Swarna Weerasinghe

• Ph.D
• Professor (Associate) at Dalhousie University

Social media platforms are data-rich sources of communication. We analysed 20,000 Canadian COVID vaccine tweets at two Canadian geographic and temporal levels of before and after vaccine arrivals in two provinces of British Columbia (BC) with the highest COVID vaccine uptake and Ontario (ON) with the lowest uptake. Using machine learning based sent...

Studies indicate a high burden of mental health disorders among female sex workers (FSWs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Despite available data on suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among FSWs, little is known about suicide deaths in this hard-to-reach population. This study aims to examine the extent to which suicide is a cause o...

Introduction Certain patient groups perceive specific barriers to accessing primary care, resulting in increased emergency department (ED) use for non-emergency conditions. There is evidence coming from other countries that homeless people are treated differently in accessing emergency services. Examination of ED wait time by demographic characteri...

Taking advantage of social media platforms, such as Twitter, this paper provides an effective framework for emotion detection among those who are quarantined. Early detection of emotional feelings and their trends helps to implement timely intervention strategies. Given the limitations of medical diagnosis of early emotional change signs during the...

Previous studies have found high levels of unintended pregnancy among female sex workers (FSW), but less attention has been paid to their abortion practices and outcomes. This study is the first to investigate abortion-related mortality among FSW across eight countries: Angola, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), India, Indonesia, Kenya, Ni...

Multiple waves of COVID-19 have significantly impacted the emotional well-being of all, but many were subject to additional risks associated with forced regulations. The objective of this research was to assess the immediate emotional impact, expressed by Canadian Twitter users, and to estimate the linear relationship, with the vicissitudes of COVI...

Background End-of-life care involves a multitude of functions delivered by a team of healthcare professionals. Family caregivers get involved in every aspect of the palliative care journey. Meeting the needs of ethnically diverse patients can be a daunting task for Western-trained healthcare professionals. Family and professional caregivers need to...

Background The vast majority of studies on female sex workers (FSW) focus on causes of morbidity while data on causes of mortality are scarce. In low- and middle-income countries, where civil registry and vital statistics data are often incomplete and FSW may not be identified as such in official registries, identifying causes of mortality among FS...

Long-term exposure to environmental arsenic has been associated with many chronic diseases, including several cancers, and diabetes. Urinary studies have implicated arsenic speciation as an important risk factor, however, such associations have not been replicated using toenail samples: a relatively new biosample for estimating long-term internal d...

Introduction Canadian emergency departments (EDs) are struggling under the weight of increased use by a growing population of elderly patients; those who lack proper housing; and those who lack family physicians to provide primary care. The Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement projected a possible ED service utilization increase in Canada...

Abstract Introduction Canadian emergency departments (EDs) are struggling under the weight of increased use by a growing population of elderly patients; those who lack proper housing; and those who lack family physicians to provide primary care. The Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement projected a possible ED service utilization increase...

Taking advantage of social media platforms, such as Twitter, this paper provides an effective framework for emotion detection among those who are quarantined. Early detection of emotional feelings and their trends help implement timely intervention strategies. Given the limitations of medical diagnosis of early emotional change signs during the qua...

Health and safety standards are paramount to all agricultural workers and more so to the foreign seasonal farm workers. European, North American and Oceanic agricultural sector heavily depends on the foreign workers migrating temporarily to carryout seasonal agricultural work that are not attractive to local citizens. The aim of this chapter is to...

Introduction: As the population of Canadian cities grows, public policy planners frequently base predictions of future demand on population trends. We aimed to discover the relationship between demographically defined ED visit rate (EDVR) trends in an academic ED with corresponding population trends in the catchment area. Methods: We used administr...

Introduction: As part of our audit and feedback process, Emergency Physicians (EP) are provided feedback on flow metrics and resource utilization. We analysed the relationship between two specific metrics (adjusted workload measurement (AWM), with the number of patients seen per hour adjusted according to CTAS, and percentage of revisits within 72...

Background: Palliative care (pc) consultation has been associated with less aggressive care at end of life in a number of malignancies, but the effect of the consultation timing has not yet been fully characterized. For patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer (upcc), aggressive and resource-intensive treatment at the end of life can be costly,...

