About us
Our goal is to advance knowledge and propose crosssectoral strategies and endeavours that will improve the health and well-being of Québecers.
The Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) was created in 1998 following the adoption of its act of incorporation (RSQ, chapter I-13.1.1). Its experts come from fields as distinct as applied science, health sciences, social sciences, and humanities and work with the health and social services network to develop and pool public health knowledge and skills.
Mission
Our mission is to support Québec’s Minister of Health and Social Services, regional public health authorities, and health and social services institutions in carrying out their public health responsibilities, by offering our expertise and specialized laboratory and screening services.
More specifically, this mission focuses on:
- developing knowledge and helping monitor public health and well-being and its determinants;
- developing new knowledge and approaches in health promotion, prevention, and protection;
- evaluating the effects of public policy and health care systems on the health of Québecers;
- promoting the development of public health research and innovation;
- providing opinions, expertise, and advice;
- ensuring screening and laboratory services, particularly in microbiology and toxicology, ranging from providing support to maintaining quality;
- making public health expertise available through ongoing training activities;
- promoting the transfer and sharing of knowledge and international collaboration;
- contributing to the development and implementation of ministerial orientations in health and social services, including, first and foremost, Québec’s Public Health Program.
The institute is also responsible for establishing a public health ethics committee with the mandate to examine health plans and surveys that monitor population health and its determinants, and for advising public health authorities about issues that may be raised in applying the Public Health Act.
Position statement
- The institute is an expertise and reference centre.
- As a broker of expertise, it contributes to the definition and understanding of public health issues, as well as to the identification of interventions with a positive impact on the determinants of population health deemed appropriate based on the contexts relevant to the decisionmaking process.
- It produces and shares scientifically based knowledge, through a range of quality products and services.
- It ensures the dissemination of this knowledge in a timely manner using the appropriate wording and a suitable format to effectively support decision makers, health care workers, and partners in their endeavours pertaining to population health determinants.