Emergency and urgent care systems in high-income countries face major challenges related to overcrowding, long wait times, and rising demand. Internationally, and across Canada, healthcare systems have experimented with various policies to promote access to health services for unplanned acute conditions while reducing avoidable visits to hospital emergency departments (EDs). This…
Internationally and across Canada, governments have explored varied approaches to reforming the governance and financing of primary care with the aim of improving access, efficiency, effectiveness, and patient experiences in the health system. This rapid review prepared for the Institute of Health Economics by the North American Observatory on Health Systems and Policies presents…
Long COVID has no commonly accepted case definition, but is characterized generally as the persistence of any COVID-19 symptoms past the typical convalescence period. Initial reports are emerging of significant ongoing symptom burden for some COVID-19 cases, but the prevalence and profile of these long-term cases, and the potential need for or utilization of community-based supports…
This Rapid Review assesses the evidence on the rate of COVID-19 transmission from children to children or adults compared with the rate of transmission from adults to others, and the rate of COVID-19 infection in children compared with the rate in adults, to support return-to-school decision making. Twenty-two articles were included in the review. Based on a rapid assessment of…
Face mask use within schools has been suggested as a COVID-19 risk mitigation strategy, but the effectiveness of mask use as protection against COVID-19 transmission and infection in a school setting is currently unknown. This Rapid Review assesses the evidence on the impact of community mask use on the susceptibility to and transmission of COVID-19, and how mask use compliance…
Primary care services after hours in Alberta are limited, and, as a result, emergency departments have long wait times and overcrowding as they accommodate a greater number of low-acuity conditions. In recent decades, various urgent care models have been established to fill the gap between emergency and primary care, with the aim of providing unscheduled services for urgent but…