Centre for Health Promotion
University of Toronto
The Banting Institute
100 College Street, Rm 207
Toronto, ON
M5G 1L5
Tel: 416-978-1809
Fax: 416-971-1365
centre.healthpromotion@utoronto.ca

   E-info Update Spring 2005

Contents

To subscribe to the email version, contact us at centre.healthpromotion@utoronto.

Director’s Remarks

It’s spring again and the Centre for Health Promotion is looking forward to the upcoming year. In February, I met with the Fellows of the Centre and in March with the Advisory Board, and we identified “knowledge transfer” as the focus for the Centre over the next year. In addition to our ongoing work in continuing education (THCU, Summer School, Mental Health Promotion Summer Institute) and the MHSc program at University of Toronto, we will be working on ways to ensure that there is a working connection between research, evaluation, policy, and practice at the provincial and federal levels.

Our partnerships and collaborations at all levels have been thriving. For example, Fran Perkins and I have been working with the Thai Health Foundation on one of the background papers for the WHO Health Promotion Conference in Bangkok (the sixth since the Ottawa Charter). A partnership between the Centre and the Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse, the Health Promotion Affiliate of the Canadian Health Network, has been active in revising the references and materials available on health promotion for all affiliates of the CHN. In partnership with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the Centre is co-sponsoring the International Mental Health Promotion Summer Institute in July 2005. With Lorna Heidenheim at Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition, the Pan-American Health Organization‘s participatory evaluation resource manual was field tested in Ontario. I continue to work with Ligia de Salazar in Cali, Colombia and Alan Shiell (now at Monash University in Australia) on an economic evaluation guide for health promoters. I am one member of the Canadian Consortium for Health Promotion Research team working with a team from the Public Health Agency of Canada on developing a framework to evaluate the effectiveness of community interventions.

I want to take a moment to thank a few of the people who make the Centre such a vibrant and productive place. Thanks to Nora Sellers, my Administrative Assistant, who has taken on more and more responsibilities for the running of the Centre and its many projects, and to Barry MacDonald and Cathy Duerden who continue to provide the administrative backbone for THCU and the Centre. I wish Lauren Cordwell all the best as she had to return to Australia to rehabilitate her foot and, in doing so, her work on the Bangkok background paper was passed on to Erika Khandor. Brian Hyndman has now left THCU, but he will continue as a Fellow of the Centre over the next while. Brian has been a big contributor to the Centre over the past 10 years and he will be missed. Students Jacquie Dover and Katia de Pinho Campos have been working at the Centre since January on evaluation projects on early parenting programs with the CAPC programs in North Toronto and a teen program called Positive Possibilities. I also want to thank Barbara Ronson for her work as a volunteer co-chair of the Healthy Schools Coalition and the general stream committee of the Health Promotion Summer School, Dorothy Goldin Rosenberg who chairs our Cancer Prevention Working Group, and Shelley Young who chairs our new Urban Health Working Group. Vickie Grant as Chair of the Aboriginal Planning Committee and Denise Hébert as Chair of the Francophone Planning Committee also need to be thanked for the countless hours they put into that work on behalf of the Summer School.

-- Suzanne F. Jackson, Director

To Top

News from the Centre

Annual General Meeting 2004

The Centre held its Annual General Meeting on December 2, 2004 at University College. The event was very well attended, and those present had the opportunity to mingle with others in the health field, snack on hors d’oeuvres, and find out all about what had happened over the past year at the Centre, and what was planned for the future.

Following an introduction by Department of Public Health Sciences Chair, Harvey Skinner, and a review of the past year’s event by CHP Director Suzanne Jackson, the key note address was given by Paulette Schatz, Project Director for the Canadian Society for International Health’s CIDA-funded Youth for Health in Ukraine project. Paulette spoke about the work being done in Ukraine and the positive results being realized. A lively discussion followed her presentation.

Prior to Paulette’s talk, the Healthy U of T Awards were presented – always a highlight of our AGMs. Information about the award recipients, both group and individual, follows.

Copies of the Centre’s 14th Annual Report were available at the meeting. If you would like a copy, please contact Nora Sellers at 416-978-2182 or email centre.healthpromotion@utoronto. Copies are also available on line at our web site at www.utoronto.ca/chp/.

