Financial Control by Nurse Leaders in a British Columbia Health Authority

In 2011, British Columbia (BC) First Nations came together to speak with one voice and by consensus made the largest self-determining decision made in this country: to take control over their own health and wellness. Guided by First Nations perspectives, values, and principles, the First Nations Health Authority works alongside the First Nations Health Directors Association and the First Nations Health Council to advance a shared vision of “healthy, self-determining, and vibrant BC First Nations children, families, and communities.” Strong leadership, rooted in the knowledge and teachings that have sustained BC First Nations for thousands of years, is integral to achievement of the vision. This article reflects on Indigenous approaches to health and wellness leadership in the BC context, drawing from traditional teachings shared by BC First Nations Elders and knowledge keepers in four areas: upholding governance and self-determination, “change starts with me,” building a leadership team, and reconciliation and partnership.

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Developing and Sustaining Leadership in Public Health Nursing: Findings from One British Columbia Health Authority

Canadian Journal of Nursing Leadership ◽

10.12927/cjnl.2013.23264 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 25 (4) ◽

pp. 63-75 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Leslie Mills ◽

Sabrina Wong ◽

Radhika Bhagat ◽

Donna Quail ◽

Kathy Triolet ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

British Columbia ◽

Health Authority ◽

Public Health Nursing ◽

Health Nursing

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Surgical block scheduling in a system of hospitals: an application to resource and wait list management in a British Columbia health authority

Health Care Management Science ◽

10.1007/s10729-007-9019-6 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 269-282 ◽

Cited By ~ 89

Author(s):

Pablo Santibáñez ◽

Mehmet Begen ◽

Derek Atkins

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Block Scheduling ◽

Health Authority ◽

Wait List

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Editorial

International Journal of Indigenous Health ◽

10.32799/ijih.v16i2.36039 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Sonia Isaac-Mann ◽

Evan Adams ◽

Ted Mala

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Service Delivery ◽

Indigenous Knowledge ◽

First Nations ◽

Health Systems ◽

Indigenous Peoples ◽

Health Authority ◽

Indigenous Health ◽

Health And Wellness ◽

Respectful Care

Welcome to this two-part guest edition of the International Journal of Indigenous Health (IJIH), produced by the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) in the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada. As guest co-editors, we are pleased to present to you this collection of research, promising and wise practices, innovations, and Indigenous Knowledge on health and wellness. These papers constitute a substantive contribution to, as our call for submissions framed it, “Health Systems Innovation: Privileging Indigenous Knowledge, Ensuring Respectful Care, and Ending Racism toward Indigenous Peoples in Service Delivery.”

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Editorial

International Journal of Indigenous Health ◽

10.32799/ijih.v16i1.36037 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sonia Isaac-Mann ◽

Evan Adams ◽

Ted Mala

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Service Delivery ◽

Indigenous Knowledge ◽

First Nations ◽

Health Systems ◽

Indigenous Peoples ◽

Health Authority ◽

Indigenous Health ◽

Health And Wellness ◽

Respectful Care

Welcome to this two-part guest edition of the International Journal of Indigenous Health (IJIH), produced by the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) in the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada. As guest co-editors, we are pleased to present to you this collection of research, promising and wise practices, innovations, and Indigenous Knowledge on health and wellness. These papers constitute a substantive contribution to, as our call for submissions framed it, “Health Systems Innovation: Privileging Indigenous Knowledge, Ensuring Respectful Care, and Ending Racism toward Indigenous Peoples in Service Delivery.”

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Social contacts and transmission of COVID-19 in British Columbia, Canada

10.1101/2021.09.23.21263649 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Notice Ringa ◽

