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We aimed to document in primary care older adults the relationship between family violence (FV) and mental and physical health, satisfaction with life, and health service use, by gender. The study sample included data from 1,658 older adults recruited in primary care practices, in one of the largest health regions in the province of Quebec. The presence of FV (partner/spouse, adult child) was assessed with the 21-item Family Violence Scale (FVS) adapted from the conflicts Tactics Scale 2. Self-rated mental health (SRMH) and self-rated physical health (SRPH) were assessed with single-item measures. Satisfaction with life (SWL) was measured using a validated French version of the SWL scale. Health service use over a 2-year period included outpatient consultations (number), emergency department (ED) visits (yes/no), and hospitalizations (yes/no). Multi-level logistic and Poisson's regression models were conducted to assess study outcomes as a function of FV. Analyses were stratified by perpetrator and gender. There was an association between FV and SRMH in women (OR = 0.41, 95% CI = [0.27, 0.62]), and SWL in both men and women (B = −5.74, 95% CI = [–6.71, –4.76]; B = −10.07, 95% CI = [–14.16, –5.98], respectively). Significant associations were found in women between FV and ED visits (OR = 1.45, 95% CI = [1.12, 1.18]), hospitalizations (OR = 1.36, 95% CI = [1.32, 1.43]), and outpatient consultations (RR = 1.25, 95% CI = [1.19, 1.30]). SWL moderated the association between FV and likelihood of hospitalization. Gender differences were observed between FV and SRMH and SWL. FV was associated with increased health service use in women but not men. These gender differences may suggest stigma-related barriers to health service use. Victims of violence with higher SWL had a lower likelihood of being hospitalized. Public health programs aimed at increasing awareness of the different types of FV and interventions aiming to improve resilience in victims are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim We tested the efficacy of a brief intervention based on motivational interviewing (MI) to reduce high-risk injection behaviours over a 6-month period among people who inject drugs (PWID). Design A single-site two-group parallel randomized controlled trial comparing MI with a brief educational intervention (EI). Setting A study office located in downtown Montréal, Canada, close to the community-based harm reduction programmes where PWID were recruited. Participants PWID who had shared drug injection equipment or shared drugs by backloading or frontloading in the month prior to recruitment were randomized to either the MI (112) or EI (109) groups. Intervention The MI aimed to (1) encourage PWID to voice their desires, needs and reasons to change behaviours; (2) boost motivation to change behaviours; and (3) when the person was ready, support the plan he or she chose to reduce injection risk behaviours. The EI consisted of an individual session about safe injection behaviours. Measurements The primary outcome was defined as having any of these risk behaviours at 6 months: having shared syringes, containers, filters or water to inject drugs in the previous month and backloading/frontloading; each behaviour was examined separately, as secondary outcomes. Findings The probability of reporting a risk injection behaviour decreased in both the MI and the EI groups. At 6-month follow-up, participants who reported any risk behaviours were 50% [odds ratio (OR) = 0.50; confidence interval (CI) = 0.13-0.87] less likely to be in the MI group than in the EI group as well as those who reported sharing containers (OR = 0.50; CI = 0.09-0.90). PWID who reported sharing equipment excluding syringes were 53% less likely to be in the MI group (OR = 0.47; CI = 0.11-0.84). Conclusions A brief motivational interviewing intervention was more effective than a brief educational intervention in reducing some high risk injecting behaviours up in the subsequent 6 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To test a model of presenteeism on the basis of established and emerging theories separated into organizational and individual factors that could be mediated by psychological distress. Methods: This was a Web survey of 2371 employees (response rate of 48%) of a provincial government agency. We assessed theories with validated measures for organizational and individual factors. Results: Psychological distress was negatively associated to presenteeism, when controlling for sex, short-term work absence in the last year, and social desirability. Both individual and organizational factors were related to psychological distress. The most important factors included the presence of stress events in the preceding 6 months, extrinsic efforts (interruptions, work requirements), self-esteem as a worker, and internal amotivation. Conclusions: By identifying modifiable factors, our results suggest that the implementation of a work organization structure that promotes stimulation and accomplishment would reduce psychological distress and further presenteeism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]