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Introduction: To date, surveillance of vaping among Canadians (using vaping products with or without nicotine) has largely been examined with respect to age and smoking status. However, a nationally representative examination of a broad set of characteristics is lacking. This study characterized Canadians aged 15 years and older who vape, stratified by smoking status., Methods: Data from the 2020 Canadian Community Health Survey (unweighted analytical sample size: 28 413 respondents) were used to examine past-30-day vaping stratified by smoking status (current smoking, former smoking, and never/nonsmoking). A Sexand Gender-Based Analysis Plus approach was used to select individual-level characteristics for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to examine outcomes by each characteristic and multivariable logistic regression models were constructed to identify significant factors associated with each past-30-day vaping by smoking status category, using weighted data., Results: In 2020, 2.0% (605 000) of Canadians aged 15 years and older reported vaping and current smoking (dual use), 1.2% (372 000) reported vaping and former smoking and 1.1% (352 000) reported vaping and never/nonsmoking. Within each past-30-day vaping by smoking status category, certain subgroups presented higher risks: youth and young adults, men, and those having a mood and/or anxiety disorder had higher odds of dual use. Vaping and former smoking was associated with self-identification as a man, having a mood and/or anxiety disorder and provincial region. Youth and young adults, men and those identifying as not a visible minority had higher odds of vaping and never/nonsmoking., Conclusion: This analysis of Canadians who vape, stratified by smoking status, identifies high-prevalence subpopulations and informs us of the composition of vaping populations by select characteristics, deepening our understanding of Canadians who engage in vaping behaviours., Competing Interests: None to declare.

This study examines three potential contributions (i.e., additive only, hierarchical compensatory, and hierarchical conditional) of mentor support to youth academic adjustment, taking into account interactions with support from mothers and teachers. We derived data from a larger study of the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Canada community mentoring program. The sample included 427 youth (average age 9.8 years; 64% girls, 56% White) who received one-to-one community-based mentoring for at least three months. We assessed perceptions of support from mothers and teachers before the match and assessed perceptions of support from mentors five times throughout the mentoring experience. Hierarchical linear regression analyses showed that mentor support predicted positive changes in youth academic adjustment (i.e., school attitude, academic self-efficacy, assistance seeking, and problem solving) mainly when mentees already reported high support from their mother. This finding clearly supports the conditional model and invites researchers to question the assumption that mentoring constitutes a corrective experience for young people (i.e., the compensatory model). BBBS agencies are strongly encouraged to involve parents in the mentoring process and to view them as experts, assets, and allies in their effort to meet the youth's needs.

Previous research suggests that early mentoring relationship (MR) closures may have harmful consequences for the health and well-being of youth participating in community-based mentoring programs. However, knowledge of the factors that lead some MRs to close early has been slow to emerge. This study examined patterns and correlates of early versus on-time MR closures among 569 youth participating in Big Brothers Big Sisters community mentoring programs. Thirty-four percent of youth experienced an early MR closure prior to the end of the program's 12 month period of commitment. The probability of closure was highest at 12 months into the MR. Early closures were positively associated with youth gender (girls), behavioral difficulties, and match determination difficulties. Early and on-time closures were associated with youth extrinsic motives for joining the program. Early MR closures were negatively associated with youth perceptions of parent emotional support, parent social support, high quality MR, weekly contact in MR, and parent support of the MR. Implications for programming are discussed., (© Society for Community Research and Action 2016.)

Objective: Chronic constipation is characterized by difficult, infrequent, or seemingly incomplete bowel movements. The Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life (PAC-QOL) questionnaire was developed to address the need for a standardized, patient-reported outcomes measure to evaluate constipation over time., Material and Methods: Items for the PAC-QOL were generated from the literature, clinical experts, and patients. Following principal components and multi-trait analyses, 28 items were retained forming four subscales (worries and concerns, physical discomfort, psychosocial discomfort, and satisfaction) and an overall scale. Validation studies were conducted in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Australia, to evaluate the internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha), reproducibility (Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICCs)), validity (analysis of variance models), and responsiveness (effect size) of the PAC-QOL scales., Results: The PAC-QOL scales were internally consistent (Cronbach's alpha >0.80) and reproducible (ICCs >0.70, except for the satisfaction subscale ICC=0.66). PAC-QOL scale scores were significantly associated with abdominal pain (p<0.001) and constipation severity (p<0.05). Effect sizes in patients reporting improvements in constipation over a 6-week period were moderate to large, with subscale effect sizes ranging from 0.76 to 3.41 and the overall scale effect size=1.77. Similar findings were observed in validation studies conducted in Europe, Canada, and Australia., Conclusions: The PAC-QOL is a brief but comprehensive assessment of the burden of constipation on patients' everyday functioning and well-being. Multinational studies demonstrate that the PAC-QOL is internally consistent, reproducible, valid, and responsive to improvements over time.

Background: Our purpose was to evaluate the impact of upper gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms on quality of life (QoL), which was assessed using the Psychological General Well-Being Index (PGWBI) and the three-item Interference with Daily Life Index (IDLI)., Methods: The Domestic/International Gastroenterology Surveillance Study (DIGEST) was conducted among 5581 respondents (mean age 44 years) from 10 countries (seven European countries plus Canada, USA and Japan)., Results: Approximately 25% of the respondents reported conditions such as hypertension, asthma or diabetes, and a mean of 46.4% reported at least one GI symptom. The most frequent symptoms were heartburn, diarrhoea and postprandial fullness. Approximately 10-20% of the respondents reporting individual symptoms experienced these several times a week. Symptoms were considered as severe or interfering 'quite a lot' with daily activities by at least 7.3% and 4.8% of respondents, respectively. PGWBI scores varied from 71.82 (Italy) to 79.43 (Switzerland) and daily activity scores from 88.62 (USA) to 97.78 (Switzerland). Female gender, medical conditions and presence of GI symptoms were associated with significantly impaired wellbeing and daily life. PGWBI and IDLI scores were lower among respondents with relevant upper GI symptoms than non-upper GI symptoms. Among upper GI symptom groups, subjects with ulcer-like symptoms had lower scores than patients with GERD-like or dysmotility-like symptoms. PGWBI and IDLI scores were found to discriminate between respondents reporting different symptom frequencies and severities., Conclusions: Results from the DIGEST demonstrate on a large scale the importance of GI symptoms in daily life and their influence on QoL.