Background: Early Palliative Care consultation has been associated with improved overall survival (OS) and lower aggressiveness of end-of-life care (AEOLC) in a number of malignancies. For patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer (UPC), aggressive and resource-intensive treatment at the end-of-life can be costly, but not necessarily of better q...

Introduction: Emergency Physician (EP) performance comprises both quality of care and quantity of patients seen in a set time. Emergency Department (ED) overcrowding increases the importance of the ability of EPs to see patients as rapidly as is safely possible. Maximizing efficiency requires an understanding of variables that are associated with i...

Drawing from over 50 semi-structured interviews performed in three small cities (Charlottetown, Moncton, and St. John’s) and one larger comparator city (Halifax) of the Atlantic Provinces, this chapter addresses social networks from multidisciplinary angles. We see that immigrants hold complex understandings of the meanings of multiculturalism. How...

Citation: Weerasinghe S, Stewart SH, Mitchell TL (2016) Longitudinal follow up of health outcomes of the 1998 Swissair 111 crash. J Epidemiol Public Health Rev 2(1): doi http://dx.

Background: When fitting statistical models for complex health outcome data; zero inflation, autocorrelation, confounding, and seasonality play an important role in accurately assessing air pollution risk, especially when using such model estimates for national air quality health indices (NAQHI) formation. NAQHI generalizes model estimates across a...

In the present study, we explored family caregivers' experiences in providing end-of-life care for terminally ill South Asian immigrants. We employed qualitative methods and. in-depth interviews were conducted with seven family caregivers living in Nova Scotia, Canada. Interview data were validated, coded and organized for themes. Three major theme...

The present paper is based on a literature review and a pilot study that observed a small group of participants in a bi-weekly substance abuse treatment program that employs mindfulness training to help subjects avoid relapse into substance abuse. “Mindfulness” is defined as a state of non-judgemental self-awareness. The program that we propose com...

Meta-analysis is an analytical method of synthesizing, systematically combining, and integrating results across different studies with similar research focuses. While limiting the analytical methods applicable to environmental studies, this article presents a step-by-step approach to meta-analysis. Brief descriptions presented in each section of th...

Meta-analysis is an analytical method of synthesizing, systematically combining, and integrating results across different studies with similar research focuses. While limiting the analytical methods applicable to environmental studies, this article presents a step-by-step approach to meta-analysis. Brief descriptions presented in each section of th...

Existing relationships and connections among humans, animals and micro or macro organisms can be explored, analyzed and interpreted using "social" network methodologies. Though the term social implies the human (within societal) relationships, ties and interactions, the theory and applications of social networks can be extended to a wide spectrum d...

Objective: To examine associations of cannabis and other illicit drug use with depression, suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts over a two year period during adolescence. Methods: Nine hundred and seventy-six school students in four high schools in northern Nova Scotia, Canada, were surveyed in grade 10 and followed up in grade 12. Assessment...

Purpose ‐ In this article visible minority immigrant women's encounters and perceptions in accessing healthcare in Canada are explored. The aim is to understand the role play of the vulnerability statuses, gender, visibility, immigration and their intersectionality as factors contributing to (in)equitiesin healthcare accessibility. Design/methodolo...

In this cross-sectional study we investigate the extent to which general dentists in Nova Scotia carry out periodontal examinations of their patients. In addition, factors that significantly influence performing a periodontal examination by a dentist are identified. A survey questionnaire was mailed to all 443 general dentists practicing in the pro...

This article presents a study of the social, emotional and physical health lifestyle behaviours of a socially marginalised segment of Canada's population: retired, widowed, immigrant mothers from a South Asian country. Using a narrative research process, we explore how present physical, emotional and social health leisure activities are influenced...

The aim of the current paper is to examine the impact of the enactment of constitutional prohibition in the United States in 1920 on total homicides, alcohol-related homicides and non-alcohol-related homicides in Chicago. Data are drawn from the Chicago Historical Homicide Project, a data set chronicling 11 018 homicides in Chicago between 1870 and...

Environmental data contains lengthy records of sequential missing values. Practical problem arose in the analysis of adverse health effects of sulphur dioxide (SO2) levels and asthma hospital admissions for Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. Reliable missing values imputation techniques are required to obtain valid estimates of the associations with spar...

