scholarly journals Letter to the Editor - Who benefits from the professionalization of health promotion?

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-32
Author(s):  
J. Ross Graham

In 2007, Health Promotion Ontario (HPO) began working to advance the “profession” of health promotion (HP) in Canada through development of national competencies for health promoters. Their work was continued by the Pan-Canadian Network for Health Promoter Competencies (“the Network”). Funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Network aimed to address (1) the recommendation made by the Canadian Joint Task Group on Public Health Human Resources for function specific competencies (including “HP Specialists”); and (2) the marginalization health promoters face in practice. The current health promoter competencies were released in November 2015, following a series of literature reviews and practitioner consultations.

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
pp. 386-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Fazal ◽  
Suzanne F. Jackson ◽  
Katy Wong ◽  
Jennifer Yessis ◽  
Nina Jetha

Introduction In health promotion and chronic disease prevention, both best and promising practices can provide critical insights into what works for enhancing the healthrelated outcomes of individuals and communities, and how/why these practices work in different situations and contexts. Methods The promising practices criteria were developed using the Public Health Agency of Canada’s (PHAC’s) existing best practices criteria as the foundation. They were modified and pilot tested (three rounds) using published interventions. Theoretical and methodological issues and challenges were resolved via consultation and in-depth discussions with a working group. Results The team established a set of promising practices criteria, which differentiated from the best practices criteria via six specific measures. Conclusion While a number of complex challenges emerged in the development of these criteria, they were thoroughly discussed, debated and resolved. The Canadian Best Practices Portal’s screening criteria allow one to screen for both best and promising practices in the fields of public health, health promotion, chronic disease prevention, and potentially beyond.


Author(s):  
Sarah Palmeter

In the completion of my practicum at the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) this summer, I worked to develop a surveillance knowledge product to support the national surveillance of developmental disorders. This project used Statistics Canada’s 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability to investigate the burden of developmental disorders in Canada. Developmental disorders are conditions with onset in the developmental period. They are associated with developmental deficits and impairments of personal, social, academic, and occupational function. The project objectives are to estimate the prevalence of developmental disorders in Canadians 15 years of age or older, overall and by age and sex, as well as report on the age of diagnosis, disability severity, and disability co-occurrence in those with developmental disorders. The majority of the analysis has been completed and preliminary results completed, which cannot be released prior to PHAC publication. Although not highly prevalent, developmental disorders are associated with a high level of disability in young Canadians. Early detection and interventions have been shown to improve health and social outcomes among affected individuals. Understanding the burden of developmental disorders in Canada is essential to the development of public health policies and services.


Author(s):  
Joshua M. Sharfstein

Firefighters fight fires. Police officers race to crime scenes, sirens blaring. And health officials? Health officials respond to crises. There are infectious disease crises, budget crises, environmental health crises, human resources crises—and many more. At such critical moments, what happens next really matters. A strong response can generate greater credibility and authority for a health agency and its leadership, while a bungled response can lead to humiliation and even resignation. Health officials must be able to manage and communicate effectively as emotions run high, communities become engaged, politicians lean in, and journalists circle. In popular imagination, leaders intuitively rise to the challenge of a crisis: Either they have what it takes or they do not. In fact, preparation is invaluable, and critical skills can be learned and practiced. Students and health officials alike can prepare not only to avoid catastrophe during crises, but to take advantage of new opportunities for health improvement. The Public Health Crisis Survival Guide provides historical perspective, managerial insight, and strategic guidance to help health officials at all levels not just survive but thrive in the most challenging of times.


2006 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles T. Kozel ◽  
Anne P. Hubbell ◽  
James Dearing ◽  
William M. Kane ◽  
Sharon Thompson ◽  
...  

Policy makers take action largely on issues that attain the pinnacle of the policy agenda (Pertschuck, 2001). As a result, how decision makers choose which issues are important has been the subject of much research. Agenda-setting conceptualizes the process of how issues move from relative unimportance to the forefront of policymakers’ thoughts (Dearing & Rogers, 1996). An area within agenda-setting research, Health Promotion Agenda-Setting, provides Health Promotion practitioners with an innovative framework and strategy to set agendas for sustained courses of action (Kozel, Kane, Rogers, & Hammes, 1995). In this interdisciplinary and bi-national exploratory study, funded by the Center for Border Health Research of the Paso del Norte Health Foundation, we examine agenda-setting processes in the Paso del Norte Region and evaluates how the public health agenda is determined within the U.S.-Mexico border population. Integrating both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods, the current research is focused on identifying deficiencies in the public health infrastructure in the U.S.-Mexico border area, and identifying channels that exist for working toward the bi-national goals presented in Healthy Border 2010 (U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission, 2003). Research directions, design, and methodologies for exploring health promotion agenda-setting in applied settings, such as Healthy Border 2010, provide health practitioners and policy makers the potential to improve public health leadership by influencing the public health and policy agendas.


