Canadian family physician Médecin de famille canadien
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Health is largely determined by socioeconomic factors. Health care providers can potentially address these factors through social justice advocacy. However, many individual providers and teams have not taken on this role in Canada. ⋯ The initiatives have helped integrate social justice advocacy into the core activities of the interdisciplinary primary care team and can likely be replicated by other interested groups across the country.
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To examine the prevalence and correlation of self-reported inability to access community primary care clinics among people who inject drugs (PWID). ⋯ Specific exposures were linked to challenges in accessing primary care among the sample of PWID, even in a publicly funded health care setting. Notably, models designed for care of people with HIV appear to increase access to primary care among PWID. Further research is needed to determine how to effectively treat accompanying mental illness, how to provide women-centred services, and how to connect people with primary care who would likely otherwise go to the emergency department.
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To estimate the extent to which social determinants of health (SDH) predict levels of depression in adults presenting to the emergency department (ED) with an acute mental health crisis. ⋯ This study demonstrates the importance of screening for both depression and SDH in the ED. Because the ED often does not have the capacity to address appropriate levels of follow-up for this population, this study has important implications for primary care. Developing a clear pathway of follow-up support for people with depression and SDH risk factors will be critical to optimize patient outcomes, promote patient safety, enhance patient satisfaction, and optimize the use of resources between the ED and primary care.