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Constituent Society Corner |
Health Promotion Ontario: public health
With the current health reform process occurring within Public Health and primary health care in Ontario, there exists a significant window of opportunity for Public Health service delivery and health promotion to be strengthened. In preparation for this health reform, Health Promotion Ontario (HPO:ph) has been very active in a number of advocacy initiatives.
Response to the final report of the Capacity Review Committee:
HPO has been involved with the provincial Public Health capacity review, including participating on the reference group, steering committee and writing teams. HPO’s response urged the government to proceed with the 50 recommendations contained within the report, and offered our support in engaging the health promotion community in implementing the recommendations. Proposed Program Standards for Public Health:
HPO has been involved in the development and review of the proposed new Program Standards, at all levels including the steering committee, writing teams, reference group and as a Constituent Society. Our response to the standards was submitted; we feel that the proposed Program Standards represent a significant advance in the scope of practice for health promoters and key health promotion strategies and values are present throughout the entire document. Public Health Workforce Development:
In partnership with OPHA, HPO has been engaged in projects with the Public Health Agency of Canada designed to define and build consensus on national specialty competencies for health promoters. The outputs of these projects have included an environmental scan, a literature review, and a discussion draft set of discipline-specific competencies for health promoters. A draft set of these competencies were presented at the International Union of Health Promoters and Educators Conference in Vancouver in June. Additionally, as an OPHA Constituent Society, HPO has participated in development and consultation regarding the proposed national core competencies for Public Health. HPO 20th Anniversary Conference:
A successful spring conference was held in Toronto, celebrating HPO’s 20th anniversary. Sixty-eight Health Promoters from across Ontario gathered to network and share ideas. The conference was themed around the evolution of health promotion – past, present and future. Keynote speaker John Garcia, and guest speakers Ronald Labonte, Pegeen Walsh, Paul McDonald, Suzanne Jackson, and others provided participants with a range of perspectives on how health promotion has evolved over the last 20 years. The conference also featured presentations by Alycia Fridkin, Brian Hyndman and Gayle Bursey on Health Promotion Competencies. In addition, conference participants participated in crafting an action agenda for Health Promotion Ontario.
HPO is the Constituent Society representing Ontario's health promoters on the OPHA board of directors. HPO members come from all regions of the province and have been working collectively as an organization and also within their respective jurisdictions to effectively respond to the recent issues facing health promotion within Ontario. One of HPO's priorities is to expand its membership. In order to represent Ontario health promoters effectively, we need to involve not only practitioners from Public Health units, but also those working in community health centres and provincial resource centres. The benefits of HPO membership are many, including access to job postings, opportunities to participate in provincial initiatives, professional development opportunities, resource sharing, a members' listserv, and more.
HPO is dedicated to advancing the practice of health promotion in Ontario and representing our members at OPHA, alPHa and other provincial tables. The coming years will present many opportunities for HPO to have a voice. The 2006-07 year will be remembered as a pivotal period for Public Health and health promotion in Ontario. We encourage all Ontario health promoters to join us as we continue to put health promotion on the front burner.
For more information, or to join HPO, please visit our new blog website.
There are currently ten Constituent Societies of OPHA. Their representatives sit on the OPHA Board of Directors, and are elected by their respective societies.
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