Program and public policy

Public health actors analyzing policy options usually try to assess and compare the expected effects of policies on the health of the population. They can take on neutral brokering roles, simply providing the best available information to decision makers, or they can also engage in advocacy-related analysis. Whatever their role, those looking at policy options often try to answer — or are asked by others to answer — questions such as the following: Which option will result in broader social…

This briefing note belongs to a series on the various models used in political science to represent public policy development processes. Each of these briefing notes begins by describing the analytical framework proposed by a given model. Then we set out to examine questions that public health actors may ask regarding public policy, while keeping in mind the perspective that this model affords. It should be noted that our aim in these notes is not to further refine existing models; nor is it…

The term wicked problem is increasingly used in policy and public health circles and there is often some confusion about what it really refers to: are wicked problems the same as complex problems? How are they different from regular or “tame” problems? This fact sheet is designed to present the definitional characteristics of wicked problems as well as discuss how they may be addressed.

This briefing note introduces the road diet, an engineering technique that reallocates space on a street or road for other uses when they are over-built and have excess lanes. In what follows, we will present a definition, some study results and practical implementation considerations for road diets.

When applied with consideration for contextual details, it is generally agreed that road diets provide significant safety benefits for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians alike.

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This briefing note outlines the process for constructing a logic model as proposed in the National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy's (NCCHPP's) method for synthesizing knowledge about public policies (Morestin, Gauvin, Hogue, & Benoit, 2010). It also shows the use of this type of logic model in applications other than knowledge synthesis, as a tool that public health actors can use to analyze public policies.

Various social factors, such as education, income, work, living environment, housing, lifestyle and access to services, determine an individual’s state of health. These interact in varying combinations throughout the life course. Inequitable distribution of these factors, or health determinants, among groups generates considerable health differences among people within a community or a country, or between countries. The gaps, or unequal distribution of health status, linked to these…

The issue of work-family balance (WFB) has not been given much attention in terms of its impact on health. Therefore the purpose of this advisory is to examine WFB policies likely to foster the health of working mothers and fathers. The conceptual framework is innovative in that the analysis incorporates the impact of WFB difficulties on health, the role of the neighbourhood, working conditions and public policy in the work-family-health equation.

The statistical portrait of WFB in…

The mandate of the National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy (NCCHPP) is to increase the expertise of public health actors across Canada in healthy public policy through the development, sharing and use of knowledge. Health authorities constitute a key group of stakeholders targeted by the knowledge translation, synthesis and exchange activities integral to the fulfillment of the Centre's mandate. It is within this context that the NCCHPP has developed various projects tied to…

Public health actors in public, community and academic networks may be called upon to work on public policies and, within the context of this work, to interact with policy makers at different levels (municipal, provincial, etc.). However, they often find that the content of their discourse does not meet all the information needs of these decision makers.

This document presents a structured process based on an analytical framework that reflects a public health perspective, while at…

While sustainability policies and planning have relevance at multiple scales from the neighbourhood, to city-level, regional, national and beyond, this briefing note is intended to help public health, government and non-governmental actors promote sustainability at the local level, whether in urban or rural settings.

This briefing note begins by presenting traditional and emerging responsibilities of local governments. It then briefly summarizes approaches to putting sustainability…