Injury Prevention Initiative (IPI)
With support from the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation, OPHA manages the Injury Prevention Public Health Managers’ Alliance bringing together key stakeholder groups via teleconferences and in-person meetings to strategize and prioritize injury prevention initiatives within public health. Key objectives of this group include how to support Ontario’s Injury Prevention Strategy (released August 2007), and the Ontario Public Health Standards (released October 2008).
OPHA is a very active member on a variety of provincial injury committees and workgroups, facilitating their collaboration and strategic direction to further the impact of injury prevention programming.
Further, OPHA contributes to the Violence Prevention Workgroup as an active member and host of the online Violence Prevention Programs database.
Impact
OPHA facilitates opportunities for public health professionals and NGO’s to strategically move forward on injury prevention issues throughout the province.
Recent Accomplishments
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OPHA’s Injury Prevention Initiative (IPI) successfully provided support to the Injury Prevention Managers’ Alliance in the planning and implementation of their June 2009 and February 2010 in-person meetings at the North York Memorial Hall.
The purposes of these meetings included updates on Injury Prevention from various stakeholder and funding organizations including the Ministry of Health Promotion, the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation, and the OPHA, as well as group discussions on positive and helpful ways for the Alliance to work within the Ontario Public Health Standards, both within their individual health units and together as a group. IPI assisted the Injury Prevention Managers’ Alliance in conducting a needs assessment sent out to members of the Alliance. It was used to determine priorities and areas of interest for a topic-specific teleconference and the formation of small working groups. As a result, IPI assisted the Alliance in holding their first business teleconference in October 2009 and their first topic-specific teleconference on Suicide Prevention in May 2010. IPI continues to support the Injury Prevention Managers’ Alliance in priority planning.
- IPI continues to support the Violence Prevention Workgroup by monitoring and maintaining the web-based Violence Prevention Programs database and contributing to provincial violence prevention work and coordination.
- OPHA assisted the Prevention of Violence Canada group plan and implement the 6th Annual Town Hall Meeting.
- IPI has begun work with the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation and other key partners in starting up a Falls Prevention Community of Practice through the Seniors Health Research Transfer Network.