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The article discusses the Ontario Right to Read Inquiry and its implications for individuals with dyslexia. It highlights the challenges faced by students with reading disabilities and the importance of evidence-based reading instruction. The inquiry was initiated due to concerns about the experiences of students with dyslexia in Ontario's public education system. The article also critiques the report's approach, suggesting that it may perpetuate harmful narratives about disability. The author emphasizes the need to center the voices and perspectives of the dyslexia community to improve literacy instruction for all. [Extracted from the article]

Taxes, legislation and politics are social determinants of health, which can impact health through multiple pathways. The purpose of this study was to review regulations regarding sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxation and describe taxation/exemption of various beverage categories. We reviewed SSB taxation regulations from Mexico, the United Kingdom, Berkeley, Philadelphia, San Francisco and South Africa. Supplementary government documents and academic publications were also reviewed to further discern beverage taxation/exemption and zero-rating. There were a number of beverage types that fell clearly into typically taxed or exempt/zero-rated categories across all six jurisdictions (e.g. pop/soda as taxed and water as zero-rated). Exemptions and ambiguities within the six regulations can generally be grouped as a lack of clarity regarding the meaning and use of milk; the meaning of 'medical purposes' and 'supplemental'; the point at which a beverage is prepared; the form of concentrate (i.e. liquid/frozen/powder) or medium used (e.g. water, coffee); and location of preparation or business size of retailer. SSB tax regulations are complex, unclear, vary across jurisdiction and leave several beverage types with added sugar exempt from taxation or at risk of a legal challenge. Lastly, tax exemptions generally reflect and perpetuate existing sociopolitical dynamics within the food system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The harmful effects of smoking are well established and include damage to cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic systems and development of certain cancers. (1-4) In the general populations of the United [...], OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to estimate and compare smoking prevalence over two time periods in a Manitoba First Nation community. METHODS: Data from two independent Diabetes Screening Studies in Sandy Bay First Nation, collected in 2002/2003 (n = 482) and 2011 /2012 (n = 596), were used. Crude prevalence of current and ever smoking as well as current smoke exposure was estimated. Change over time was tested using a [chi square] statistic. RESULTS: The crude prevalence of current smoking was 74.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 70.1, 78.0) in 2002/2003 and 80.0% (95% CI: 76.8, 83.2) in 2011/2012. The crude prevalence of ever smoking was 83.0% in 2002/2003 and 91.4% in 2011/2012. The prevalence of both current smoking status and ever smoking were significantly higher in 2011/2012 compared to 2002/2003 (p = 0.020 and p < 0.001 respectively). Among participants who were not current smokers, 58.5% (95% CI: 49.6, 67.4) and 76.5% (95% CI: 68.9, 84.1) reported at least one person who smoked in the home in 2002/2003 and 2011/2012 respectively (p = 0.003). In 2011/2012, 96.5% (95% CI: 94.8, 98.2) of those who reported having any children under the age of 18 living in the home were either a current smoker and/or reported that someone else smoked in the home. CONCLUSION: Public health and policy initiatives are needed to address the increase in smoking prevalence in the study community. KEY WORDS: Smoking; First Nation; Aboriginal; community-based participatory research; sovereignty OBJECTIFS: L&apos;objectif de l&apos;etude est d&apos;estimer et de comparer la prevalence de la cigarette pendant deux periodes dans une collectivite des Premieres Nations au Manitoba. METHODES: Ce sont les donnees de deux Enquetes sur le depistage du diabete dans la Premiere Nation de Sandy Bay recueillies en 2002-2003 (n=482) et en 2011-2012 (n=596) qui ont servi. On a estime la prevalence brute de la cigarette actuelle et jusqu&apos;aujourd&apos;hui de meme que l&apos;exposition actuelle a la fumee. Le changement au fil du temps a ete teste au moyen de la statistique [chi square]. RESULTATS: La prevalence brute actuelle de la cigarette etait de 