Background Integrated primary care teams are ideally positioned to support the mental health care needs arising during the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding how COVID-19 has affected mental health care delivery within primary care settings will be critical to inform future policy and practice decisions during the later phases of the pandemic and beyond. The objective of our study was to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary care teams’ delivery of mental health care. Methods A qualitative study using focus groups conducted with primary care teams in Ontario, Canada. Focus group data was analysed using thematic analysis. Results We conducted 11 focus groups with 10 primary care teams and a total of 48 participants. With respect to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health care in primary care teams, we identified three key themes: i) the high demand for mental health care, ii) the rapid transformation to virtual care, and iii) the impact on providers. Conclusions From the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, primary care quickly responded to the rising mental health care demands of their patients. Despite the numerous challenges they faced with the rapid transition to virtual care, primary care teams have persevered. It is essential that policy and decision-makers take note of the toll that these demands have placed on providers. There is an immediate need to enhance primary care’s capacity for mental health care for the duration of the pandemic and beyond.

Lack of access to healthcare services for people living in the Circumpolar North may have important consequences for their health and well-being, both in terms of the actual treatment and other possible health-related consequences intertwined with their life situation. The aim of the present study was to identify the specific challenges to healthcare service delivery and access for populations in the Circumpolar North that are addressed in contemporary literature. A scoping review of literature published between 2005 and 2016 was conducted and 43 articles were selected for inclusion into the review. The review findings address 4 main themes identified in the literature: (1) the influence of physical geography, (2) healthcare provider-related barriers, (3) the importance of culture and language and (4) the impact of systemic factors. The review of the literature enabled us to identify existing gaps in both health service access and issues discussed in the available literature, particularly for informing healthcare services in the Circumpolar North, as well as point towards opportunities for future research. The thematic findings drawn from interdisciplinary and international literature inform understandings of the impact of health system barriers on healthcare services and the opportunities for Northern residents to support their own health.

A multi-link inverted pendulum with an arbitrary number of v links and controlled by a single torque input is considered in this paper. It is well known that as the number of pendulum links increases, an experimental pendulum system becomes more difficult to stabilize, and this is demonstrated in this paper for a nonlinear model of a multi-link inverted pendulum system. It is conjectured that the primary reason for such an increase of difficulty is due to the poor stabilizability robustness properties of the pendulum's linearized model as additional links are added. Using the real stability and stabilizability radius, this conjecture is confirmed.

Objective: The objective of this paper was to identify continuations and changes in care delivery methods in primary care teams during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: The study used a cross-sectional, web-based survey comprising close-ended and open-ended questions. Setting: The setting comprised family health teams (FHTs) across Ontario, Canada. Participants: The participants included executive directors of FHTs or designates of their choosing. Survey: Descriptive statistics were derived from responses to close-ended questions, and responses to open-ended questions were coded using thematic analysis.Results: With 93 participants, the response rate was 48%. Participants reported the continuation of in-person care, the implementation of virtual care across FHTs and collaboration within these teams and their communities. RésuméObjectif : L' objectif de cet article était d'identifier la continuation et les changements dans les méthodes de prestation de soins au sein des équipes de soins primaires pendant la pandémie de COVID-19. Conception : L'étude a consisté en une enquête transversale en ligne comprenant des questions fermées et ouvertes. Milieu : Le milieu concerné comprenait des équipes Santé familiale (ESF) en Ontario, au Canada. Participants : Les participants comprenaient des directeurs administratifs d'ESF ou les personnes désignées de leur choix. Enquête : Les statistiques descriptives ont été dérivées à partir des réponses aux questions fermées, et les réponses aux questions ouvertes ont été codées à l' aide d' une analyse thématique. Résultats : Avec 93 participants, le taux de réponse était de 48 %. Les participants ont fait état de la continuation des soins en personne, de la mise en oeuvre des soins virtuels dans les ESF et de la collaboration au sein des équipes et de leurs communautés.

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