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Background: To create a successful public health initiative that counters vaccine hesitancy and promotes vaccine acceptance, it is essential to gain a strong understanding of the beliefs, attitudes and subjective risk perceptions of the population. Methods: A qualitative analysis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine discourse from 3,731 social media posts on the Twitter and Facebook accounts of six Canadian news organizations was used to identify the perceptions, attitudes, beliefs and intentions of Canadian news organizations’ social media commenters toward taking a COVID-19 vaccine. Results: Four main themes were identified: 1) COVID-19 vaccine safety and efficacy concerns; 2) conspiracy theories stemming from mistrust in government and other organizations; 3) a COVID-19 vaccine is unnecessary because the virus is not dangerous; and 4) trust in COVID-19 vaccines as a safe solution. Based on themes and subthemes, several key communication recommendations were developed for promotion of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, including infographics championed by Public Health that highlight the benefits of the vaccine for those who have received it, public education about the contents and safety of the vaccine and eliciting an emotional connection through personal stories of those impacted by COVID-19. Conclusion: Specific considerations, such as leveraging the public’s trust in healthcare professionals to act as a liaison between Public Health and the Canadian public to communicate the benefits of the vaccine against COVID-19 and its variants, may help reduce COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.

Optimal nutrition in childhood is necessary to promote healthy growth and development. Within the household, parents play a key role in influencing their children’s eating. Research also suggests that food literacy is key in determining household food waste. However, little is known about parental food literacy’s relation to children’s diet quality and household food waste. This thesis includes four studies that aim to address these research gaps. Study 1 explores challenges and strategies in meeting the 2019 Canada’s Food Guide recommendation to “cook more often” among mothers (n = 29) and fathers (n = 11) of children aged 2-12 years old. Challenges reported by parents included time constraints, lack of child and spousal support, and lack of food skills. Strategies identified by parents included planning and preparing ahead of time, using devices and appliances to make cooking more convenient, and receiving help from spouse or child. Study 2 uses Structural Equation Modelling to build a model representing food skills of mothers (n = 202) and fathers (n = 116) participating in the Guelph Family Health Study. Results showed that fathers’ ability to plan and adjust meals was associated with higher healthfulness of dinner. Study 3 investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food preparation behaviours and food waste among families with children aged 9-12 years (n = 19). While total food waste remained consistent, unavoidable food waste increased but avoidable other food waste decreased. Families also reported greater frequency of serving leftovers, meal planning, and managing inventory more efficiently. Study 4 investigates the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary impact of a food literacy intervention targeting household food waste in families with children aged 9-12 (n = 19). Most parents and children reported being satisfied with the intervention and its specific components, and preliminary impact results suggest increases in confidence of mothers to reduce food waste and greater knowledge of best before dates in children. Findings will inform future family-based food literacy interventions as well as help inform policies pertaining to food literacy and household food waste, such as increasing school food literacy education and improving work-life balance. Danone Institute of North America One Health; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Transmission of Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) to permissive CD4+T cells requires the dissemination of virus from sites of infection to secondary lymphoid organs, where extensive viral replication occurs in CD4+T cells. Several studies demonstrated that DC-SIGN (Dendritic Cell-Specific Intercellular adhesion molecule-3-Grabbing Non-integrin) molecules located on the surface of Dendritic Cell subsets showed high-affinity binding to HIV-1 and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). It is exploited by HIV-1 and Mtb as a part of their immune evasion strategy. In this study, we investigated the possible involvement of DC-SIGN encoding gene CD209 variants in the development of tuberculosis (TB) among HIV-1 infected patients as well as AIDS development and treatment response outcomes in a Moroccan population. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms in the CD209 promoter − 336A > G (rs4804803) and − 139G > A (rs2287886) were investigated. Two hundred eighteen Moroccan subjects living with HIV-1 were genotyped using direct DNA sequencing. Out of 218 patients, 90 were co-infected with Mtb. Stratification of patient was performed according to TB status: as HIV-1+/TB- and HIV-1+/TB+ patients and their AIDS status as: AIDS and Non-AIDS patients. Our results revealed that genotype and allele frequencies of the − 336A > G and − 139G > A polymorphisms were not significantly different between HIV-1+/TB- and HIV-1+/TB+ patients (p > 0.05). Likewise, the development of AIDS doesn’t appear to be affected by these two SNPs either (p > 0.05). Haplotype analysis showed that none of the 4 possible haplotypes is associated with HIV-1 and TB co-infection (p > 0.05). Interestingly, the analysis of the − 139 G > A genotype distribution according to the HIV-1 viral load showed an improvement in AG and GG patients, after ART, compared to AA patients (p = 0.0069 and p = 0.0476; respectively). Overall, -336A > G and − 139G > A polymorphisms don’t influence the susceptibility of HIV-1 infected individuals to develop TB and AIDS. However, -139G > A polymorphism may affect the response to treatment as measured by RNA viral load levels. Further investigations are needed for a better understanding of the role of DC-SIGN in HIV-1 infection to provide new therapeutic pathways.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many aspects of daily life. The purpose of this study was to identify how health behaviors, level of stress, financial and food security have been impacted by the pandemic among Canadian families with young children. Parents (mothers, n = 235 and fathers, n = 126) from 254 families participating in an ongoing study completed an online survey that included close and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the quantitative data and qualitative responses were analyzed using thematic analysis. More than half of our sample reported that their eating and meal routines have changed since COVID-19, most commonly reported changes were eating more snack foods and spending more time cooking. Screen time increased among 74% of mothers, 61% of fathers, and 87% of children and physical activity decreased among 59% of mothers, 52% of fathers, and 52% of children. Key factors influencing family stress include balancing work with childcare/homeschooling and financial instability. While some unhealthful behaviors appeared to have been exacerbated, other more healthful behaviors also emerged since COVID-19. Research is needed to determine the longer-term impact of the pandemic on behaviors and to identify effective strategies to support families in the post-COVID-19 context.