The Evidence Speaks Series is a recurring feature highlighting the latest in Advancing Health research. This series features summaries of select publications and is designed to keep media and the research community up to date with the Centre’s current research results in the health outcomes field.
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Models could predict when elective colectomy complications are most likely to occur
Ke JXC, Jen TTH, Gao S, Ngo L, Wu L, Flexman AM, Schwarz SKW, Brown CJ, Görges M. Development and internal validation of time-to-event risk prediction models for major medical complications within 30 days after elective colectomy. PLoS One. 2024;19(12):e0314526.
An elective colectomy is a surgical procedure to remove some or all of the colon due to issues such as colon cancer and irritable bowel disease. There are a number of potential complications associated with the surgery, such as hospital readmission, myocardial infarction, cerebral vascular events, pneumonia, venous thromboembolism, acute renal failure, sepsis, and, in some cases, death. Advancing Health’s Drs. Alana Flexman and Carl Brown used data from over 130,000 North American elective colectomy patients to identify distinct patterns for complications within 30 days of surgery, and developed models for predicting precisely when they are most likely to occur. In this study, the models for mortality, myocardial infarction, pneumonia, and renal failure performed well, while the models for readmission, venous thromboembolism, and sepsis performed poorly. After undergoing further validation, these models could support more effective post-operative monitoring for elective colectomy patients during high-risk time periods.

One in 20 Canadians report non-adherence to prescription medications
Rebić N, Cheng L, Law MR, Cragg JJ, Brotto LA, De Vera MA. Predictors of cost-related medication nonadherence in Canada: a repeated cross-sectional analysis of the Canadian Community Health Survey. CMAJ. 2024;196(40):E1331–E1340.
Advancing Health Scientist Dr. Mary De Vera joined a team from UBC to investigate how out-of-pocket costs of prescription medication may impact adherence. Reviewing data from 223,085 Canadian Community Health Survey respondents, the team found that almost one in 20 people reported cost-related non-adherence. Factors related to an increased likelihood of reporting non-adherence include: being female; younger age; belonging to a racial or ethnic minority group; identifying as bisexual, pansexual, or questioning; having a higher disease burden or poorer health; having government insurance, associate or private insurance, or no health insurance; and not residing in Quebec. These findings highlight the importance of medication cost for adherence and could be helpful for informing policies around public drug coverage, premiums, and cost sharing.

Patterns of social support may impact the cancer journey for older adults
Kwon J-Y, Johnson KL, Haase KR, Newton L, Fitch M, Sawatzky R. Patterns of social support among older adults with cancer and associations with patient-reported outcomes: A latent class analysis. J Geriatr Oncol. 2024;16(1):102157.
Advancing Health Program Head – Patient-Reported Outcomes Dr. Rick Sawatzky and colleagues explored patterns of social support and patient-reported outcomes among 7,097 older adults with cancer. Three levels of social support were identified: low, moderate, and high emotional support. While 96 per cent of the participants were among moderate or high social support groups, the availability of other types of support were not always equal. Participants in the high social support group reported easier access to emotional support compared with those among the moderate and low groups, giving them more opportunities to share concerns and build trusting relationships. Participants in the high and moderate social support groups were more likely to have access to informational support than those in the low social support group, improving their ability to navigate their cancer journey. Participants across all social support groups reported instrumental support, which is vital for performing daily activities. Meanwhile, participants in the low social support group were most likely to be providers of support to others. Understanding social support patterns among older adults with cancer could help understand and address their psychological and emotional wellbeing.