Purpose: Anticholinergic (ACH) drugs & cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) are frequently used together. Using data from the 52-week ACADIE study, we: 1) describe patterns of concomitant ACH use; 2)assess longitudinal associations of ACH burden; and 3) assess longitudinal association between exposure type and donepezil response in mild-moderate Alzhe...

The aim of the book is to increase understanding of the determinants of health and well-being of women of colour and indigenous women. Sophie Harding's anthology builds on five essential principles that incorporate exploration, which includes both scientific inquiry and artistic mediums; the individual's communication strategies reflective of who t...

The meaning of health perceived by adult immigrant women in Canada is discussed from the perspectives of immigration, culture, and lived experience to understand their encounters with health care professionals. Authors base their findings on the thematic analysis of focus group data. Immigrant women viewed health as the outcome of a web of interact...

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most significant respiratory pathogen in children worldwide, accounting for up to 80% of bronchiolitis (BR) cases during annual winter epidemics. Although the relationship between temperature, humidity and RSV has been explored in tropical climates, the influence of weather patterns on BR admissi...

Canadian federal policy provides a framework for the immigration and health experiences of immigrant women. The official immigration category under which a migrant is admitted determines to what degree her right to remain in the country (immigration status) is precarious. Women immigrants fall primarily into the more dependent categories and they e...

Purpose To describe the process of building partnerships between a health professional group (university‐based researchers and organizations from within and outside the health sector) and the black communities, highlight the accomplishments and identify problems in the process. Design/methodology/approach The description of the process of building...

Despite an abundance of data and analysis of First Nations morbidity and mortality rates, accurate data have not been available to serve the First Nations community in Eastern Canada. Data for Eskasoni, the largest Mi'kmaq community, were obtained for 1996 through 1999 and Cape Breton and Nova Scotia were used as regional and provincial reference p...

To examine changes in prescribing patterns for topical corticosteroid products dispensed to elderly patients in Nova Scotia, Canada, after all but 2 combination topical corticosteroid products were removed from the Nova Scotia Seniors' Pharmacare Program benefit list. Administrative prescription claims from the Nova Scotia Seniors' Pharmacare Progr...

Type 2 diabetes mellitus has emerged as a major public health problem in Canada. Although the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes among black people is higher than that of white people in Canada, there is no diabetes prevention programme specifically designed to address the behavioural and sociocultural influences on the development of the disease in the...

The main neural transplantation strategy in Parkinson disease (PD) has been focused on reinnervating the striatum. The clinical results reported in patients who receive transplants have been limited and do not justify the use of neural transplantation as a routine therapeutic procedure for PD. Identifying the optimal target for transplantation may...

To examine the influence on administrative pharmacy claims of a policy that limited the reimbursement of the fluoroquinolones and other antimicrobials in the senior population within Nova Scotia, Canada. The administrative claims database of the Nova Scotia Seniors' Pharmacare Program was used to identify all prescription claims for orally administ...

The primary purpose of this study was to assess whether Sydney, Industrial Cape Breton County excluding Sydney (ICBxS) and Cape Breton County (CBCo) residents were at increased risk for cancer compared to Nova Scotia (NS) residents over five-year periods during 1979 through 1997. Gender-stratified, age-standardized cancer incidence rates were calcu...

The authors have studied the ability of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) to promote survival of human fetal dopaminergic tissue after a storage period of 6 days and subsequent implantation into the human putamen. The results indicate that GDNF promotes survival of stored dopaminergic cells. Cells stored without GDNF had a 30.1% de...

To examine the relationship between 12 macro- and micro-nutrients and the risk of recurrent calcium stone formation by comparing the diets of a large outpatient clinic-based group of patients who had formed calcium-based urinary tract calculi with that of a population-based control group matched for age, gender and body mass index. The dietary inta...

To determine the reliability of self-assessment of disease by patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), with a particular emphasis on the assessment of articular swelling. A questionnaire was developed using components from validated instruments. Information was obtained on global function, global joint tenderness/swelling, and joint pain (10 cm vis...

Historically, immigration has had a significant impact on the changing demographic of the Canadian society. Each year more newcomers enter the country. There are more than 45 ethno-cultural associations and more than 100 different ethno-cultural groups residing in Nova Scotia. In the recent past, social science researchers are becoming increasingly...