Public Health Agency of Canada Initiatives

Regional Mobilization Initiatives
Continuous Learning

Regional Mobilization Initiatives

Atlantic Region

Focus - to address child poverty by addressing health inequities through public policy that includes women and children

Determinants addressed - income and social status
social environment and support healthy child development

Strategies:
- develop framework for partnership on social and economic inclusion
- develop and disseminate evidence on child policy decision makers

Outcomes:
- formation of sustainable committed partnerships
- evidence of influence on policies that promote economic and social inclusion

Quebec

Focus - to address issues related to access to nutritional affordable food, and making links to sustainable agriculture

Determinants addressed - income and social status, social environment and support, education, personal health practices, employment

Strategies:
- focus on specific at-risk populations, e.g., single mothers and young people
- disseminate findings, develop partnerships, and educate public

Outcomes:
- formal commitment from partners to address issues
- provincial policy on food security

Ontario

Focus - stimulate public awareness of changes in public policy in the area of healthy child development

Determinants addressed - income and social status,
social environment and support,
healthy child development, education, coping skills

Strategies:
- participation of 60 partners
- multi-faceted public education
- identification of health status indicators
- local action by community leaders

Outcomes:
- effective partnerships
- increase in societal commitment to healthy child development

Manitoba/Saskatchewan

Focus - the Saskatchewan Population Health Promotion Partnership is a forum for coordinating health planning between federal and provincial levels of government and the community

Determinants are addressed as appropriate to respond to priority health issues

Strategies:
- public and professional education on the interconnectiveness of the determinants - of health and their impact on health
- enhance community capacity to take action on determinants
- include key sectors in work on specific health issues

Outcomes:
- common understanding of and actions on the determinants of health among the
- general public, across sectors and at the community level

Alberta/NWT/Nunavut

Focus - enhance the capacity of communities to take action on determinants and
strengthen infrastructures that help communities achieve healthy public policy

Determinants addressed - initiative focuses on the involvement of a range of sectors in developing public policy

Strategies:
- cross-sector collaboration
- public and professional education on the population health approach
- knowledge development
- workshop to build skills in influencing policy development
- document the use of the population health approach

Outcomes:
- description of emerging models and documented community learning
- evaluation framework to assess population health projects

BC/Yukon

Focus - a multi-strategy, multi-determinant, multi-sector initiative to address the health crisis among injection drug users in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside by addressing the underlying factors

Determinants addressed - all

Strategies:
- address community development,
- labour market development and the Urban Development Agreement
- tackle specific health issues through e.g. Coalition for Crime Prevention,
- DTES Revitalization Plan, Drug Court, Urban Aboriginal Strategy

Outcomes:
- Short/mid-term - developing partnerships, plans, communications, evaluation
Framework, resources, strategy
- Longer term - reduction in specific health issues, e.g. incidence of HIV/AIDS,
overdose deaths, crime, drug offenses; increase in housing, treatment services etc.

Continuous Learning

The Health Promotion and Programs Branch (HPPB) of Health Canada launched the Meta Project in 1998, a branch wide continuous learning initiative to facilitate the integration of the population health approach into health policy, program development and practice. A survey of HPPB staff revealed strong support for the population health approach, but also a need to develop better understanding. In order to determine team learning needs for the HPPB, thirteen facilitators from the branch participated in a three day workshop on facilitation, and then worked with 25 teams. Based on the individual and team learning needs, the HPPB Population Health Approach Continuous Learning Plan was developed.

The learning plan is composed of 5 components:

1. Action/tools/kits which include activities involving tool and kit development.
2. Learning sessions where learning opportunities would be made available to all employees on topics such as intersectoral action, evidence based practice and other subjects.
3. Other ongoing support includes administrative and information sharing activities that will ensure the plan is on track and inform staff of new developments.
4. Development opportunities that would be made available to staff who are interested in furthering their knowledge of the population health approach.
5. Beyond HPPB consists principally of a trainers session to further the population health approach within other branches.

Regular updates on upcoming learning activities on the population health approach will be posted on the web site.

 

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