Program and public policy

Public health actors are increasingly being called upon to base their decisions on the best available knowledge. Various knowledge translation strategies have therefore been proposed as a means of drawing together the world of research with that of decision making (Mitton et al., 2007).

Yet, knowledge translation still faces many challenges: research is not always valued as…

Public policies of various governmental sectors can influence, directly or indirectly, the health of the population. Whether they be policies related to transportation, environment, income, education, child-care, or social housing, these can all impact the determinants of health. As a consequence, decision makers are increasingly being called to adopt healthy public policies; that is, policies…

Deliberative processes such as citizens’ juries, consensus conferences, or deliberative polls are increasingly used to engage citizens and stakeholders about challenging public health issues for the purposes of informing policymaking (Abelson, 2009; Scutchfield, Hall, & Ireson, 2006). Yet, there is a paucity of research evidence about the effectiveness of deliberative processes in real…

Alcohol consumption is a public health issue because it causes many health and social harms:

• Alcohol consumption is associated with deaths, chronic diseases, cancers, injuries, violence, mental health problems, addiction and social problems.
• In 2002, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that alcohol was the third leading risk factor for mortality and…

Firearm-related deaths are a significant public health problem in Canada. Over the past 30 years, the Canadian Parliament has implemented a number of measures to alleviate this problem. Most of these measures focus on the control of non-restricted firearms such as rifles and shotguns. These measures were implemented gradually following the adoption of three bills, i.e. Bill C-51 (in 1977),…

Given that certain questions have been raised regarding the results of studies on the effects of SISs, the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) has taken the initiative of carrying out a critical analysis of these studies.

The objective of this report is to evaluate the relevance of establishing supervised injection sites in the province of Québec. It is based on a…

This abstract offers highlight of a knowledge synthesis on the implementation process for policies, programs or measures favourable to healthy eating in the schools. The data reported concerns schools at the elementary and secondary levels. The synthesis reveals a portrait of the favourable factors and obstacles to implementing school food policies, as well as describing a systematic approach…

No nation today is immune from the obesity epidemic. Developing an action plan, a national strategy, policies and programs to manage the epidemic and prevent its progression is a major concern worldwide. While a number of World Health Organisation (WHO) reports published over the past few decades helped prompt member States to coordinate nutrition plans, the WHO’s Global Strategy on Diet,…