Healthy U of T Award 2004

At the Annual General Meeting, the 2004 Healthy U of T Award in the individual category was presented to Mike Peterson, staff person with Computer and Network Services. Mike has been volunteer coordinator of the recreational Graduate Student Union Volleyball League for 25 years, starting in 1979 when he was a graduate student himself. The Volleyball League is open campus wide and welcomes not only graduate students, but staff, faculty and undergraduates as well. Currently there are 50 teams in the League, with representation from a broad range of departments and faculties across campus. Also, because of the way the League is organized, there is opportunity for all skills levels to participate. In addition to this role, Mike has organized baseball and hockey activities on campus, and has been an active advocate for improved access to recreational facilities on campus.

Mike Peterson is to be commended for his length of service and level of commitment. His efforts, which are inclusive of all campus members, have encouraged not only improved physical health, but also a sense of community and belonging.

The University of Mississauga / Evergreen Naturalization Steering Committee was presented with the group Healthy U of T Award 2004, in recognition of the work they do in creating a healthy and natural environment at the University of Mississauga campus, and their inclusion of campus members in their initiatives. Creating a beautiful, natural environment enhances the physical, mental and spiritual health of all. The activities and planting events organized by the Steering Committee make a lasting contribution to the surroundings at UTM at the same time as they bring together members from across the campus in a joint effort to create a healthier environment. The Steering Committee also advocates for healthier public policy and makes an important contribution to UTM’s Grow Smart Grow Green directive to manage the campus’s rapid growth in an environmentally sensitive manner.

The plantings organized by the UTM Naturalization Steering Committee have added 2,000 trees and 1,100 flowers and grass plants, including many native species, to the UTM campus.

To Top

Ontario Health Promotion Summer School (HPSS)

When: June 20 – 23, 2005 (Pre-School June 19)
Where: BMO Institute for Learning, Toronto

Registration for HPSS 2005 has begun and detailed information is available on the HPSS website at www.utoronto.ca/chp/hpss/. And if you are interested in receiving a copy of the HPSS 2005 program, please call Lisa Weintraub at 416-469-4632 or email hpss@rogers.com

Once again, CHP is working with a number of community organizations to offer a thought-provoking week of interactive learning. In 2005, the two themes, Strengthening Community Action and Creating Supportive Organizational Environments, will be explored in depth, with offerings in both English and in French.

Plenary, Concurrent, Small Group, applied ‘Toolbox’ and other health-related sessions are planned. They are designed to provide an interactive learning experience where multiple perspectives – including Aboriginal and Francophone – are explored to foster dialogue, collaboration and movement toward innovative solutions to current issues. A traditional Aboriginal Opening and Closing will offer a remarkable entry to the stimulating environment you will encounter.

Our web site will provide you with up-to-date information on how to register, on the Summer School curriculum and the speakers, and about the social activities being offered this year. Also, online registration is available through the site.

We look forward to having you join us this June for an exiting learning experience!

To Top

News from The Health Communication Unit (THCU)

THCU Events

THCU is pleased to offer its series of provincial workshops for 2005. All workshops are free of charge for Ontario residents. For more information on these events, or to register online, please visit our website at http://www.thcu.ca.

Overview of Health Communication Campaigns, May 17 & 18
Oakham House, Ryerson University, 63 Gould Street, Toronto
Larry Hershfield and Nancy Dubois, The Health Communication Unit

Introduction to Health Promotion Program Planning, May 30 & 31
Oakham House, Ryerson University, 63 Gould Street, Toronto
Nancy Dubois, The Health Communication Unit

Developing Health Promotion Policies, October 25 & 26
Oakham House, Ryerson University, 63 Gould Street, Toronto
Nancy Dubois, The Health Communication Unit

These workshops are free of charge for Ontario residents and will be held on the Ryerson University campus in downtown Toronto.

THCU Hosts On-Line Health Promotion 101 Web Conference

In March 2005, The Health Communication Unit offered HP101, an on-line introductory health promotion course presented in a series of three web conferencing sessions. For more information on the course, visit http://www.thcu.ca/workshops/2005hp101.htm.

Future events will be promoted on our website (www.thcu.ca) and through the Ontario Health Promotion Email Bulletin (www.ohpe.ca).

We know that not everyone is online. If you are on THCU's mailing list and if you do not have email or Internet access, please call us at 416-978-0522 and we will ensure that you receive future notices by mail.

