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Background: A growing literature has documented how the secondary effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have compounded socioeconomic vulnerabilities already present in society, particularly across social categories such as gender, race, class, and socioeconomic status. Such effects demonstrate how pandemic response policies act as structural determinants of health to influence not only direct health outcomes but also intermediary outcomes, such as access to education or income., Methods: This review aims to scope research that analyzes pandemic response policies in Canada from an equity perspective, to identify common themes, recommendations, and gaps., Results: Fourteen studies were thematically analyzed, the majority being qualitative policy document analysis, applying critical frameworks and focused on effects on select priority populations. Analysis of economic and labour policies indicates a lack of consideration for the specific needs of priority populations, and those engaged in precarious, informal, and essential labour. Analysis of social policies illustrate the wide-ranging effects of school and service closures, particularly on women and children. Furthermore, these policies lacked consideration of populations marginalized during the pandemic, include older adults and their caregivers, as well as lack of consideration of the diversity of Indigenous communities. Recommendations proposed in this review call for developing policy responses that address persistent social and economic inequities, pandemic response policies tailored to the needs of priority populations and more meaningful consultation during policy development., Conclusion: The limited number of studies suggests there is still much scope for research recognizing policies as structural determinants of health inequities, including research which takes an intersectional approach., (© 2024 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.)

The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly forced Canadian post-secondary students into remote learning methods, with potential implications on their academic success and health. In recent years, the use of social media to promote research participation and as a strategy for communicating health messages has become increasingly popular. To better understand how the pandemic has impacted this population, we used social media platforms to recruit students to participate in a national bilingual COVID-19 Health Literacy Survey. The purpose of the survey was to assess the health literacy levels and online information-seeking behaviors of post-secondary students in relation to the coronavirus. This paper outlines the social media recruitment strategies used for promoting participation in the survey among Canadian post-secondary students during the pandemic. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts were created to promote the online survey. The objective of this paper is to examine the use of Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter as survey recruitment strategies tailored to students. Data analytics from these platforms were analyzed using descriptive statistics. We found that the most commonly used platform for survey dissemination was Twitter, with 64800 total impressions recorded over 3 months. The use of social media as a survey recruitment strategy showed promise in the current context of COVID-19 where many students are participating in online learning and for a study population that actively uses these platforms to seek out information.

Introduction: With the rapid spread of online coronavirus-related health information, it is important to ensure that this information is reliable and effectively communicated. This study observes the dissemination of COVID-19 health literacy information by Canadian postsecondary institutions aimed at university students as compared to provincial and federal government COVID-19 guidelines. Methods: We conducted a systematic scan of web pages from Canadian provincial and federal governments and from selected Canadian universities to identify how health information is presented to university students. We used our previously implemented health literacy survey with Canadian postsecondary students as a sampling frame to determine which academic institutions to include. We then used specific search terms to identify relevant web pages using Google and integrated search functions on government websites, and compared the information available on pandemic measures categorized by university response strategies, sources of expertise and branding approaches. Results: Our scan of Canadian government and university web pages found that universities similarly created one main page for COVID-19 updates and information and linked to public sector agencies as a main resource, and mainly differed in their provincial and local sources for obtaining information. They also differed in their strategies for communicating and displaying this information to their respective students. Conclusion: The universities in our sample outlined similar policies for their students, aligning with Canadian government public health recommendations and their respective provincial or regional health authorities. Maintaining the accuracy of these information sources is important to ensure student health literacy and counter misinformation about COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To better understand the online information-seeking behaviors and health literacy levels of Canadian post-secondary students, a cross-sectional online bilingual survey was initiated during the first wave of COVID-19 in Canada. The survey was administered to Canadian post-secondary students from 1 July 2020, to 30 September 2020, through email invitations and social media platforms. The objective of this paper is to assess the online information-seeking behaviors and health literacy levels in relation to the coronavirus of Canadian post-secondary students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The online survey was developed using standardized tools, including the Digital Health Literacy Instrument, and newly developed measures of sociodemographic indicators and the information satisfaction scale. Sociodemographic factors and health literacy levels were analyzed using descriptive statistics. A total of 2,679 students partihigh levels of health literacy and could easily access online information related to COVID-19 to make health decisions. The most frequently used sources to obtain information about the coronavirus were search engines and websites of public sector agencies. While the majority of respondents found it easy to access and utilize online health information, continued development of these resources is vital to reducing the spread of COVID-19 and addressing misinformation. Accurate and well-maintained online resources are key preventative health measures to educate the public and ultimately lessen the burden on our healthcare system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]