Michael C. Otterstatter ◽

Sarafa A. Iyaniwura ◽

Mike A. Irvine ◽

Prince Adu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

British Columbia ◽

Time Series ◽

Health Authority ◽

Close Contact ◽

Pearson Correlation ◽

Correlation Coefficients ◽

Control Measures ◽

Contact Rates ◽

The Impact

AbstractPurposeClose-contact rates are thought to be a significant driving force behind the dynamics of transmission for many infectious respiratory diseases. Efforts to control such infections typically focus on the practice of strict contact-avoidance measures. Yet, contact rates and their relation to transmission, and the impact of control measures, are seldom quantified. Here, we quantify the response of contact rates, transmission and new cases of COVID-19 to public health contact-restriction orders, and the associations among these three variables, in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) and within its two most densely populated regional health authorities: Fraser Health Authority (FHA) and Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCHA).MethodsWe obtained time series for self-reported close-contact rates from the BC Mix COVID-19 Survey, new reported cases of COVID-19 from the BC Center for Disease Control, and transmission rates based on dynamic model fits to reported cases. Our study period was from September 13, 2020 to February 19, 2021, during which three public health contact-restriction orders were introduced (October 26, November 7 and November 19, 2020). We used segmented linear regression to quantify impacts of public health orders, Pearson correlation to assess the instantaneous relation between contact rates and transmission, and vector autoregressive modeling to study the lagged relations among the three variables.ResultsOverall, declines in contact rates and transmission occurred concurrently with the announcement of public health orders, whereas declines in new cases showed a reporting delay of roughly two weeks. The impact of the first public health order (October 26, 2020) on contact rates and transmission was more pronounced than that of the other two health orders. Contact rates and transmission on the same day were strongly correlated (correlation coefficients = 0.64, 0.53 and 0.34 for BC, FHA, and VCHA, respectively). Moreover, contact rates were a significant time-series driver of COVID-19 and explained roughly 30% and 18% of the variation in new cases and transmission, respectively. Interestingly, increases in transmission and new cases were followed by reduced rates of contact: overall, average daily cases explained about 10% of the variation in provincial contact rates.ConclusionWe show that close-contact rates were a significant driver of transmission of COVID-19 in British Columbia, Canada and that they varied in response to public health orders. Our results also suggest a possible feedback, by which contact rates respond to recent changes in reported cases. Our findings help to explain and validate the commonly assumed, but rarely measured, response of close contact rates to public health guidelines and their impact on the dynamics of infectious diseases.

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Blood concentrations of lead and mercury in British Columbians (2009-2010)

BCIT Environmental Public Health Journal ◽

10.47339/ephj.2016.95 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Gagandeep Dhillon ◽

BCIT School of Health Sciences, Environmental Health ◽

Helen Heacock ◽

Reza Afshari

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Statistical Analysis ◽

Health Services ◽

Health Authority ◽

Age Groups ◽

Blood Lead ◽

P Value ◽

Health Authorities ◽

Lead Levels ◽

Blood Mercury

Background and Purpose: Adverse effects of lead and mercury on human health due to environmental and occupational exposures require a public health attention. These metals can cause severe harm to vulnerable populations such as children and pregnant women. The probability of chronic and harmful exposure is higher in occupational settings. Monitoring the levels of these two metals in blood is an important tool to identify and quantify exposure to these metals in the environment. Monitoring data provides vital information required for management of health risk posed by these metals. The purpose of this study was to perform a comparative analysis of blood lead levels and blood mercury levels within the province of British Columbia on the health services data obtained from BC Centre of Disease Control. The primary objective was to compare the levels of lead and mercury in blood among different health authorities of British Columbia. The secondary objective was to compare the levels of lead and mercury among different age groups and gender. Methods: The blood lead and mercury concentrations used for the analysis were provided by Environmental Health Services at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC). The data comprised of blood analyses that were ordered by physicians during the period of 2009-2010 for reasons not disclosed. Access to this data was provided by Dr. Reza Afshari with the permission of Dr. Tom Kosastsky for the completion of this project only. Statistical analysis of data was performed using Microsoft Excel 2013 and SAS University Edition Analytic Software. Various descriptive and inferential statistical tests were performed on the data to determine the differences of blood mercury and lead levels among different genders, Health Authorities and age groups. Results: The levels of blood mercury and lead concentrations were not significantly different in males and females in province (p-value 0.5543 for mercury; p-value 0.5336 lead). However, it was found that blood levels of lead were higher in Interior Health and “Unknown” category (p<0.02), while blood mercury levels were significantly higher in coastal health authorities (highest in Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, followed by Fraser Health Authority and Vancouver Island Health Authority) (p<0.001). For both toxic metals, levels were highest in age group of 50 and above. (p<0.0001 for mercury, p<0.02 for lead). Conclusion: The statistical analysis of lead and mercury data was useful in characterizing the exposure among Health Authorities, age and sex of the people tested in province of British Columbia. Analysis of mercury data has generated clear patterns inferring association between coastal Health Authorities and elevated mercury levels. Vancouver Coastal Health had highest median mercury levels 4.02 μg/L higher than other health authorities (p<0.0001). Analysis of lead data established a pattern among physicians suggesting that they are more likely to order a test if the patient is under 18 years of age. Median levels were found to be highest in Interior Health Authority and “Unknown”

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