74,0% (intervalle de confiance [IC] de 95%: 70,1, 78,0) en 2002-2003 et de 80,0% (IC de 95%: 76,8, 83,2) en 2011-2012. La prevalence brute de la cigarette jusqu&apos;aujourd&apos;hui etait de 83,0% en 2002-2003 et de 91,4% en 2011-2012. La prevalence de la cigarette actuelle et jusqu&apos;aujourd&apos;hui etait sensiblement superieure en 2011-2012 par rapport a 2002-2003 (p = 0,020 et p < 0,001 respectivement). Parmi les participants qui ne fumaient pas a ce moment, 58,5% (IC de 95%: 49,6, 67,4) et 76,5% (IC de 95%: 68,9, 84,1) ont declare qu&apos;au moins une personne fumait au foyer en 2002-2003 et en 2011-2012 respectivement (p = 0,003). En 2011-2012, 96,5% (IC de 95%: 94,8, 98,2) de ceux qui declaraient avoir un enfant de moins de 18 ans qui vivait au foyer fumaient ou declaraient que quelqu&apos;un fumait au foyer, ou les deux. CONCLUSION: Des initiatives de sante publique ou politiques sont essentielles pour traiter la prevalence accrue de la cigarette dans la collectivite de l&apos;etude. MOTS CLES: cigarette; Premiere Nation; autochtone; recherche participative axee sur la collectivite; souverainete La traduction du resume se trouve a la fin de l&apos;article. Can j Public Health 2015;106(4):e184-e188 doi: 10.17269/CJPH.106.4940

Postsecondary dietetics education is in a time of transition in Canada and specifically in Manitoba. We sought to qualitatively investigate this cohort’s perspectives on the University of Manitoba’s dietetics program. In 2020/21, interviews were conducted with undergraduate dietetics students as well as dietetics interns and graduate students who had recently completed the undergraduate dietetics program. We recruited 25 participants, all of whom self-identified as female, with 60% identifying as white, with an average age of 25 years old. Informed by critical pedagogy, our analysis yielded four themes: motivations for studying dietetics; learning outside the classroom; development of critical awareness; and uncertain career futures and training improvements. Social media featured in each of the themes, particularly in how it exposed participants to various social justice movements. While students acknowledged developing more critical awareness in their programs, they nonetheless felt a disconnect between what they perceived they needed to learn and what was taught. Participants also described uncertainty associated with the future directions of their program or career. Analysis of their perspectives reveal ways dietetics and dietetics education could further incorporate critical pedagogies that highlight social justice issues, enhancing the field’s potential to contribute to public health and health promotion. In this time of transition for dietetics education in Manitoba, drawing inspiration from perspectives of this cohort, there is an opportunity for dietetics and pedagogy to evolve. There is also potential to apply critical pedagogy to analyze trainee perspectives of other health professional education and training programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objectives were to describe changes in diet quality between off-reserve Indigenous and non-Indigenous children and youth from 2004 to 2015 and examine the association between food security and diet quality.Design: We utilised a repeated cross-sectional design using both the 2004 and 2015 nutrition-focused Canadian Community Health Surveys, including 24-h dietary recall. Diet quality was estimated according to the Healthy Eating Index (HEI).Setting: The surveys were conducted off-reserve in Canada's ten provinces.Participants: Our analysis included children and youth 2-17 years old (n 18 189). Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants were matched, and using a general linear model, we tested time period and (non-)Indigenous identifiers, including their interaction effect, as predictors of HEI.Results: Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children and youth had significantly higher HEI scores in 2015 as compared to 2004. There was not a significant (non-)Indigenous and time period interaction effect, indicating the improvements in diet quality in 2015 were similar between both Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations. Improvements in diet quality are largely attributed to reductions in percentage energy from 'other' foods, though a disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children and youth persisted in 2015. Overall, food security was lower among the Indigenous population and positively, and independently, associated with diet quality overall, though this