A review of progress after ten years was part of the accord and the Health Council of Canada was created and mandated to prepare it, along with other regular reporting. The full report notes that the progress has been dismal and recommends a totally new approach based on a systems approach and with an emphasis on equity. What is even more disappointing, along with the poor results achieved in Canadian's health and the health care system, is the absence of any attention, even in this mandatory decade review, of any real understanding that health care does not produce any improvements in health. If we are to improve the health of Canadians, we will need major new investments in health promotion. And, of course, as noted in the Ministers' promises, we need to do that through inter-sectorial action through settings such as schools.
Canadian Report Recommends Systems Approach & Equity but Ignores Health Promotion, Schools9/23/2013 (An item from the ISHN Member information service) In 2004, Canada's federal government and all provinces & territories agreed to an accord that would reform the health system in Canada. Billions of dollars for health funding, primarily for health care, were committed by the federal government as a strategy to buy long lasting change and reform the system. A small part of that accord included some promises on health promotion, primarily with regard to immunization, coordinated responses to outbreaks of infectious diseases and the creation of a Public Health Agency of Canada. As well, first Ministers agreed that " In addition, governments commit to accelerate work on a pan-Canadian Public Health Strategy. For the first time, governments will set goals and targets for improving the health status of Canadians through a collaborative process with experts. The Strategy will include efforts to address common risk factors, such as physical inactivity, and integrated disease strategies. First Ministers commit to working across sectors through initiatives such as Healthy Schools." (The Accord was signed as Canadian governments also agreed to establish and intergovernmental consortium on school health promotion.)
A review of progress after ten years was part of the accord and the Health Council of Canada was created and mandated to prepare it, along with other regular reporting. The full report notes that the progress has been dismal and recommends a totally new approach based on a systems approach and with an emphasis on equity. What is even more disappointing, along with the poor results achieved in Canadian's health and the health care system, is the absence of any attention, even in this mandatory decade review, of any real understanding that health care does not produce any improvements in health. If we are to improve the health of Canadians, we will need major new investments in health promotion. And, of course, as noted in the Ministers' promises, we need to do that through inter-sectorial action through settings such as schools.
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(An item from ISHN Member information service) Several articles in Issue #3, 2012 of Children & Schools call for and then start to develop a comprehensive model of school-based and school-linked social work. The editorial provides a rationale for the creation of a national school social work model, followed by an initial conceptualization of a model and recent and future steps to refine the model using an iterative process. Anogther of the articles replicates the efforts of a mixed-method investigation designed to identify barriers and facilitators to school social work practice within different geographic locations. Time constraints and caseloads were found to be the most commonly cited barriers to practice, and respondents from urban locations reported the highest number of barriers when compared with those from suburban and rural settings. As a single category, school staff collaboration, communication, cooperation, and attitudes was cited as the most common facilitator and the highest ranked facilitator of practice. A third article provides an argument for and implications of school social workers as uniquely qualified to develop, lead, and facilitate interdisciplinary, community–university collaboration to increase meaningful family involvement and support children's success in schools through school-linked services. Read more.
(An item from ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #6, 2012 of Child, Care, Heallth & Development freview the impact of child vision screening and found benefits as well as more questions about which form is most effective for different types of vision problems. The aim of this review was to determine: (1) the effectiveness of children's vision screening programmes; (2) at what age children should attend vision screening; and (3) what form vision screening programmes should take to be most effective. Screening of children 18 months to 5 years, and subsequent early treatment, led to improved visual outcomes. The benefit was primarily through treatment of amblyopia, with improved visual acuity of the amblyopic eye. However, the overall quality of the evidence was low. The authors conclude that " Screening and treating children with uncorrected refractive error can improve educational outcomes. Evidence suggested that screening occur in the preschool years. Orthoptists were favoured as screening personnel; however, nurses could achieve high sensitivity and specificity with appropriate training. Further research is required to assess the effectiveness of neonatal screening. Most studies suggested that children's vision screening was beneficial, although programme components varied widely (e.g. tests used, screening personnel and age at testing). Research is required to clearly define any improvements to quality of life and any related economic benefits resulting from childhood vision screening". Read more.
(An item from ISHN Member information service) An article in the November 2012 issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health reports on the validity of a questionnaire designed to assess the youth-friendliness of primary and preventive health services. this criteria underlying the effectiveness of health services delivered to teens is one of the important parts of a comprehensive approach to school health promotion. The tool can be used to assess school-linked services such as local clinics and physicians offices as well as school based health centres. Read more.
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