As Canada deals with the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the biggest public health challenges of our time, the need to strengthen public health systems has never been greater. Strong public health (PH) systems are vital to ensuring health system sustainability, improving population health and health equity, and preparing for and responding to current and future crises. There are considerable variations across provinces and territories in how public health is organized, governed and financed, as well as in how public health systems have been reformed and restructured in recent years. This report builds upon prior reports and describes British Columbia's public health system prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its organization, governance, financing, and workforce. It is part of a series...
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May-25-22
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May-25-22
As Canada deals with the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the biggest public health challenges of our time, the need to strengthen public health systems has never been greater. Strong public health (PH) systems are vital to ensuring health system sustainability, improving population health and health equity, and preparing for and responding to current and future crises. There are considerable variations across provinces and territories in how public health is organized, governed and financed, as well as in how public health systems have been reformed and restructured in recent years. This report builds upon prior reports and describes Québec's public health system prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its organization, governance, financing, and workforce. It is part of a series of 13...
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April-22-22In New Zealand, Wales, Scotland, and Finland, among other countries, wellbeing approaches to policy have become a growing trend over the past decade. Attention to the wellbeing and quality of life of the population has the potential to act on upstream determinants of health and, thus, to be a significant boon for healthy public policy. The National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy (NCCHPP) seeks to explore the significance of this policy turn. In this briefing note, we invite noted public health scholar, Lindsay McLaren, to assess how wellbeing approaches to policy align with public health scholarship and practice and whether there is a role for public health in this work. Dr. McLaren offers a critical perspective on the state of public health and on the...
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April-05-22
This document begins with a review of how housing can influence the health and quality of life of its occupants. It then presents the findings on the impact of housing on the health of the Québec population during the COVID-19 period. As a response to this impact, this report proposes strategies for improving housing conditions and reducing social inequalities in health, starting with specific actions that can support households whose housing conditions have become increasingly unstable during the pandemic. It concludes by outlining medium-term strategies for improving the supply of healthy, safe and affordable housing.
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April-05-22
The COVID-19 pandemic led Québec, like many jurisdictions around the world, to recommend public health measures to slow propagation of the disease. Measures include limiting the number of contacts between individuals, physical distancing, physical barriers, handwashing, breathing etiquette, wearing of masks or face coverings, ventilation, and the disinfection and cleaning of surfaces. These measures are considered effective in reducing COVID-19 transmission and case numbers, but have also led to a further reduction in physical activity by seniors in a society where inactivity and sedentary behaviour are more prevalent among seniors than younger generations.
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April-05-22
In the current context of childcare and school closures and the suspension of activities outside the family household, the social environment of children is changing rapidly and generates concerns about their safety. The literature also provides evidence that points to an increase risk of violence during periods of crisis. Under normal circumstances, a large proportion of children in Québec are affected by violence and maltreatment. For example, in 2018, many children experienced repeated psychological abuse and violent parental behaviour. Currently, the environments that act as safety nets to detect and report cases of violence and maltreatment toward children are inaccessible. To date, few data are available to quantify the problem in Québec since the beginning of the COVID-19...
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April-05-22
Since the start of the pandemic, measures put in place to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus have led to several upheavals that have affected young adults. The closing of educational institutions, online learning, massive layoffs in sectors employing mostly young workers, the reduction of access to certain places of socialization usually frequented by young adults, the change in the offer of formal parenting support for young parents, and a reduction in access to mobility are factors that have generated, in many cases, uncertainty, stress, distress, anxiety, isolation, and a feeling of loneliness in young adults.
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April-05-22
The purpose of this document is to provide guidelines to support the use of parks and green spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic. It reviews the main health benefits of green spaces and the basic principles to be respected to reduce the risk of spreading the virus in these areas. The document also presents promising initiatives put forward by municipalities in Québec, Canada and elsewhere in the world aimed at promoting the safe and optimal use of parks and green spaces. Finally, some relevant resources that can support the development of parks and green spaces by facilitating consideration of elements that are key to achieving this aim are listed.
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March-30-22
This report contributes to characterizing the potential impact of COVID-19 on suicidal behaviours in Quebec and on emergency department (ED) visits due to suicide attempts and suicidal ideation for the pre-pandemic (2014–2019) and the pandemic (2020–2021) periods. This is initiative was undertaken by the INSPQ as part of its monitoring activities.
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March-29-22
For ministries and organizations to be better positioned to collaboratively design new ways to reduce social inequalities in health (SIH), there is a need to clarify the pivotal role of reducing social inequalities across all levels of government and cross-sectoral efforts in preventing negative impacts on population health, and the potential contribution of multiple sectors to improving the health and well-being of the Québec population.
Highlights
The health of the population is closely tied to underlying social factors. Poverty, which involves the intersection of multiple forms of social inequalities, has repercussions that often extend beyond health to impact other social determinants of health in a negative downward spiral. The rise in social inequalities...
