Family health

The energy drink market has grown phenomenally in recent years. These products are said to enhance energy levels, physical alertness, and performance, and, as a result, are used by consumers for various reasons on various occasions. According to the literature, the reasons given by consumers include: staying alert, boosting energy, increasing motivation, improving sports performance, and partying all night. Some consumers also drink them because they taste good, to quench their thirst, for their perceived health benefits, and to improve the taste of alcoholic beverages.

Recent data have been published on the consumption of energy drinks by high-school students in Québec. In addition, the legal framework regulating these drinks in Canada has recently been changed. Drawing on this new information, this update of the TOPO summary published in August 2011 reports on the extent to which young people are consuming energy drinks and the level of health risk.

While Canadians have invested heavily in areas such as health care and education for years, the country has fallen behind in terms of providing resources for our children. Approximately 27% of kindergarten-aged children in Canada do not have all the developmental assets they need to thrive both upon entering school and into the future (Kershaw, Irwin, Trafford & Hertzman, 2005; Willms, 2002).

Public health actors are increasingly aware of the impact this situation can have on the health of Canadians, young and old, in the short and the long term. This briefing note presents a definition of developmental health, discusses the social determinants of developmental health, shows some key figures for Canada and suggests a healthy public family policy framework to support developmental health.

The live attenuated influenza virus vaccine (LAIV), Flumist®, administered by intranasal spray, is approved for people aged 2-59 years. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommended in its statement for the 2011-2012 season that, given its efficacy and immunogenicity, LAIV should be used preferentially for healthy children and adolescents aged 2 to 17 years. NACI also indicates that LAIV can be used for children with chronic diseases, other than immune compromising conditions or severe asthma, but that there were insufficient data to recommend the preferential use of LAIV over trivalent inactivated vaccine (TIV). The Comité sur l'immunisation du Québec (CIQ) also recommended, at its June 2011 meeting, that LAIV should be used preferentially in healthy children aged 2-17 years, particularly among household contacts of people at high risk for complicated influenza infection.

At the December 2011 CIQ meeting, the question of LA…

The built environment, composed of all the buildings, spaces, and products that have been created or modified by people, has undeniably an impact on our health and quality of life. This first issue of the TOPO collection documents, in a nutshell, the relation between the built environment and physical activity amoung young people. It addresses the following questions: "What opportunities provided by the built environment promote physical activity by young people?", "What characteristics of the built environment promote a physically active lifestyle among young people?", "What interventions addressing the built environment have been already implemented in Québec and elsewhere in the world?". The TOPO collection is produced by the multidisciplinary team on nutrition, physical activity, and weight-related problems prevention (Nutrition, activité physique et prévention des problèmes reliés au poids) at the Institut national de santé publique du Québec.

Numer…

The Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) and the Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport (MELS) asked the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) to produce a decision support tool. This new tool is intended to help managers and staff in the education and health networks to select the promotion and prevention practices that will be most effective in fostering educational success, health and well-being among students in Québec schools.

The document entitled Educational Success, Health and Well-Being: Effective Action in Schools – Synthesis of Recommendations is one component of this tool. It presents a synthesis of the national and international scientific knowledge, in the fields of education science, social science and health, underpinning the main recommendations concerning effective health promotion and prevention practices in schools. The synthesis is presented in the form of information sheets on eleven topics that are reflec…

The Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) is participating in the inquiry by appearing before the Board, submitting evidence and making representations.

The INSPQ is affected by the Order of the Governor in Council, which prohibits the advertising, sale or importation of baby walkers within the meaning of section 9 of the Hazardous Products Act, for the following reasons: The INSPQ is an organization that was created in June 1998. It is a public health expertise and reference centre for Quebec. Its goal is to contribute to the advancement of knowledge and to propose intersectoral strategies and actions to improve population health and well-being. Trauma is a particular area of focus for the INSPQ. Since baby walkers represent a major safety issue, any legislative change that is likely to increase access to these products is of the highest concern to us. Moreover, the INSPQ attaches particular importance to one of the objectives of Quebec's national public hea…

In Canada, the first 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-7) was licenced in 2001. The manufacturer's recommendation is to administer three doses at an early age for primary immunization and a booster dose during the second year (Wyeth-Ayerst Canada Inc. 2001). The recommendation of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NAIC) is to give 3 doses of vaccines at the same time as the other vaccines provided in the schedule at the ages of 2, 4 and 6 months, and the booster dose between 12 and 15 months (NAIC 2002). An economic analysis done for Canada indicated that such a program would significantly reduce the burden of disease in children, but that the cost-effectiveness indices, established for a purchase price of $58 per dose, were not favorable compared to other immunization programs (De Wals et al. 2003). In 2002, in response to the report of the Working Group on Conjugate Antipneumococcal Vaccine (INSPQ 2003), the Quebec Immunization Committee (QIC…

Here are the abstracts and PowerPoints of the North American Conference on deafness screening and intervention in early childhood (January 23-25, 2003).