Scientific advisory

Many countries have developed competency frameworks to support workers faced with the growing complexity of public health practices. To better understand the utilization of these frameworks in Québec, identify courses of action for optimizing their use, and ascertain updating requirements, the Direction générale de la santé publique of the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec tasked the Institut national de santé publique du Québec with preparing an advisory to that effect…

The last report issued by the Comité sur l’immunisation du Québec (CIQ) concerning the Programme d’immunisation contre l’influenza du Québec (PIIQ) [Québec’s Influenza Immunization program] was published in 2007. An update became necessary, given the many scientific advances that have occurred in this field.

The primary objective of the PIIQ must be to reduce influenza-associated hospitalizations and deaths.

To attain this objective, the CIQ recommends maintaining a…

Given the desire to harmonize medical and nursing practices in the field of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and the need to provide better guidance on the intervention known as expedited partner therapy (EPT), the Institut national de santé publique du Québec received a request from the Collège des médecins du Québec and the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux. The purpose of this request was to issue a scientific opinion, including recommendations, on the effectiveness,…

A lot of new data on the immunogenicity, efficacy and effectiveness of fewer than three doses of HPV vaccine have become available since the publication of the CIQ report on the 2012 knowledge update. The two-dose schedule has become a standard that is widely accepted around the world. Such schedules are currently in use in more than half (48/82) of the countries offering HPV vaccination programs. The same schedule has been approved and recommended by the World Health Organization (W HO) and…

In Québec, head injuries are a major cause of death and hospital admissions among cyclists.

Helmets are very effective for preventing head injuries in all cyclists, whether falling off a bike or having a collision with a motor vehicle.

Promotion campaigns targeting children under 18 are effective for increasing use of bike helmets, especially when they are community-wide and accompanied by a free helmet distribution program.

In Québec, bike helmet use has increased…

Acute alcohol poisoning occurs frequently in Québec. Between January 1 and November 26, 2017, provincial emergency rooms admitted 2,332 young people age 12–24 for acute alcohol poisoning. That is equivalent to 214 cases per month, 49 cases per week, or 7 cases per day.

These cases are serious. One quarter of young people age 12–24 admitted to the emergency room at the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Sherbrooke for alcohol-related problems had a priority level…

The childhood immunization program was implemented in Québec to reduce the burden of pneumococcal disease, with the primary objective of lowering the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). The program began in 2002, targeting children with a high risk of IPD, and in 2004 it became a universal program for all children under age five. A schedule of four doses (3+1) is recommended for high-risk children and three (2+1) for other children. 

The initial 7-…

Zika virus emerged in the Americas in 2015 and has since expanded its geographical range significantly. Currently, the virus is transmitted locally in 35 countries of the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

Zika virus infection is benign: 70 to 80% of patients have no symptoms, whereas 20% have a fever and rash accompanied by arthralgia and myalgia, conjunctivitis, headache, retro-orbital pain and fatigue.

Zika virus infection can cause neurological…

The Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) [Québec’s public health institute] was mandated by Québec’s Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) [ministry of health and social services] to produce a report on the effects of group prenatal classes. In Québec, prenatal classes are meant to provide pregnant women and their partners with information and to prepare them for childbirth and their new role as parents.

The purpose of this report is to identify the…