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Kingston's City Hall

July 23 2019

Now available! Designing and Implementing Population Health Interventions free online course


The PHESC team is very excited to announce that the Designing and Implementing Population Health Interventions self-paced course is now live! This 3 hour course provides an overview of what to consider when designing, implementing and evaluating population health interventions. It links to many existing trainings and resources available that delve into topics in more detail.

We’ve aligned the content with the 2018 Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS) and accompanying Guidance Documents and Protocols. The course will also be offered in French in the coming months - stay tuned!

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

  • Identify types of population health interventions
  • Identify population health interventions that reduce health inequities
  • Use a systematic process to plan and design public health interventions while integrating the best available evidence with contextual factors
  • Use a systematic process to apply the best available evidence to adapt and/or implement interventions that respond to local health needs
  • Use a systematic process to integrate health equity considerations when designing, adapting and/or implementing interventions

 

Enroll in the course today!


Partner Profile


Every month, we'll be highlighting one of our PHESC partners. This month, we're pleased to introduce Kate Mulligan from the Alliance for Healthier Communities

Image of Kate Mulligan from the Alliance for Healthier CommunitiesWhere do you live? I live in East York, a part of Toronto with a strong sense of community. 

Where do you work? I’m the Director of Policy and Communications at the Alliance for Healthier Communities, where our mandate is to advance health equity in Ontario through comprehensive primary health care. We work for 100+ Community Health Centres, Aboriginal Health Access Centres, Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics and Community-Governed Family Health Teams who offer health promotion, community development, and interprofessional clinical teams all under one roof. We focus on safe, anti-oppressive, community-led health care for the people and communities facing the biggest barriers to health – including people living on low incomes, racialized people, Indigenous people, Francophones, and people from LGBTQ2S+ communities. I’m also an Assistant Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, where my work focuses on Ecological Public Health and on mentoring students who have an interest in public policy. I sit on the Toronto Board of Health and the board of the Association of Local Public Health Agencies. And I’m the mother of three young children!
 
What are some current projects that you’re working on? I do a lot of government relations and policy work. We at the Alliance have had some successes this year, including collaborating with public health to see a new investment in oral health for seniors, keeping comprehensive harm reduction services open during this time of overdose crisis and unsafe drug supply, and ensuring that health equity and a commitment to equitable health outcomes are set out in health systems transformation legislation. Right now I’m busy with health systems transformation leadership, working to advance collaborative and multisectoral approaches to Ontario Health Teams. I’m working to bridge health systems and climate change work, leading a chapter on health equity for Health Canada’s next climate and health assessment. My favourite project at the moment is called Social Prescribing. It’s a way to support the health care system to reconnect people with their communities and with health-promoting activities in everyday life through a prescription from their health care provider, supported by a link worker. I’m proud to say that the Alliance just won the world’s first International Award for Social Prescribing at an event in the United Kingdom, and I was able to share our work with Prince Charles! Social prescribing really is the future of in an integrated and personalised health system.
 
What are you most excited for as a PHESC partner? As someone with experience in public health, primary health care, ecology and social policy, I’m interested in advancing health equity work that bridges gaps between those sectors and fosters genuine collaboration. I’m also interested in expanding our notions of what constitutes evidence that prevention, equity work, and work on the broader social determinants of health is impactful. It’s great to see the range of partners around the PHESC table - we have much to learn from one another and collaboration is the only sustainable and impactful path forward.
 
What long-term impact do you hope PHESC will have on the public health workforce in Ontario? I hope it demonstrates the value of collaboration across sectors and gives people the confidence to take action on health equity, even when they face barriers to doing so in their own workplaces and communities. Our successes in focusing on disaggregated sociodemographic and race-based data to target health care and health promotion work, supporting organizations to collaborate, and scaling up social prescribing show that it’s well worth the effort.
 
What’s the last book that you read that you couldn’t put down? “If You Hold a Seed,” a children’s book by Ontario author and illustrator Elly MacKay who makes gorgeous miniature worlds inside a paper theatre. It’s about so many of my favourite things: human-environment relationships, nurturing potential, paying close attention, and having hope for the future. I read it to my kids often!


Ontario Public Health Association - Fall Forum 2019: Health and Climate Change

13 November 2019, in Toronto

What’s at stake for individual and community health in the face of a changing climate? How can we work collaboratively across sectors to protect human health? Join us at the OPHA 2019 Fall Forum to learn about the latest evidence and hear from a range of experts  bringing attention to this critical public health issue. Together we aim to foster multi-sectoral collaboration and leadership in the area of health and climate change, increase the profile of climate change as a public health issue and inform practice for climate response  through community and public health interventions.  

  • Hear about the latest research and evidence around health and climate change - measuring and modelling impacts, tracking indicators, surveillance methods, data sources, etc.
  • Benefit from a variety of perspectives; from researchers to frontline practitioners, public health and healthcare, municipalities and community groups, voices of populations who are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and perspectives from those who are already experiencing climate impacts and taking action.
  • Connect with others and explore opportunities for collaboration with diverse partners who are interested in this area.
  • Delve into recent trends, emerging issues, and policies that impact work related to climate change and health

 

More information and registration


National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools: New Webpage for Student Practicums


Explore NCCMT's new webpage for students to learn first-hand from previous practicum students about how their experience at the NCCMT has shaped their careers. Find information about projects and achievements of previous practicum students and stay up-to-date on the NCCMT’s upcoming practicum opportunities.

A previous practicum student notes, “The skills I’ve learned in evidence-informed public health at the NCCMT will be applicable in my future career. I continue to use a best evidence approach to everything I do in public health. Thank you for providing a great environment to learn and grow!”