Rapid response

In accordance with the Ontario Public Health Standards, Toronto Public Health is interested in determining the number of OHIP claims for laboratory tests for chlamydia billed by commercial labs for Toronto residents between 2014 and 2018. Specifically, the knowledge user would like to use this data to determine the differences between patients receiving services from its own sexual health clinics versus those receiving services in the community. This information will provide evidence to enhance health system performance and sustainability, as well as improve access to clinical services to priority populations and help support healthy sexual practices.

Primary care gaps in health care provision are based on the gap between the supply of primary care providers and the demand of the population for these services. This AHRQ is aimed at quantifying by region the gaps between these two.

This AHRQ project will provide estimates of the number of people in various risk groups that are more likely to experience health-related problems due to poor air quality. This information will help Public Health Units (PHU) plan for the procurement and distribution of masks in the event of an air quality emergency.

Data from a previous AHRQ showed close to eight million emergency department visits in 2018 for conditions that are otherwise self-limiting and could be managed in a primary care setting. These data provided a foundation for decision making for minor ailment prescribing by community pharmacists. We now wish to explore expansion of this authority to other ailments.

Information in a previous AHRQ was provided at PHU. However, Hamilton has markedly different populations and healthcare resources across different areas of the PHU. We would like to investigate counts and rates of outpatient mental health and addiction-related visits, particularly among school-aged children, to improve identification of high-risk groups and resource allocation.

People experiencing homelessness (PEH) are more prone to experiencing injuries related to exposure. In the winter months, these include cold-related injuries such as frostbite and hypothermia. The project aims to provide the number and rate of cold-related injuries at Toronto-based hospitals among people identified as experiencing homelessness during visits between 2016-2022.

Sharbot FHT is looking to add a new site to serve the city of Perth, Ontario. Health information for individuals in nearby counties will help with planning this expansion. The objective of this project is to provide characteristics and health outcomes for those residing in Lanark and Leeds and Grenville United Counties.

Since 2015, Rehabilitative Care Alliance has been reporting key system-level indicators related to falls prevention in the community to improve system performance for rehabilitative care services in Ontario. From the recent data available, the knowledge users are interested in studying the frequency of ED visits and re-visits related to falls, and subsequent hospital admissions among community dwelling seniors aged 65 and above. The research will be shared with health service providers in Ontario and will be useful in planning strategies for secondary fall prevention.

Crystal methamphetamine is a synthetic stimulant that is highly addictive and causes significant physical and psychological harm to its users. In the Middlesex-London region, the use of this substance appears to be on the rise with the rates of hospitalization and emergency department visits higher than the Ontario in the same period. The knowledge users are developing and implementing a local surveillance system to quantify the impact of crystal methamphetamine use in the community. They are interested in knowing the frequency and proportion of patients testing positive for methamphetamine from drug urine samples collected in the hospitals of Middlesex-London region.

As part of an ongoing research on the impact of implementing a physician incentive program for developmental screening in Ontario, the knowledge users are interested in studying the proportion of eligible children who received an enhanced 18-month well-baby visit in each Public Health Unit in Ontario and looking at the overall trends in recent years. The results from this exercise will assist MCCSS, Public Health Ontario and the relevant stakeholders in identifying the opportunities to increase the uptake of 18-month visit and offer parenting supports to vulnerable populations in their communities.