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Background: Prescription medication coverage in Canada is provided by at least 14 public drug plans and thousands of private insurance plans. Previous literature suggests that public plan coverage varies, and little is known about private drug plans., Objective: Undertake a scoping review of recent literature evaluating coverage of prescription medication for children and youth under 25 across Canada., Methods: Bibliographic databases (Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, Medline) and gray literature sources were screened. Papers published between January 2005 and July 2021, focusing on prescription medication coverage for Canadians under 25 years were identified., Results: Of 562 titles and abstracts, 9 reports met our criteria. One report estimates 3.3% of children and youth in 10 provinces are uninsured (i.e. not eligible), with non-enrollment for those eligible for public plans ranging from 12% to 49%. Minimal information on private drug plan coverage was identified. Demographic- or income-based public drug plans report coverage in 12 of 14 jurisdictions. Those covered by a demographic- or income-based plan have access to jurisdictional formularies. 3 of 14 public plans report no cost sharing for children., Conclusion: There is less variability in who and what is covered and more in how much is covered (i.e., details of cost sharing). More research is needed to adequately understand the gaps in coverage and its impact on children and youth., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors report no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Objective: Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a preventable condition and the main cause of maternal death worldwide. Evidence on the effectiveness of misoprostol in the prevention of PPH has been generated from both randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and nonrandomized studies (NRS). This study aimed to compare the results of RCTs and NRS, and to compare Classical and Bayesian approaches of combining the results of RCTs and NRS on the use of misoprostol versus placebo in the prevention of PPH., Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for appropriate studies. We pooled estimates of effects from RCTs and NRS seperately, using random-effects models, then merged them using classical and Bayesian random effects meta-analysis., Results: A total of 34 studies (20 RCTs and 14 NRS) involving 74 204 participants were identified. The summary odds ratio (OR) from RCTs for the use of misoprostol in the prevention of PPH was 0.69 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.59 to 0.80). The summary OR from NRS was 0.46 (95% CI: 0.36 to 0.63). Classical and Bayesian approaches of combining the two study designs both showed benefit of misoprostol in preventing PPH, with similar effects., Conclusions: Both RCTs and NRS show comparable significant benefit for the use of misoprostol in the prevention of PPH., (© 2021 Chinese Cochrane Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Objective: To test the hypothesis that increasing community antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage would be associated with lower HIV incidence in female sex workers (FSWs) in Mombasa District, Kenya., Design: Prospective cohort study., Methods: From 1998 to 2012, HIV-negative FSWs were asked to return monthly for an interview regarding risk behavior and testing for sexually transmitted infections including HIV. We evaluated the association between community ART coverage and FSW's risk of becoming HIV infected using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for potential confounding factors., Results: One thousand, four hundred and four FSWs contributed 4335 woman-years of follow-up, with 145 acquiring HIV infection (incidence 3.35/100 woman-years). The ART rollout began in 2003. By 2012, an estimated 52% of HIV-positive individuals were receiving treatment. Community ART coverage was inversely associated with HIV incidence (adjusted hazard ratio 0.77; 95% confidence interval 0.61-0.98; P = 0.03), suggesting that each 10% increase in coverage was associated with a 23% reduction in FSWs' risk of HIV acquisition. Community ART coverage had no impact on herpes simplex virus type-2 incidence (adjusted hazard ratio 0.97; 95% confidence interval 0.79-1.20; P = 0.8)., Conclusion: Increasing general population ART coverage was associated with lower HIV incidence in FSWs. The association with HIV incidence, but not herpes simplex virus type-2 incidence, suggests that the effect of community ART coverage may be specific to HIV. Interventions such as preexposure prophylaxis and antiretroviral-containing microbicides have produced disappointing results in HIV prevention trials with FSWs. These results suggest that FSWs' risk of acquiring HIV infection might be reduced through the indirect approach of increasing ART coverage in the community.