Summary of Interdepartmental Working Group Meeting
Public Health Goals for Canada

Meeting Summary

The Public Health Agency of Canada brought together 8 to10 individuals who were either members of the Interdepartmental Working Group or delegates, to familiarize members of the federal community with the consultation exercise and seek their input on the public health goals process.

The following is a summary of the results of the exercise and represents the individual opinions of the participants. It should not, in any way, be construed as representing any federal departmental positions or views.

• Facilitate life-long learning and skill building towards self-fulfillment and realization of one’s potential, being respectful of cultural identities
• Better integrated communities and healthy work organizations
• Build awareness and capacity for public participation
  

Goal Statements:

• Promote green technology and greener lifestyles
• Prevent/mitigate/reduce diseases related to biological/chemical and psychological hazards
• Develop and support green urban areas.

Key words: Inclusiveness, fluid, adaptable, integration, cooperation, fairness, empowerment, volunteerism, community-driven

• Consider food security- access and availability
• Heterogeneous solutions for different vulnerable populations
• Decrease stigmatization and discrimination to reduce barriers
• Reduce health disparities
• Reduce perceived and real barriers
• Enable involvement and input from vulnerable populations
• Outreach and education – promote health literacy and ensure language/vehicles are user-friendly
• “At-risk targeted Canadians” may be better terminology than “vulnerable populations”
• Integration of services and jurisdictions to increase efficiencies and decrease duplication of effort. Will decrease intrusion into vulnerable people’s lives.
• Transparency in what we are trying to accomplish so that vulnerable populations don’t feel threatened.
• Prevention of vulnerability/Increase person’s resiliency or increase protective factors.
• Culturally appropriate care in a culturally appropriate manner
• What are vulnerable populations? Define, such as; Aboriginal people, people with disabilities, new Canadians, single parent and low income families, homeless
• Aboriginal people are a diverse group – urban Aboriginals, Métis, Inuit, non-status, First Nations on-reserve, First Nations off-reserve
• Factors in addressing vulnerable populations are poverty, fear, despair, no permanent address, discrimination, communication (literacy, language, cultural norms)
• For populations that are vulnerable, we have a responsibility to ensure access and proper outcomes.

Goal Statement:

• Reduce the impact of vulnerability on the individual and society
• Prevent and reduce vulnerability through integration of services and jurisdictions, improve transparency and increase personal resiliency/empowerment, focus on outreach and education and increasing supporting policies.

• 
  Portable between provinces/territories and within regions at the same level.
• Recreation programs in schools – promoting “healthy living” at an early age and supporting choices in diet and active living
• Also promotion of above in communities
• Education/provision of info
• Support wellness programs
• Making health living socially acceptable
• Access to complementary health care
• Ensuring incentives and recognition of the responsibility (social conscience) to provide “healthy alternatives” (e.g. heart healthy menus, bicycle paths)

Goal Statement:

• Promoting healthy lifestyles for individuals within the context of a supportive community through access to information, removal of barriers and targeted education.

• Effective and efficient feedback loop to hold health care officials accountable to the client -this would better ensure culturally appropriate care, clinical skills and cultural sensitivity.
• Services outside of hospital given that these areas can often be the “hub” for the transfer of illness (e.g. community health centres, clinics).
• Increase integration of services and facilitated transfer of information across the health and social care systems and clients
• Real access (single window, timely, portable and universal including people with disabilities) to services that are required and delivered in an appropriate (e.g. cultural, diagnostic) manner
• Access to preventive information
• Dignity of choice for your own care
• Single window approach – address access (jurisdiction/time)and clarity re provincial/territorial and federal programs; information and providing
• Road map for health care services – outlines who/lead
• Move away from traditional medical system – provide a holistic system/services that include post-medical delivery service (i.e.) information on community services and information on communities)
• Provide cross linkages between medical and health delivery professionals (i.e. traditional medicine/non-traditional medicine)
• Cross-pollinators between experts (genetic/general practitioners/allergists etc.) to ensure that they are able to synthesize information and have full information regarding linkages
• Break down the barriers to ensure broader exposure to different disciplines