An Atlantic & Manitoba Perspective Toward Building Public Health Capacity

1. Prepared for: Canadian Public Health Association Conference 2005 An Atlantic & Manitoba Perspective Toward Building Public Health Capacity A Work in Progress

2. Project Funding and Partners • Financial support of the Government of Canada provided through the Office of the Voluntary Sector, Public Health Agency of Canada • Canadian Public Health Association & Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada • Manitoba Public Health Association & Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba CPHA 2005

3. Project Partnership • Newfoundland and Labrador Public Health Association & Wellness Advisory Council of Newfoundland and Labrador • New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island Branch CPHA & Heart and Stroke Foundation of New Brunswick, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Prince Edward Island • Public Health Association of Nova Scotia & Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia CPHA 2005

4. Background • Public health’s success hasled to the erosion of public health system infrastructure • Recent public health incidents (e.g., SARS, Walkerton) • Naylor & Kirby Reports • Need for a snapshot of public health to effectively build capacity CPHA 2005

5. The Project Goal • Develop an easilyunderstood, high level framework to: • help educate, plan, and collaborate • develop healthy public policy • monitor progress towards achieving public health capacity • Explore ways to develop and sustain a collaborative process for influencing public health (“healthy”) policy development and public health capacity CPHA 2005

6. The Process • Project management team refined the initial framework developed by PHANS • A series of consultations between October & December 2004 in the Atlantic Provinces and Manitoba CPHA 2005

7. The Process • 270 participants, from thirty working groups, examined the framework and provided feedback on its content, format, and potential uses • Partners consolidated the results of the consultations CPHA 2005

8. The Result • A compact 6 page framework that includes: • Foundation requirements • Results • Requirements (What is needed) • Indicators (How will we know) CPHA 2005

9. The Result • Result • Individuals & communities are protected from epidemics & diseases • Requirement • Clinical prevention services including a national standardized and funded immunization strategy & program • Indicators: • Clinical prevention services, such as: • Maintenance of a national immunization strategy • Immunization rates meet or exceed standards of national strategy CPHA 2005

10. The Result • Result • Public policies & community function & design support healthy living • Requirement • Integrated policy development by all government departments that have an impact on health determinants & outcomes CPHA 2005

11. The Result • Indicators • Integrated policy development • Reduction of poverty & health inequities, for example: • Measurable increase in rate of literate individuals • Measurable increase in number of government policies from all sectors reflecting healthy public policy • Measurable reduction in the rate of low income families • Initiation of strategies to improve access to higher education CPHA 2005

12. Next Steps • Continue to refine • Use & refine the framework for own purposes within governments, NGOs, and public health associations • Obtain research funding to further refine the framework CPHA 2005

13. What can you do? • Use it! • To facilitate collaboration on public health • To educate about the scope of public health • To plan and monitor pubic health systems • To define priorities • To advocate for support and resources • To evaluate progress toward an effective public health system CPHA 2005

14. What can you do? • Give us feedback • Tell us how you used the framework and how it worked • www.cpha.ca CPHA 2005