Title: Public Health Renewal: Building a System to meet the Needs of Nova Scotians
1Public Health Renewal Building a System to meet
the Needs of Nova Scotians
- Dr. Robert Strang, Chief Public Health Officer
- Public Health Association of Nova Scotia
- Nov. 13th, 2007
2Public Health
- Science and art of promoting health, preventing
disease, prolonging life and improving quality of
life through the organized efforts of society.
Public Health in England (Acheson Report), 1988
3Public Health Contributes to
- Improved levels of health status of the
population and decreased health disparities - Decreased burden on the personal health services
system and thereby contribute to its
sustainability - Improved preparedness and response capacity for
health emergencies
F/P/T Improving Public Health System
Infrastructure Report, 2005
4Public Health System Core Functions
- 5 core functions
- Population health assessment
- Health surveillance
- Disease and injury prevention
- Health promotion
- Health protection
F/P/T Advisory Committee on Population Health
(ACPH)
5How we do our work Using a Population Health
Approach
- Focus on the health of populations
- Address the determinants of health and their
interactions - Base decisions on evidence
- Increase upstream investment
- Apply multiple strategies
- Collaborate across sectors and levels
- Employ mechanisms for public involvement
6Historical Perspective
- Learning from SARS (November 03)
- Public Health Review Process
- Terms of Reference of Review approved (CEOs, SLT)
- Expert External Review Team
- Provincial Advisory Committee
- Engagement of local and provincial levels
- External Consultant Dr. Brent Moloughney
- Public Health Review
- Oct 04 Consultant hired and review begun
- Sept 05 final report completed
- Jan 06 Cabinet approval
- Feb 06 Dept of HPP established
- April 06 Report released
- Spring-Winter 06 establishing the new Dept
- April 07 Major budget increase
- Aug 07 CPHO appointed
7Reviews major findings
- Improve structure capacity provincially
- Improve structure capacity locally
- Improve integration between system levels
- Improve integration with rest of health system
- Address infrastructure - people -
information - organization
8Reviews major findings
- 21 Actions for system renewal
- Significant work required
- Deterioration over a decade fix will take a
decade - Actions for Renewal are all inter-dependent
- Cannot pick and choose
- Most actions are projects unto themselves
- Many important decisions within the actions
- Will require system thinking and involvement of
all players - System renewal must occur while system remains
operational - Comprehensive in nature
- Provide the path for renewal
9Whats happened to date?
- New Department announced in Feb 2006 (4)
- Chief Public Health Officer appointed (2)
- Provincial organization re-organized and
implemented and major recruitment underway (3) - Interdepartmental activity and commitment to
environmental health secretariat (6) - Liaison with Atlantic Provinces and academic
partners on opportunities for collaboration (7,
8, 9, 17) - PANORAMACDC component of information system
development (10) - Public health laboratory project (13)
- Ongoing Pandemic planning in partnership with DOH
(15) - Multi-year budget for system renewal completed
(16) - Ongoing liaison with Public Health Agency of
Canada (PHAC) (19) - Project team for implementation under recruitment
(21)
10HPP Vision
Helping Nova Scotians to be healthier and safer
11HPP Mission
We will lead the collaborative effort to prevent
illness and injury, promote and protect health
and reduce disparities in health status
12HPP Strategic Goals
- Improve the health of the population.
- Support capacity building within government,
communities, families and individuals. - Create supportive social and physical
environments. - Develop and influence policy that supports
improved health. - Create and sustain a sufficient, competent and
healthy workforce in HPP and throughout the
public health system.
13Guiding Principles
- Foundation. We are grounded in the principles of
community development and committed to a
population health approach to our work. - Partnership. We will work in a collaborative,
transparent and responsive way. - Integration. We will work within and across
disciplines, sectors and organizations. - Evidence Informed. We will make decisions based
upon the best available information. - Accountability. We will be responsible for our
individual and collective actions.
14HPP Values
- LEADERSHIP
- We believe in creating a culture that inspires
all of us to achieve our best. We believe in
being responsive and decisive. - INTEGRITY
- We believe in openness, honesty, trust, respect
and acknowledging the contributions made by all. - COLLABORATION
- We believe in the importance of teamwork and open
communication. - INNOVATION EXCELLENCE
- We believe in achieving our goals through a
spirit of creativity and exploration. - PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT
- We believe in continuous learning, self
improvement, personal wellness and professional
development.
- Practice what we preach
- Doing the right thing
- The whole is greater than
- the sum of its parts
- Thinking outside the box
- Life-long learning
15New Departmental Structure
16Key Public Health Issues and Why Are These
Important To Nova Scotians
- Environmental Sustainability ? future generations
- Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention ?
sustainability of health care system economic
impact - Mental Health Addictions ?
under-recognized societal impact
underlying factor for other key issues - Early Childhood Development ? primordial
prevention - (Re) Emerging Infectious Diseases ? credibility
and risk management - Shared theme of health disparities ? equity
17How To Address These Issues More Effectively
- Provide leadership
- Enhance partnerships
- Systems thinking
- Longer term thinking
- Build capacity
- Create supportive environments
- Strong public health system
18Requirements for a Strong PH System
- systems approach
- commitment to all PH functions
- information evidence
- integrated settings based approach
- leadership catalyst for change
- collaboration
- community development
19Key Public Health Partners
- Prov. Govt departments
- Academia
- NGOs
- PHAC/Health Canada/Environment Canada/ CFIA
- FNIHB/ First Nations communities
20Key Partners PH System
- Need shared dialogue to develop common
understanding of - PH functions PH system
- system level roles responsibilities
- leadership
- decision making
- accountability
- communication
- integration with rest of health system
21Short Term Goals (where to next)
- Establish presence of CPHO
- Build teams at provincial, local and systems
level - Engage partners at local, provincial and national
level - High gear business planning for 08-09
- Maintain momentum
22Discussion Points
- How to strengthen links between PH system and
PHANS? - Role of PHANS in PH renewal?