Department of Public Health Sciences Graduate Theses
Recent Submissions
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Time to Treatment of Esophageal Cancer in Ontario: A Population-Based Study
Background: A patient’s journey from esophageal cancer diagnosis to treatment (treatment interval) is complex. They require numerous investigations and specialist visits before treatment can begin. Surgery is the cornerstone ... -
Ethnocultural Identity Clarity and the Associations with Psychological Distress and Stigma of Depression
Background: Canadian universities are becoming more multicultural in the past decades. Students also report high level of depressive and anxiety symptoms, as well as their related stigma. Past studies that explored the ... -
Prevalence and Associations of Work Stress and Llfe Stress with Depressive Symptoms among Female Hospital Day Workers and Shift Workers
Background: Women working in healthcare experience higher levels of work stress compared to the general population. Life stress may also be higher among this population due to how the nature of the job affects workers’ ... -
Occupational Solar Ultraviolet Radiation and Breast Cancer Risk
Background: Solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) has potential protective and confirmed detrimental effects on cancer risk. Several studies have examined recreational sun exposure in relation to breast cancer risk, and a ... -
Early Substance Use and Later Depressive Symptoms Among Canadian Adolescents: Examining the Association Using Intersectionality Theory
BACKGROUND: Growing evidence suggests adolescent substance use may lead to depression and earlier initiation may be especially problematic. Social identities or positions defined by such factors as gender, race, or ... -
Night shift work, melatonin, and circadian gene methylation in the development of breast cancer
Background: Night shift work is a prevalent work pattern in Canada. Epidemiologic studies suggest that long-term night shift work is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, although methods and results widely ... -
A Global Investigation of Climate Change and Climate-Related Disasters, Food Insecurity, and Mental Health
Background: Climate change is a determinant of both food insecurity (FI) and poor mental health. FI itself also contributes to poor mental health. The relationship among these three variables is poorly understood for adult ... -
DNA METHYLATION OF CIRCADIAN GENES AND MARKERS OF CARDIOMETABOLIC RISK IN FEMALE HOSPITAL WORKERS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY
Objectives: To investigate if DNA methylation of circadian genes, a potential causal mechanism in the pathway linking night shift work and cardiovascular disease (CVD), is differentially associated with markers of ... -
Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Characteristics, Care Processes, and Outcomes Across the Urban-Rural Spectrum: A Retrospective Cohort Study from 2013-2019 in the United States
BACKGROUND: Despite regional variation in survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), few studies have investigated urban-rural differences in care and outcomes. This study evaluated the impact of bystander ... -
Problematic Social Media Use and Mental Health in Canadian Adolescents
Background: Adolescent mental health problems have become increasingly common in recent years. Problematic social media use (PSMU) has recently gained attention as a possible risk factor for mental health problems. However, ... -
CONTEMPORARY MEASURES OF MENTAL HEALTH STATUS AND SCHOOL-BASED RELATIVE AGE EFFECTS IN CANADIAN ADOLESCENTS
This thesis is on the epidemiology of relative age effects and how they relate to the mental health status of young people. Contemporary measures of mental health are developed, and the association between school-based ... -
Childhood Maltreatment and the Association with Life Dissatisfaction
This study examined the association between childhood maltreatment (witnessing violence in the household, and experiences of physical and emotional abuse by an adult prior to the age of 16,) and dissatisfaction with later ... -
MEASUREMENT OF UN PEACEKEEPER-PERPETRATED SEXUAL EXPLOITATION/ABUSE AND THE RELATED STIGMATIZATION OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Background: UN peacekeeper-perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) is an international concern with reported allegations across 32 peace support operations. Stigma attributed to broader sexual and gender-based ... -
Solar ultraviolet radiation and colorectal cancer risk in Canada
Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in Canada with an estimated 26,000 new cases in 2020. Novel modifiable risk factors such as solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) warrant research to promote ... -
POST-OPERATIVE LIVER DECOMPENSATION EVENTS FOLLOWING PARTIAL HEPATECTOMY AMONG PATIENTS WITH CIRRHOSIS AND HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA
Background: Partial hepatectomy, or liver resection, is a potentially-curative therapy for patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Because the majority of patients with HCC have pre-existing cirrhosis, ... -
EFFECTS OF MULTIPLE MEDICATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH QTC PROLONGATION: PREVALENCE AND OUTCOMES ASSOCIATED WITH USE AMONG OLDER ADULTS
Medications are commonly used by older adults and can provide many benefits. However, harmful side effects may occur, particularly when multiple medications are prescribed. Prolongation of the corrected QT (QTc) interval ... -
Malaria prevention in eastern Myanmar
Background: Insecticide-treated bed-nets (ITNs) and mass drug administration (MDA) are key malaria elimination tools but their varied uptake has not been extensively explored among ethnic minority and displaced populations ... -
Modelling the relationship between shift work and cardiometabolic risk through circadian disruption, sleep and stress pathways
Aim and objectives: The aim of this research was to use structural equation modelling methods to test an adaption of the model proposed by Knutsson and Boggild, and to elucidate and determine the multiple pathways linking ... -
The Compositional associations of time spent in sleep, sedentary behaviour and physical activity with all-cause mortality
INTRODUCTION: Daily time spent in sleep, sedentary behaviour (SED), light intensity physical activity (LIPA), and moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) are compositional, co-dependent variables. The ... -
Exploring Indigenous Social Capital and Health Among Four First Nations: A Strengths-Based Study
The impact of social networks and relationships on health outcomes has been acknowledged and studied within the concept of “social capital” in the field of public health for over two decades. To date, however, few research ...