relationship differed between boys and girls.Conclusions: School policies may have contributed to similar improvements in diet quality among Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations. However, an in-depth sex and gender-based analysis of the relationship between food security and diet quality is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adherence to a gluten-free diet (GFD) is the only available treatment for gluten-related disorders, although a GFD may also be followed for discretionary reasons. The main objectives of the present study were to (1) describe and test for differences in key nutrient intakes among Canadians who follow a GFD compared with Canadians with no dietary exclusions and (2) describe additional dietary avoidances adhered to by Canadians who avoid gluten. We conducted a secondary analysis of the cross-sectional 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey-Nutrition Survey, which included a general health survey and 24-h dietary recall (n 20 487). Participants were categorised as those who avoid dietary gluten and those who reported no avoidances. Key nutrient intakes were assessed, as a percentage of Dietary Recommended Intakes, including fibre, B vitamins, vitamin D, Ca, Fe, Na and Zn, and compared between the two groups using t tests. Canadians who avoided gluten had significantly lower intakes of folate, vitamin B12, vitamin D, Fe, Na and Ca compared with those who did not avoid any food groups. However, Canadians who reported following a GFD were significantly more likely to use vitamin or mineral supplements in the past 30 d. More than 20 % of those who avoided gluten also avoided dairy products. Findings suggest that following a GFD places Canadians at risk for nutrient inadequacies, particularly folate, Ca and vitamin D. Further research is required to further examine how multiple dietary avoidances among those who avoid gluten may contribute to dietary inadequacies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Both diabetic and non-diabetic end stage renal disease (ESRD) are more common among Canadian First Nations people than among the general Canadian population. The purpose of this research was to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for albuminuria in a Canadian First Nation population at high risk for ESRD and dialysis. Methods Data from a community-based screening study of 483 residents of a Plains Ojibway First Nation in Manitoba was used. Participants provided random urine samples. Proteinuria was defined as any dipstick positive for protein (≥1 g/L) or those with ACR in the macroalbuminuric range (≥30 mg/mmol) on at least one sample. Microalbuminuria was defined as ACR ≥2 mg/mmol for males and ≥2.8 mg/mmol for females. Other measures included fasting glucose, haemoglobin A1c, triglycerides, cholesterol, blood pressure, height, weight and waist and hip circumferences. Results Twenty percent of study participants had albuminuria, (5% proteinuria and 15% microalbuminuria). Of participants with diabetes, 42% (56/132) had albuminuria compared to 26% (7/27) among those with impaired fasting glucose and 10% (30/303) among those with normal glucose tolerance. Only 5.3% of those with albuminuria were aware of any degree of renal disease. In a multivariate logistic regression, independent associations with albuminuria were male gender [p = 0.002], increasing fasting glucose [p Conclusions The independent association between BMI and albuminuria has not been previously reported among indigenous populations. There is a high prevalence of albuminuria in this Canadian First Nation population; the high proportion of patients with diabetes and undiagnosed kidney disease demonstrates the need for screening, education and intervention to halt the progression and development of albuminuria and ultimately ESRD and CVD.

Abstract Background Knowledge translation (KT) is a rapidly growing field that is becoming an integral part of research protocols. Methods This meeting report describes one group's experience at the 2009 KT Canada Summer Institute in developing an end-of-grant KT plan for a randomized control trial proposal. Results Included is a discussion of the process, challenges, and recommendations from the trainee's perspective in developing an end-of-grant KT plan. Conclusion New researchers should consider developing an end-of-grant KT plan with strategies that move beyond passive dissemination to incorporate innovative means of collaboration with the end user to craft the message, package the information, and share the research findings with end users.

