253741 Strengthening public health infrastructure: Reflections from the Canadian context

Monday, October 31, 2011: 8:55 AM

Erica di Ruggiero, MHSc , Honorary Vice-President, APHA, Associate Director, Institute of Population and Public Health, Ottawa, ON, Canada
  
     
Several reports have signaled challenges with Canada's public health infrastructure and its ability to comprehensively respond to infectious and non-communicable diseases and the underlying social, cultural and environmental determinants of health. The delivery of essential public health services involves the programs, policies and services that impact on entire populations, at the neighbourhood, regional, provincial/territorial, and national levels. This presentation will reflect on efforts to date to strengthen the evidence base and system-level infrastructure (e.g. human resources capacity, financing, governance) required to implement effective essential services and reflect on areas for further development.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
Analyze and reflect on the achievements to date in Canada to strengthen public health research, policy and practice infrastructure and capacity as a means to improve population health and reduce health inequities.

Keywords: Public Health Infrastructure, Public Health Policy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I qualify to present because I am the chair of the Canadian Public Health Association and a public health professional with over 20 years of research, policy and practice experience in the field.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: WFPHA-Canadian Public Health Association-APHA Joint Session
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