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Nearly a quarter of Canada's landmass is covered by mountainous terrain, making mountains an important aspect of the physical and human geography of the country. Mountain areas in Canada have motivated a great deal of research activity, yet the state of mountain research in the country has never been systematically characterized, precluding a detailed understanding of what is being studied, when, where, how, and by whom. In response, we conducted a systematic scoping review to rigorously identify, collate, and critically examine existing peer-reviewed articles related to mountains in Canada. 2,888 articles were included in our review, which reveals strong biases towards work in the natural sciences and in the mountain west, with little work to date in the social and health sciences or in other mountainous regions of the country. Our results demonstrate that Canada is among the most productive contributors to mountain research globally, but that topical and geographical biases in existing research effort leave important gaps that must be addressed to successfully navigate challenges and opportunities facing mountain areas in Canada. We provide a roadmap to guide future mountain-focused research activities in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Chronic health conditions are a major challenge to the health care system. Medical Group Visits (MGVs) are a valuable health care delivery model used in a variety of medical settings and patient populations. We conducted a systematic scoping review of MGV research literature for chronic health conditions to summarize the characteristics and individual components of MGVs in the United States of America and Canada. Design: We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses scoping review methodology and searched five databases using nine widely used MGV-related terms. Subjects: We included studies conducted in the United States and Canada, whose participants were >18 years old and attended an MGV conducted in a medical setting by a billable health care provider. We excluded groups related to diabetes, pregnancy, and cancer. Results: Of 3777 studies identified, we found 55 eligible studies of which 9 are randomized controlled trials and 46 are observational studies. The majority of studies were conducted in academic medical centers, were observational in design, and recruited patients using physician referrals. The three most frequently studied groups include a combination of several chronic conditions (n = 12), chronic pain conditions (n = 10), and cardiovascular disease (n = 9). Curriculum components included didactics (n = 55), experiential activities (n = 27), and socializing components (n = 12). Didactic areas include (1) medical topics such as symptoms management (n = 27) of which 14 included pain management, and (2) lifestyle/educational component (n = 33) that comprised of talks on nutrition (n = 29), exercise (n = 20), stress (n = 16), and sleep (n = 10). The top integrative medicine (IM) modalities (n = 13) included: mindfulness techniques (n = 8), meditation (n = 6), and yoga (n = 5). Substantial heterogeneity was observed in the recruitment, implementation, curriculum components, and outcomes reported. Conclusion: The MGV is a model of patient-centered care that has captured the attention of researchers. IM modalities are well represented in the curriculum components of MGVs. Further investigation into the components identified by this study, may help in better targeting of group interventions to patients and contexts, where it is most likely to be effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]