Helen Hsu - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Helen Hsu

Canadian Journal of Public Health, 2007

Background: Point of Purchase (PoP) promotional and advertising activities are a sophisticated to... more Background: Point of Purchase (PoP) promotional and advertising activities are a sophisticated tobacco marketing strategy. This study describes tobacco PoP activities in school neighbourhoods and compares PoP activities in retail stores between schools with high and low smoking prevalence. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 81 randomly selected schools across five provinces. Students in grades 10-11 completed a questionnaire on smoking. Observations were made in all retail stores located within a one-kilometre radius around the school. ANOVA tests were used to detect differences on PoP variables between high (>20.6%) and low (≤20.6%) smoking prevalence schools, defined as percentage of students reporting at least a few puffs on >2 days in the last 30 days. Results: Approximately half of retail stores in each school neighbourhood exhibited tobacco PoP activities. Average school smoking prevalence was 20.99%. There were significant main effects on PoP variables between schools with high and low smoking prevalence, Wilk's λ=0.81, F (6,74)=2.89, p<0.01, η 2 =0.19. Stores near schools with high smoking prevalence had significantly lower prices per cigarette (F (1,79)=15.34, p<0.01, η 2 =0.16), more in-store promotions (F (1,79)=6.73, p<0.01, η 2 =0.08), and fewer government-sponsored health warnings (F (1,79)= 6.26, p<0.01, η 2 =0.07) compared to schools with low smoking prevalence. Conclusion: Higher levels of PoP activities in stores located in the school neighbourhood are related to school smoking prevalence. Schools with low smoking prevalence had more stores that posted government health warning signs and higher cigarette prices. Legislation regulating PoP activities and health warnings in school neighbourhoods should be considered. MeSH terms: Tobacco; marketing; adolescent La traduction du résumé se trouve à la fin de l'article.

CMAJ Open, 2019

I n Canada, as in many other countries, access to a family physician remains problematic for many... more I n Canada, as in many other countries, access to a family physician remains problematic for many patients, espe cially those in northern, rural and remote commun ities. 1-4 In 2016, there were 234 physicians per 100 000 pop ulation in Canada; 92% were located in urban areas and only 8% were located in rural areas, 5 yet 18% of Canadians live in rural areas. 6 Regional medical campuses represent an educa tional strategy for addressing health care workforce needs. 7 Traditionally, regional medical campuses provide training in basic science, clinical training or both. Physician maldistribution is evident in British Columbia, where physicians cluster mainly in urban areas. 8 In 2004, the University of British Columbia (UBC) established a com bined regional medical campus model 9 where, in addition to the main campus, 2 regional medical campuses provided both basic science and clinical training. Since then, many other medical schools in Canada and the United States have devel oped regional campuses. 10 Students from rural backgrounds are more likely to practise in rural areas, 11 and previous stud ies suggest that undergraduate rural training (especially longi tudinal rural training) increases the likelihood of rural practice. Research regarding undergraduate rural education models is sparse 12 beyond descriptive studies, and evidence is lacking that these educational interventions increase the rural workforce. 13 The primary objective of this study was to deter mine the association between a combined regional medical campus model and rural family medicine practice. Methods Setting Community action in BC led to a collaboration between the UBC Faculty of Medicine (the only medical school in the province), the BC government,

Canadian Journal of Public Health, 2007

Background: Point of Purchase (PoP) promotional and advertising activities are a sophisticated to... more Background: Point of Purchase (PoP) promotional and advertising activities are a sophisticated tobacco marketing strategy. This study describes tobacco PoP activities in school neighbourhoods and compares PoP activities in retail stores between schools with high and low smoking prevalence. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 81 randomly selected schools across five provinces. Students in grades 10-11 completed a questionnaire on smoking. Observations were made in all retail stores located within a one-kilometre radius around the school. ANOVA tests were used to detect differences on PoP variables between high (>20.6%) and low (≤20.6%) smoking prevalence schools, defined as percentage of students reporting at least a few puffs on >2 days in the last 30 days. Results: Approximately half of retail stores in each school neighbourhood exhibited tobacco PoP activities. Average school smoking prevalence was 20.99%. There were significant main effects on PoP variables between schools with high and low smoking prevalence, Wilk's λ=0.81, F (6,74)=2.89, p<0.01, η 2 =0.19. Stores near schools with high smoking prevalence had significantly lower prices per cigarette (F (1,79)=15.34, p<0.01, η 2 =0.16), more in-store promotions (F (1,79)=6.73, p<0.01, η 2 =0.08), and fewer government-sponsored health warnings (F (1,79)= 6.26, p<0.01, η 2 =0.07) compared to schools with low smoking prevalence. Conclusion: Higher levels of PoP activities in stores located in the school neighbourhood are related to school smoking prevalence. Schools with low smoking prevalence had more stores that posted government health warning signs and higher cigarette prices. Legislation regulating PoP activities and health warnings in school neighbourhoods should be considered. MeSH terms: Tobacco; marketing; adolescent La traduction du résumé se trouve à la fin de l'article.

CMAJ Open, 2019

I n Canada, as in many other countries, access to a family physician remains problematic for many... more I n Canada, as in many other countries, access to a family physician remains problematic for many patients, espe cially those in northern, rural and remote commun ities. 1-4 In 2016, there were 234 physicians per 100 000 pop ulation in Canada; 92% were located in urban areas and only 8% were located in rural areas, 5 yet 18% of Canadians live in rural areas. 6 Regional medical campuses represent an educa tional strategy for addressing health care workforce needs. 7 Traditionally, regional medical campuses provide training in basic science, clinical training or both. Physician maldistribution is evident in British Columbia, where physicians cluster mainly in urban areas. 8 In 2004, the University of British Columbia (UBC) established a com bined regional medical campus model 9 where, in addition to the main campus, 2 regional medical campuses provided both basic science and clinical training. Since then, many other medical schools in Canada and the United States have devel oped regional campuses. 10 Students from rural backgrounds are more likely to practise in rural areas, 11 and previous stud ies suggest that undergraduate rural training (especially longi tudinal rural training) increases the likelihood of rural practice. Research regarding undergraduate rural education models is sparse 12 beyond descriptive studies, and evidence is lacking that these educational interventions increase the rural workforce. 13 The primary objective of this study was to deter mine the association between a combined regional medical campus model and rural family medicine practice. Methods Setting Community action in BC led to a collaboration between the UBC Faculty of Medicine (the only medical school in the province), the BC government,