THCU Website

Visit www.thcu.ca for information on upcoming events, our consultation services, and our extensive online collection of resources on health promotion planning, evaluation, communication, policy change, and sustainability. Recent updates include new editions of our What We're Reading and Fun Finds columns.

New on the site is Implementing THCU's 12 Steps, our new series of case studies where actual campaign development is described using our 12-step process.

The following are available as PDF files:

- Case Study 1, Not to Kids: A Radio Campaign to Reduce and Prevent Tobacco Supply to Kids from the Not to Kids Coalition
- Case Study 2, PACE: A Campaign Preventing and Addressing FASD from the Hamilton-Wentworth Drug and Alcohol Awareness Committee
- Case Study 3, Be Safe: Have an Alcohol Free Pregnancy: A Campaign on Alcohol and Pregnancy from Best Start: Ontario’s Maternal, Newborn and Early Child Development Resource Centre
- Case Study 4, Project Breakthrough: A Campaign to Reduce Stigma Attached to Mental Illnesses from the Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation

Forthcoming are additional case studies on Breathing Space, Safe Kids Week 2001, "2 for 2 is what you do”, and more!

The Workplace Project

THCU’s Workplace Project is now is its fifth year of promoting comprehensive workplace health promotion to intermediaries across Ontario. The Workplace Project concluded its fourth year with a successful conference, Comprehensive Workplace Health Promotion: Supporting Local Efforts in Ontario – “Bringing Resources, Networks and Insights Together”. The conference brought together over 160 public health intermediaries and other supporting organizations to network, collaborate and share information to find solutions to current workplace health challenges. For information about the conference, go to www.thcu.ca/workplace/events/conference2004.html.

Evaluating Comprehensive Workplace Health Promotion, the latest resource in series of three Info-packs, is now available in PDF format on our website. To access this, and many other resources, see http://www.thcu.ca/Workplace/infoandresources.htm.

This year, the Workplace Project’s primary deliverable is to create and disseminate a Recommended Practices resource that examines and recommends situational assessment tools that are effective, plausible and/or practical for implementation in Ontario workplaces. The end product will be a publication identifying the recommended tools and related materials for situational assessments. The Workplace Project also continues to offer consultations and work with several regional networks in Ontario.

Check out the Workplace Project’s Virtual Community (www.thcu.ca/workplace/vc), which continues to provide a space for intermediaries to share insights, opinions, and resources relating to supporting comprehensive workplace health promotion initiatives. Although there is no special access required to read the Virtual Community posts, if you’d like to contribute a story or resource and be updated with Virtual Community email reminders, be sure to login and create a free user account. If you have forgotten your Virtual Community password, or if you have other Workplace Project questions, comments and material requests, please contact Ali Kilbourn at workplace_admin@thcu.ca.

Ontario Health Promotion Email Bulletin

The Ontario Health Promotion E-mail Bulletin (OHPE) is a weekly newsletter for people interested in health promotion produced by the Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse and The Health Communication Unit. We provide information on workshops, conferences, job postings, projects, issues and resources.

If you have not already subscribed, we invite you to visit us at www.ohpe.ca where you can learn about the newsletter, browse or search our complete archive of past issues, read our submission guidelines, and sign up online. And, if you have visited our website, we invite you to take a short survey and let us know what you think (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=54810697038).

To Top

News from the International Health Promotion Unit

The Americas

1. PAHO Participatory Evaluation Resource Manual – In the summer of 2004, after an orientation, the Resource Manual was put in the hands of several healthy community sites in Ontario in collaboration with Lorna Heidenheim of the Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition. Then, in February 2005, users were interviewed and the results summarized for Suzanne to take to a PAHO meeting in Washington in March. All comments were considered very seriously and many revisions to the guide were discussed. Although the Resource Manual is intended for use in all countries of the Americas, to date it has only been tested in Canada, Trinidad and several Spanish-speaking countries. Brazil is embarking on testing shortly and a French version will be developed in Quebec. The Centre will be developing a community-friendly version of the guide which will be discussed with our colleagues in Trinidad in late July 2005. PAHO is looking at developing slightly different versions of the Resource Manual for each culture.

