the left (decreased) for the placebo group. Sprinkles may provide a safe and acceptable option to the current standard of care (i.e. ferrous sulphate drops) for the provision of iron in Canadian Aboriginal populations.
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This study reports a comprehensive array of breast cancer statistics for Manitoba for a 40-year period. Data from the Manitoba Cancer Registry were combined with the provincial population-based registration file to determine trends in breast cancer incidence, prevalence and mortality rates, as well as survival and the probability of being diagnosed with breast cancer in the next 10 years. The age-standardized incidence rate of breast cancer increased by 0.99/100,000 women per year over the 40 years of follow-up (69.6/100,000 women in 1960, 109.9/100,000 women in 1999). ⋯ The probability of being diagnosed with breast cancer in the next 10 years increased the most for women 60 years of age. The breast cancer burden in Manitoba is rapidly evolving mainly because of the increasing incidence and the better survival of cases. Key words: breast neoplasms, incidence, prevalence, registries, vital statistics.
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Comparative Study
Youth attitudes towards tobacco control: a preliminary assessment.
The attitudes of Ontario youth toward the sale and price of cigarettes, making smoking against the law, and tobacco company truthfulness were assessed in 2001 and compared to adult attitudes in 2000 and youth attitudes in 2003. Youth were more supportive of restricting cigarette sales and raising prices than adults, and more likely to agree that the government should make smoking against the law, but they were less distrustful of tobacco companies. In 2003, youth were more supportive of sales restrictions and making smoking illegal, and more distrustful of tobacco companies, than in 2001. More comprehensive assessments and continued monitoring of youth attitudes are needed.
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Rising health care costs, expensive new health care technologies and increasing patient expectations are placing huge pressures on the publicly funded health care system in Canada. As a result, policy makers need information on the cost and cost-effectiveness of new therapies in addition to their clinical benefits. In response to this need, the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group (NCIC CTG) established a Working Group on Economic Analysis (WGEA) to provide advice on the economic evaluation of new cancer therapies. ⋯ The recommendations in this document are meant to be pragmatic, as the WGEA recognizes that both the research funds and human resource capacity for this type of research in Canada are limited. These recommendations are currently guiding priority setting with regard to trials for economic evaluation in NCIC trials. Examples of how these recommendations have been applied to actual trials are presented.
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In the mid 1990s, the high cost and increasing number of new anticancer and supportive care drugs began to result in an inequality of access to promising new treatment approaches in the Province of Ontario. Starting with a single drug, paclitaxel, in 1995, the New Drug Funding Program has evolved to a provincial program that enables cancer patients in Canada's most populous province to equitably access new and expensive, intravenously administered drugs. ⋯ In fiscal year 2000/2001, the Program made 14 drugs available for 24 indications for a total provincial expenditure of approximately $37.7 million. These intravenous drugs can now be accessed through nine Regional Cancer Centres, the province's only cancer hospital (Princess Margaret Hospital) and 80 community hospitals and will directly benefit more than 8,700 patients.