Lauren Elizabeth Grant

Avian influenza virus (AIV) continues to pose serious risks to animal and public health. Understanding its spread requires integrating ecological, agricultural, and human information. Quantitative models provide a practical way to represent these interactions, evaluate multiple risk factors, and generate spatial insights that support early detection and control. In recent years, advances in data availability and computational methods have increased the use of these models for AIV risk assessment.

Objectives: During multi-jurisdictional enteric illness outbreaks, the federal government uses social media and web-based Public Health Notices (PHNs) to raise awareness, provide health protection recommendations, and reduce exposure and adverse health outcomes at the population level. However, despite the importance of risk communication in outbreak response, target audiences have rarely been engaged to evaluate these tools or inform best practices. To address this gap, focus groups were conducted with participants across Canada to examine awareness and understanding of social media tools and PHNs, and motivation to follow protective recommendations. Methods: Eight virtual semi-structured focus groups (four discussing PHNs and four discussing social media) were held in October and November 2024. Sessions were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Eight themes emerged and were grouped into shared and discordant themes across the PHN and social media groups. Shared themes included: 1) low awareness of PHNs and social media messaging; 2) limited use, with cautious information sharing and verification through trusted sources; 3) need for a multi-channel communication approach; 4) importance of clear, accessible, and well-designed communication; 5) low perceived risk, reinforced by statistics and references to high-risk groups; and 6) recommendations viewed as feasible but not worthwhile. Discordant themes included: 7) willingness to adopt behaviour changes; and 8) reasons for not following recommendations. Conclusion: Overall, social media and PHNs are valuable mass communication tools, but their impact may be strengthened through a multi-channel dissemination approach that incorporates trusted communication practices and improves public education on epidemiological risk information.

Shared Decision-Making (SDM) is a communication process that supports clinical decision-making by leveraging veterinary expertise and client knowledge to create feasible care plans and has been identified to have an important role in practicing the Spectrum of Care (SpoC). One decision-making aid, the Value Matrix (VM), has been developed to support student veterinarians and practicing veterinary professionals in the practice of SDM. Involving one-on-one semistructured interviews, the present study explored veterinary clients’ and veterinarians’ perceptions of the VM. Interviews were conducted with 21 veterinary clients and 14 veterinarians. Content analysis was performed on verbatim transcripts. All client participants (CPs) (21/21, 100%) and most veterinarian participants (VPs) (12/14, 86%) had an immediate positive reaction to a video example of the VM used in a clinical context. All participants identified advantages to using the VM in support of veterinarian–client decision-making, including the ability to involve the client, address client and patient barriers, and assist clients with information recall and understanding. CPs and VPs described some potential challenges, most commonly fitting discussion of the VM within allotted appointment times. CPs and VPs identified that the VM would be best utilized in complex cases in which preference-sensitive decisions existed. Overall, findings suggest that the VM offers a valuable communication aid for practicing veterinary professionals to consider when engaging clients in SDM. Furthermore, with a recognized need to support teaching SDM as part of educating veterinary professionals, findings suggest the VM also offers a potential educational resource to support the teaching of SDM to student veterinarians.

Decision support systems (DSSs) are computerized tools that analyse data to guide actions and inform decision-making. Although DSSs are increasingly used i

Effective online communication is important for disseminating information during multi-jurisdictional enteric illness outbreaks in Canada. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) uses web-based Public Health Notices (PHNs) to communicate outbreak information and prevention measures. Despite this communication’s importance, no study has examined online engagement with PHAC’s PHNs. To assess access to and engagement with online information on multi-jurisdictional enteric illness outbreaks by analyzing website traffic and engagement metrics for PHAC’s PHNs. Data on page and screen metrics, geographic location, device and browser types, and traffic source metrics for PHAC’s PHN webpages (2020–2022) were obtained. Descriptive statistics were calculated for page and screen metrics data. Proportional frequencies were calculated for geographic location, device type, and traffic source metrics. Data were tabulated and visualized using R Studio. Public Health Notice webpages had an average of 2,729±16,685 page views and 2,490±15,201 visits; decreasing (but not significantly) over the study period. Average session duration was 165±124 seconds; increasing (but not significantly) over time. Most visits originated in Canada (89.0%±4.2%) and were from mobile devices (74.6%±3.3%). Traffic sources were primarily search (49.1%±13.0%), followed by direct (23.9%±6.7%), social media (21.2%±8.4%), and referral (5.7%±2.5%). The geographic location, device type, and traffic source changed significantly year by year. Engagement with PHAC’s PHN webpages declined over the three years of the study, while mobile and search-driven access dominated and levels remained consistent over time. Social media generated comparatively little traffic. These findings suggest opportunities to enhance search optimization and social media amplification to improve outbreak communication.

Climate change influences the growth, persistence, and transport of biological and chemical contaminants of preharvest foods. This can drive increases in food- and waterborne illnesses, further burdening public health and agri-food systems. Therefore, effective mitigation and adaptation strategies play a critical role in safeguarding preharvest food safety and population health. The objective of this scoping review was to identify and describe currently implemented or proposed mitigation and adaptation strategies to protect preharvest food safety globally. An a priori protocol was developed and registered on Open Science Framework. The search strategy was applied to two databases: Web of Science and CAB Abstracts, and grey literature. Two independent reviewers conducted a two-phase screening process on retrieved literature to determine eligibility of articles that identified comprehensive current or proposed mitigation and adaptation strategies to protect preharvest food safety from climate-sensitive biological and chemical contamination. A total of 28 articles met eligibility criteria. Among these articles, five themes for mitigation and adaptation strategies to safeguard the preharvest food safety of grains, seafood, produce, livestock, and irrigation water were identified: 1) predictive modelling, 2) on-farm interventions, 3) monitoring and surveillance systems, 4) education and awareness building, and 5) other methods. Identification of these strategies will inform future strategy development and stakeholder engagement.