2. Economic Evaluation Guide for Health Promoters – In the fall of 2004, the Guide was translated from Spanish into English and is currently being readied for field testing in both languages. A meeting with Suzanne and Ligia de Salazar in Cali, Colombia is planned for June 2005 to discuss some of the remaining issues. In conjunction with the Participatory Evaluation Resource Manual mentioned above, and Ligia’s Centre’s “Rapid Evaluation Process,” these tools are part of a package of materials being developed by PAHO to support the building of evaluation capacity in Latin America.

International

3. Bangkok Background Paper – The World Health Organization (WHO) commissioned 29 background papers for the sixth Health Promotion Conference in August 2005. The Centre was commissioned to write one on health promotion strategies in relation to the millennium’s development goals, chronic diseases, and emerging health issues. Suzanne and Fran Perkins have been drafting this paper in collaboration with the Thai Health Foundation and with the help of Lauren Cordwell and Erika Khandor.

4. Ukraine Youth for Health II - This project in ongoing and will wrap up at the end of 2005. Suzanne continues to sit as Chair of the Canadian Advisory Committee. Another group of Ukrainian visitors is expected in Canada in May 2005 and Barbara Ronson will be handling the Toronto portion of the visit on behalf of the Centre.

To Top

News from the National Projects Unit

CAPC / CPNP Deliberative Dialogue: Healthy Living and Ten Years Later … What Had Been Learned and What Can Be Shared

The Community Action Program for Children (CAPC) provides long term funding to community coalitions to deliver programs that address the health and development of children (0-6 years) who are living in conditions of risk. The Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP) funds community groups to develop or enhance programs for vulnerable pregnant women, aiming to reduce the incidence of unhealthy birth weights, improve the health of both infant and mother, and encourage breast-feeding. These two programs were established some ten years ago and were developed under a federal commitment called the Child Development Initiative in response to an international effort “to invest in the well-being of vulnerable children” (flowing from the United Nations World Summit for Children, 1990). The CAPC and CPNP programs are rooted in the principles of Population Health, and are jointly managed by the Federal government and Provincial/Territorial governments through Administrative Protocols that set out the terms and conditions of how the program will be managed in each Province/Territory.

On December 8-10, 2004 CAPC and CPNP sponsored the third in a series of biennial gatherings of project representatives from across Canada. The event, “Deliberative Dialogue 2004", was funded by the CAPC/CPNP National Projects Fund of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The Centre for Health Promotion of the University of Toronto, together with program consultants from PHAC, developed the framework for the three-day event and facilitated the discussions. An Advisory Committee with representation from the projects, from PHAC and from the Centre for Health Promotion designed and shaped the event, including development of the two areas of focus for the discussions (Healthy Living and CAPC/CPNP: Ten Years Later), the identification and selection of participants with extensive knowledge and expertise concerning the two issues. Fifty project representatives and two Community Researchers participated in the Deliberative Dialogue.

Deliberative Dialogue 2004 resulted in two papers (addressing each area of focus) that synthesized and integrated the experience and expertise of the participants. The reports include ‘in their own words’ examples from the projects to illustrate the key findings. Each report is supplemented by a Literature Review prepared by the researchers, linking the world of hands-on experience with the world of research.

The reports are in the final stages of production and should be released sometime this summer.

National Projects Unit Web Site

The unit has been added to the CHP web site and includes a detailed listing of the experience and projects completed by Unit members over the last few years. It can be accessed at www.utoronto.ca/chp/National/.

-- Rick Wilson

To Top

Update on the Special Interest Groups

Cancer Prevention Interest Group

The Cancer Prevention Interest Group was established initially to monitor the implementation of the report, Recommendations of the 1995 Ontario Task Force on the Primary Prevention of Cancer, particularly in the areas of environmental and occupational health.

It has been ten years since the publication of this report, for which the Centre for Health Promotion of the University of Toronto was the secretariat, and to recognize this special anniversary, the CPIG is holding a special Annual General Meeting, to be held on April 12, 2005. All are invited.

The meeting will provide an opportunity to review the organizing and action in Ontario in the area of environmental health and cancer prevention, to share new information, and to greet colleagues and friends.

Speaking at the meeting will be CHP Director Suzanne Jackson, Fiona Nelson, Chair of the Toronto Cancer Prevention Coalition, and Brian Hyndman, writer of the Task Force Report, among others. Please join us.

