* Provide a forum to critically reflect on our progress and to consider Canada’s future role in the reduction of health inequalities in response to the anticipated report of the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health.
* Showcase innovative research, policies and practices that address the social, political, cultural, economic and environmental determinants of health.
* Profile strategies for building the capacity of population and public health at local, regional, provincial/territorial, pan-Canadian and international levels, and leverage the potential of partnerships and collaboration.
* Provide a meeting ground for knowledge exchange among public health practitioners, policy-makers, and researchers from a range of disciplines and sectors.
Conference Streams
* People: Unevenness in health and disease outcomes defines some populations in Canada as vulnerable.While windows of vulnerability can manifest themselves at different times throughout the life course, those most affected are generally likely to be poor, less educated, and have inadequate living and working conditions.
* Places: The places in which we live, work, play and learn have a profound impact on the health of individuals, communities and populations. Whether urban, rural, regional, provincial/territorial, national or global, these “physical and social environments” are shaped by numerous policies and programs, which can in turn produce unequal access to the resources required for healthy living.
* Effecting Systems Change: Engaging multiple sectors outside of health (e.g., labour, housing, education, environment, finance, agriculture) and facilitating responses across jurisdictions (e.g., regional, provincial/territorial, national, global) are paramount if we are to intervene on the global, political, socio-cultural and environmental forces, which can be attributed to the risk of disease and disability. The pan-Canadian public health landscape is becoming increasingly complex. Our public policy-making enterprise leaves most social, educational and health policies in the purview of several levels of government and sectors with varying levels of human and material resources at their disposal. New public health-oriented collaborations, partnerships, and capacities are required in order to effect systems change and support the multi-level development and implementation of evidence-informed healthy public policies that lead to improvements in overall health status and reductions in health inequalities. Further, intersectoral and whole-of-government initiatives and approaches (e.g., integrated policy development, health impact assessment) must not only be documented but assessed in terms of their effectiveness in reducing health inequalities.
Where and when
June 1 to 4, 2008
World Trade and Convention Centre, Halifax
For more information visit the CPHA Conference web site