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-309
Author(s):  
Joyce Cheah Lynn-Sze ◽  
◽  
Azlina Kamaruddin ◽  

Health opinion leaders have widely embraced social media for health promotion and public health communication which can make a strong influence on the public decision making. However, despite the growing relevance of public health threats such as infectious diseases, pandemic influenza and natural disasters, research has paid little attention to the qualities of opinion leaders. Moreover, there is limited evidence that public health organisations use social media appropriately to engage in meaningful conversations with audiences. Thus, the aims of the study are to describe principles of communication practised by online opinion leaders to promote health issues, to discuss the strategies of social media used, to explain the opinion leaders’ influence attributes in health decision making and finally to develop a model of online opinion leader in the contemporary health promotion era. Content analysis was conducted on Facebook postings of five selected health opinion leaders. In addition, semi-structured interviews with 10 followers were conducted. The findings of the study revealed that there are three principles of communication practised by online opinion leaders, which are language, interaction and themes. There are three strategies opinion leaders use to influence the public: social connectivity, social support and social consultation. Furthermore, there are five opinion leaders’ attributes that influence the public’s decision making, namely personality, authenticity, trust/credibility, professional knowledge and social position. The model would be beneficial in educating and guiding the current public health opinion leaders in order to establish health and social well-being. Keywords: Online opinion leader, online health communication, public health, two-step flow theory, decision making.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
P Arwidson

Abstract In 2009, the hospitals, health and territories act has entrusted the responsibility for care and public health to the regional health agencies. This decentralisation aims to adapt strategies to local situations. These regional agencies have a very strong autonomy. In 2013, it was stated in the national health strategy that it was necessary to develop a scientifically based prevention. Two tracks are to be followed: either by importing and adapting validated or promising programs by identifying effective programs in the international literature; or from existing French initiatives (tobacco, alcohol, psychoactive substances, physical activity). The high prevalence of smoking motivated the establishment of a National tobacco reduction program in 2014, which was then relayed by a national tobacco control program. In 2016, the Health System Improvement Act created a major national public health agency combining surveillance, prevention, health promotion and emergency response. The motivation was to achieve greater synergy and collaboration between the different functions in public health. A report from the Inspectorate General of Social Affairs has recommended that this agency should establish a national portal with evidence-based prevention and health promotion programmes. Established in 2018, the Priority Prevention Plan is a major interdepartmental project to improve the health of the population, and is part of the National Health Strategy. This interdepartmental approach reflects the Government’s desire that all ministries should be able to contribute to prevention and health promotion. The increased investment in prevention and health promotion is starting to bear fruit with 1.6 million fewer smokers between 2016 and 2018. Immunisation coverage has also been improved. NutriScore, a nutritional information on the front of food containers, very easy to understand, has been put in place with partnership with 100 companies.


2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 501-513
Author(s):  
Erwin Hernández-Rincón ◽  
Rafael Tuesca-Molina ◽  
Eduardo Guerrero-Espinel ◽  
Henry Gutiérrez ◽  
Armando Guemes

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gavin George ◽  
Timothy Quinlan ◽  
Candice Reardon ◽  
Jean-François Aguilera

This review showed that thinking about the shortage of health care personnel merely in terms of insufficient numbers prevents sound strategic interventions to solve the country’s human resources for health (HRH) problem. It revealed that the numbers shortage was one facet of a broader problem that included the mal distribution of HRH, production of the wrong skills in the nursing care, the attrition of staff from the public health services and, contextually, the ever-changing demands on the health services. The challenge in South Africa was furthermore to train and retain health care personnel with skills and expertise that are commensurate with the changing demands on the public health services.Uit hierdie oorsig het dit duidelik geblyk dat die tekort van gesondheidsorgpersoneel slegs in terme van ontoereikende getalle val en ’n omvattende strategiese ingryping om die land se menslike gesondheidshulpbron krisis op te los, belemmer. Dit het aangedui dat die getalletekort  maar slegs een fasset van ’n groter probleem uitmaak, wat onder andere die volgende insluit: die oneweredige verspeiding van menslike gesondheidshulpbronne, ’n fokus op ontoepaslike vaardighede in die opleiding van verpleegpersoneel, die behoud van personeel in die openbare gesondheidsektor, asook die konstant-veranderlike eise van die gesondheidsdienste. Verder was die uitdaging in Suid Afrika die opleiding en behoud van gesondheidsorgpersoneel met kennis en vaardighede wat tred hou met die veranderlike eise van die openbare gesondheidsdienste.


2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Månsdotter ◽  
K Godoy ◽  
K Guldbrandsson ◽  
R Henriksson ◽  
S Löfdahl ◽  
...  

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