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Objective: We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of bright light exposure, modafinil, and armodafinil for improving alertness during working time among nurses on the night shift. Methods: We carried out a literature search using the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science electronic databases regarding articles pertaining to workplace interventions for improving wakefulness among nurses working the night shift using the following medical subject headings: ((((Bright light exposure) OR wakefulness medications) AND Nurses AND Night Shift-work)). Results: The searches generated a total of 34 records on the PubMed database, 130 on the Scopus database, and 32 on the Web of Science database. A total of 95 studies were identified after removal of duplicates. Nevertheless, the 95 articles were screened, 75 studies were excluded based on the review of titles and abstracts, and further 15 full-text articles were excluded because the studies did not meet the selection criteria. A total of 632 subjects from 5 studies were included. Conclusion: Bright light exposure is beneficial in improving alertness during the night shift. On the other hand, armodafinil or modafinil taken before the commencement of night shift work is effective in the treatment of excessive sleepiness associated with shift work sleep disorder.

Background Social determinants of health (SDH) are a critical theme for health equality for Nigeria. Nigeria is one of the countries in the world which is far from achieving targets of 2030 SDG 3 due to this inequity in health. Methods This is a cross-sectional pilot survey designed to collect information about the SDH, strengths, challenges and perceived areas to be addressed among different cadres of healthcare workers at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital (COOUTH) Awka in the South eastern part of Nigeria. This is a cross-sectional pilot survey among the different cadres of healthcare workers. Results The elements of SDH are vital for the continuing well-being of health workers because of their role in attending to the totality of their community. From our study, two elements of SDH (family and physical activity) had the greatest level of confidence (44% and 26% respectively), while the justice system (police and the legal issues) had the lowest areas of confidence (2% each), but the greatest strength of the community were found in education (70%) and family (58%). Conclusions Policies in general need to be implemented to address the economic instability in order to yield positive outcomes towards education, security of lives and property, food security and affordable healthcare and transportation. Reducing health inequities in Nigeria will depend on a focus addressing the social circumstances of individuals, families and communities using equity-based approaches on the broader structural environment. The role of formal and informal educational strategies will be beneficial in the highlighted social, economic and political factors from this study.

Older adults have an increased risk of complications or death from influenza. Despite the benefits of vaccination for older adults, vaccination coverage among older adults ages 65 years and over is still below Canada’s national target of 80 per cent. As health–care-seeking behaviours are influenced by several factors, including life satisfaction, we investigated the relationship between life satisfaction and influenza vaccination among older adults. A sample (n = 22,424) from the 2015–2016 Canadian Community Health Survey data was analysed using descriptive and multinomial logistic regression analyses. Higher life satisfaction was associated with a more recent influenza vaccination history. Vaccination differed by gender, age, and self-reported health status, as women, much older adults, and those with the poorest health status were more likely to be vaccinated. The study suggests an association between life satisfaction and influenza vaccination. More research into the factors that impact influenza vaccination in older adults is needed to increase vaccination coverage in the older adult population.

Objectives To investigate the association between recency of immigration to Canada and the utilization of dental health services. Methods The cross‐sectional study sample (n = 2137) was drawn from the 2015‐2016 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). It consisted of Canadian residents aged 12 years and older who resided in the two provinces and one territory who opted into the optional dental module and gave valid responses to the questions ‘How often do you usually see a dental professional, such as a dentist, a dental hygienist or a denturologist?’ and ‘Length of time since immigration to Canada?’ for the outcome and independent variable, respectively. Multinomial logistic regression was used to analyse the data, and all statistics were weighted using sampling weights provided by Statistics Canada. Results The adjusted odds ratios were lower for recent immigrants than for established immigrants and for visits more than once per year (OR = 0.35; 95% CI 0.14, 0.92), about once per year (OR = 0.34; 95% CI 0.13, 0.90) and for less than once per year (OR = 0.22; 95% CI 0.07, 0.64) than for those who never visited a dental professional. Recent immigrants, males, individuals aged 70 years or more and those with a low household income were less likely to visit a dental professional than established immigrants, females, younger age groups or those with higher incomes. Conclusion Better policies are needed to address the dental health concerns of recent immigrants who may suffer from poorer dental health, to ensure that they receive the care they require.