Date: April 12, 2005
Time: 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Location: Centre for Health Promotion, 100 College Street, Suite 207, Toronto M5G 1L5
RSVP: Email Dorothy Goldin Rosenberg at at dgoldinrosenberg@oise.utoronto.ca.

Light refreshments will be served.

Ontario Healthy Schools Coalition

The Ontario Healthy Schools Coalition has had a busy winter. The two co-chairs, Barbara Ronson and Carol MacDougall, were invited by the Canadian Association for School Health to a forum in Ottawa in November 2004 that brought together representatives of Ministries of Education and Health across the country along with associations and community groups involved in creating “Healthy Schools”. The forum was held to move forward with recommendations by the Pan-Canadian Joint Consortium for School Health that is comprised of Deputy Ministers of Health and Education across the country. Provinces and Territories across the country are committing to appoint a healthy schools coordinator and secretariat accountable to both Ministries. This is something our coalition has been advocating for several years, so we are very pleased that Ontario is now on board. We are also encouraged by successes such as the Ministry of Education’s release of guidelines for healthy beverages and foods in elementary school vending machines. There is also now a page on “Healthy Schools” on the Ministry of Education’s website and staff connected to this work.

The coalition continues to hold bi-monthly meetings which are well attended by professionals and lay people both in person at OISE/UT and by teleconference. Visitors have included three representatives of our Ministry of Education, one representative from our Ministry of Health, Peter Clutterbuck of the Social Planning Network of Ontario, Katie Jessop of the Milk Marketing Board, Leonard Hart on air quality, a Principal (and PhD. student) from Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, and many others. Our fourth annual forum/ strategic planning day will be held on June 10th. This will give us an opportunity once again to celebrate successes, raise awareness, and plan for the future.

-- Barbara Ronson and Carol MacDougall

To Top

Update on Centre's Special Projects

Literacy and Health Research Project

Although the Literacy and Health Research Project was scheduled to end on March 14, it has been extended for another year by SSHRC. During that period, we will be looking at ways to continue the work that has been started through this project. Specifically, we would like to submit a proposal which would support the expansion and further work of the network of researchers and practitioners interested in literacy and health research in Canada that has been developed through the project. In addition, a working group of the Centre on Urban Health Promotion chaired by Shelley Young has identified literacy and health as an area of priority and has suggested a number of potential projects that might be undertaken by the Centre on this topic. It is likely that one or more of these projects will be chosen and proposals prepared and submitted to funding agencies. Thus, it appears likely that literacy and health will continue to be an important area of work for the Centre.

I would also like to mention that the paper on Literacy and Health that Barbara Ronson and I prepared for the CIHR International Think Tank on Reducing Health Disparities in September 2003 has been revised and will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Canadian Journal of Public Health. In addition, the book Social Determinants of Health edited by Dennis Raphael in which Barbara and I have a chapter has gone into a second printing. Finally, I would like to note that a Summer Institute on Literacy and Health Research which will focus on working with communities will take place in Vancouver later this year (possibly as early as June). If you would like more information, contact me at irootman@uvic.ca.

-- Irving Rootman

MHSc Student Practicums in Health Promotion

Starting in January of 2005, and continuing through to May, three MHSc students from the Health Promotion MHSc program at the University of Toronto have been working on practicum projects in association with the Centre for Health Promotion.

Katia de Pinho Campos is conducting a qualitative evaluation of the North Toronto Early Parenting Program (EPP) that serves new parents of infants aged 0-12 months living in at-risk conditions. In addition, Katia is performing an internal assessment of the EPP to identify the optimal mix of staffing, taking into account community needs while effectively utilizing all available resources. Her main responsibilities are to coordinate the implementation of this research project, collect the data through focus groups, interviews and literature review, analyze the information, and produce a final report.

Jacquie Dover is conducting an evaluation of the Positive Possibilities program which operates in north Toronto. She is based at the Centre and is working in collaboration with the program steering committee.

Anna Rusak is working for East York/East Toronto Family Resources (EYET) to assist in the development and completion an Early Years Outcomes and Program Activity Handbook and to facilitate and assist with an agency-wide Strategic Plan.

To Top

Centre E-info Update
Centre for Health Promotion
University of Toronto
100 College Street, Suite 207
Toronto, ON M5G 1L5
http://www.utoronto.ca/chp

This site is optimized for Netscape