Health educators are increasingly publicizing the noxious health effects of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB). American counties are implementing SSB taxes, as modeled after the 'success' of tobacco policies, to address the 'obesity crisis'. Under-explored is how the linking of SSB to a stigmatized condition, 'obesity', has affected attitudes toward the purchasing and consumption of SSB and those individuals who purchase and consume SSB. This study sought to explore individuals' attitudes and experiences with SSB in rural Michigan. Three themes emerged: Negativity, Egregious beverages and Implicated imbibers. These attitudes were situated within a context of increased exposure to SSB health discourses, particularly among younger participants. Additional themes arose regarding which SSB were labelled especially problematic, who should or should not be drinking SSB, as well as the consequences of drinking SSB. Pop/soda, energy drinks, and diet pop/soda were identified as particularly harmful, albeit for different reasons – sugar, caffeine, and unnatural additives. Many participants reported reacting negatively when they saw children of higher weights drinking SSB, though judgement was reserved for parents. Ultimately, SSB and their consumers appear increasingly stigmatized in ways that carry important equity implications for already marginalized groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moralism, myths, and presumptions regarding relationships between diet, exercise, weight, and disease incidence persist. It is unclear to what extent researchers contribute to presumptions concerning weight, lifestyle, and diabetes, and how often these relationships are thoroughly, distinctly delineated in intervention literature. Our purpose in this paper is to focus on interventions designed to prevent the onset of diabetes and to explore how weight is framed and discussed within randomized controlled trials (RCTs), to examine how diabetes prevention is constructed. We completed a search of several electronic databases for records published between 2007 and November 2016. Selection criteria included RCTs with a follow-up period of ≥12 months; adult participants with type 2 diabetes/pre-diabetes; and lifestyle interventions classified as dietary, exercise, and/or behavioral. Nineteen articles were identified for inclusion and subject to thematic content analysis. Two superordinate themes emerged from the analysis – entangled mechanisms and the meaning of weight and prevention through compliance. The relationship between obesity and adverse health outcomes was presented in some studies as taken-for-granted but underlain by unspecified mechanisms. Participants' behaviors were also presented as central to forestalling diabetes, and behaviors were depicted as 'compliance', 'resistance', or 'adherence'. Researchers' biases and assumptions contribute to the discursive construction of diabetes as a product of patients' irresponsible behaviors and subsequent fatness. This work extends previous critiques of RCTs in general to 'diabesity' RCTs by exploring how interventions are constructed as failures due to participants' noncompliance despite evident etiological uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diabetes prevalence is substantially higher among Canadian First Nations populations than the non-First Nation population. Fasting serum triglycerides have been found to be an important predictor of incident diabetes among non-indigenous populations. However, there is a great need to understand diabetes progression within specific ethnic groups, particularly First Nations populations. Objective: The purpose of this study was to test for an association between fasting serum triglycerides and incident diabetes, changes in insulin resistance and changes in ß-cell function in a Manitoba First Nation cohort. Methods: Study data were from two diabetes screening studies in Sandy Bay First Nation in Manitoba, Canada, collected in 2002/2003 and 2011/2012. The cohort was composed of respondents to both screening studies (n=171). Fasting blood samples and anthropometric, health and demographic data were collected. A generalised linear model with Poisson distribution was used to test for an association between fasting triglycerides and incident diabetes. Results: There were 35 incident cases of diabetes among 128 persons without diabetes at baseline. Participants who developed incident type 2 diabetes were significantly older and had significantly higher body mass index (BMI; p=0.012), total cholesterol (p=0.007), fasting triglycerides (p<0.001), and Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) (p<0.001). Fasting triglyceride level was found to be a statistically significant positive predictor of incident diabetes independent of age, sex and waist circumference at baseline. Participants with triglycerides in the highest tertile (=2.11 mmol/l) had a 4.0-times higher risk of developing incident diabetes compared to those in the lowest tertile (p=0.03). Notably, neither waist circumference nor BMI were significant predictors of incident diabetes independent of age, sex and triglycerides. Conclusion: Fasting triglycerides may be useful as a clinical predictor of insulin resistance and diabetes development among First Nations populations. Unlike other ethnic groups, BMI and waist circumference may be less important factors in diabetes development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]