SHaG in Public:
Our Peer Reviewed Publications and Papers
Our work has been published in many papers and journals in different categories across the field of sexual health and gender research, as listed below.
Categories
Attitudes and Practices of Nova Scotian Physicians for the Implementation of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis.
Sinno, J., Cochkanoff, N., Doria, N., Numer, M., Neyeldi, H., & Tan, D. (2021). Attitudes and Practices of Nova Scotian Physicians for the Implementation of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. HIV/AIDS - Research and Palliative Care.13(1). DOI: 10.2147/HIV.S287201 (open Access)
Citation
Sinno, J., Cochkanoff, N., Doria, N., Numer, M., Neyeldi, H., & Tan, D. (2021). Attitudes and Practices of Nova Scotian Physicians for the Implementation of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. HIV/AIDS - Research and Palliative Care.13(1). DOI: 10.2147/HIV.S287201
Abstract
Introduction: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective HIV prevention tool that requires the ongoing support of physicians to be accessible. Recently, Nova Scotia experienced a 100% increase in HIV diagnoses. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between physicians’ support of PrEP, knowledge of PrEP, and PrEP prescribing history using the information-motivation-behavioral (IMB) skills model.
Methods: An online survey was distributed to physicians in Nova Scotia, Canada, and eighty physicians participated. Two exploratory factor analyses were conducted with items from the Support of PrEP scale and Knowledge of PrEP scale. A mediation analysis was conducted to assess if knowledge of PrEP mediated the relationship between support of PrEP and whether physicians have prescribed PrEP in the past.
Results: On average, physicians reported strong support for PrEP, and as support for PrEP increased so did knowledge of PrEP. Further, physicians who had prescribed PrEP demonstrated strong knowledge of PrEP and physicians who had not prescribed PrEP reported feeling neutral. The 95% bootstrap confidence interval indirect effect of Support for PrEP on prescription history did not include zero (B = 1.59, 95% BsCI [0.83, 3.57]) demonstrating that the effect of support for PrEP is mediated by knowledge of PrEP. The most commonly identified barrier to prescribing PrEP was the lack of drug coverage among patients.
Conclusion: The results of the mediation analysis support the IMB skills model regarding support for PrEP, Knowledge of PrEP, and having prescribed PrEP in the past. Our findings suggest that to improve PrEP uptake in Nova Scotia, educational interventions for physicians and universal coverage of the drug would be necessary.
Keywords: HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, health care providers, attitudes, knowledge, barriers, accessibility, health care access, information-motivation-behavior skills model
This paper is open access. Read it here.
Community health implications of regulations variances in alcohol retail: An examination of alcohol access and policy in rural and urban Nova Scotia.
Numer, M., McEachern, J., Rushton, F., Steeves, D., Whiteman, J., & Kirk, S. (2018). Community health implications of regulations variances in alcohol retail: An examination of alcohol access and policy in rural and urban Nova Scotia. International Journal of Health, Wellness and Society, 9(4), 37-46.
Citation
Numer, M., McEachern, J., Rushton, F., Steeves, D., Whiteman, J., & Kirk, S. (2018). Community health implications of regulations variances in alcohol retail: An examination of alcohol access and policy in rural and urban Nova Scotia. International Journal of Health, Wellness and Society, 9(4), 37-46.
Abstract
Context: This report examines the potential health impact associated with the current state of alcohol retail formats within the Canadian Province of Nova Scotia, focusing on discrepancies between rural and urban regions. This research includes a review of the literature, a situational policy assessment, and reviewed documentation of alcohol retail practices in Nova Scotia in order to assess the potential impact on health. A growing body of global evidence demonstrates that greater levels of access to alcohol lead to increased levels of alcohol consumption, and greater levels of alcohol-related harm. This finding remains consistent within the Nova Scotia context. Research indicates that how alcohol is made available within communities (i.e., regulation, store location, design, and density) has a profound impact on health. According to this research, regulatory and policy gaps have led to a system wherein rural Nova Scotia retails alcohol within mixed-commodity stores (i.e., convenience, grocery, gas outlets), often co-locating highly marketed alcohol alongside products such as pop, candy, and salty snacks. In urban regions of the province, alcohol is sold within standalone stores (outlets that strictly sell alcohol) and caters exclusively to adults above the legal drinking age (19 in the Province of Nova Scotia). The mixed retail format is resulting in a system that disproportionally and negatively impacts rural communities of Nova Scotia. We conclude that given the continued overall increase in access to alcohol across Nova Scotia and the progressive expansion of the rural agency store system, an independent public health impact assessment should be completed.