2010 CIHR-IPPH-CPHA Population and Public Health Research Milestones

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research-Institute of Population and Public Health (CIHR-IPPH), in partnership with the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA), is pleased to recognize the winners of the inaugural Population and Public Health Research Milestones Initiative.

The research milestones have significantly contributed to the public's health in Canada and globally; they are relevant to at least one of the 12 CPHA achievements (please see the CPHA Centenary website) or to another population and public health priority; they demonstrate originality in addressing a public health problem; they have led to significant improvements in health and/or health equity; and, they have influenced research, policy and/or practice. These milestones were determined through a competitive peer review process.

Says Ms. Debra Lynkowski, Chief Executive Officer, CPHA, "The milestones that have been selected demonstrate the extraordinary contribution that population and public health research has made to public health practice. In Canada, we are truly fortunate to have such dedicated and talented researchers working in the name of population and public health; we know that Canadians enjoy the benefits of their research every day."
 
Says Dr. Nancy Edwards, Scientific Director, CIHR-IPPH, "Canadians have demonstrated leadership in the field of population health research. These milestones are important reminders of our long-standing contributions in this important field and the winners have been giants in this field. The relevance of population health principles and approaches is more timely than ever as we look at our most pressing health equity issues in Canada and globally."

These milestones in research are published as a special section in the November/December 2010 issue of the Canadian Journal of Public Health.

Please join us in congratulating the following individuals/teams.

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Why Are Some Books Important (and Others Not)?

Robert G. Evans, PhD
University Killam Professor (Economics), University of British Columbia
Founding Director, CIFAR Population Health Program
Institute Fellow, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research

Morris L. Barer, PhD
Director, Centre for Health Services and Policy Research
Professor, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia

Clyde Hertzman, MD
Director, Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP), Colleges for Interdisciplinary Studies
Canada Research Chair, Population Health and Human Development
Professor, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia

Noralou P. Roos, PhD
Professor, Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba
Founding Director, Manitoba Centre for Health Policy

Michael Wolfson, PhD
Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa
Canada Research Chair, Population Health Modeling/Populomics

Abstract

The book Why Are Some People Healthy and Others Not? The Determinants of Health of Populations represented a milestone in our evolving understanding of the determinants of population health. Building on Marc Lalonde's earlier A New Perspective on the Health of Canadians, it created a theoretical framework that could incorporate emerging evidence from a wide range of disciplines. Central to its authors' approach was the observation of heterogeneity, the systematic differences in health observed when populations are partitioned on characteristics such as income, education, geographic region, etc.

The universal observation of a social gradient, of a strong correlation between socio-economic class and health, led to a focus on how the social environment might influence health. Social position strongly influences both the stresses to which individuals are subject, and the resources available to cope with them. Furthermore, healthy and unhealthy responses to stress become "embedded", learned or conditioned both behaviorally and biologically, thus influencing health over the whole life course.

The book's impact has been remarkable, not merely in academic citations but through its authors' subsequent work and strategic positions in Canadian health research organizations. The concept of "Population Health" has become part of our shared intellectual heritage.

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Canada's Health Promotion Survey

Irv Rootman, PhD
University of Victoria (2002-present)
University of Toronto (1990-2002)
Health and Welfare Canada (1973-1990)

Reg Warren, MA
Centre for Health Promotion, University of Toronto, 1994-2009
Health Promotion Studies Unit, Health and Welfare Canada, 1987-1993

Gary Catlin, BA
Director General, Statistics Canada

Abstract

This commentary describes the contribution of the 1985 Canadian National Health Promotion Survey to the development of public health research and policymaking in Canada and argues that on the basis of that contribution, it should be considered to be a public health research milestone. In terms of research, among its contributions which subsequently have been adopted in other surveys studies were: going beyond risk factors to operationalize concepts implicit in the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion; empowering users to participate in knowledge translation, sharing and transfer; ensuring sufficient sample sizes for each jurisdiction to be able to confidently generalize to its population; establishing a model as well as questions for subsequent health surveys; encouraging widespread use of data through making them available early; and developing and using an explicit social marketing strategy to reach target audiences, including the general public. With regard to policymaking, among its contributions which have been adopted were: using survey data to develop and enhance healthy public policy initiatives; encouraging researchers to work with policymakers in developing policies; using survey data to contribute to the evaluation of public health initiatives; engaging policymakers in the development of surveys; and encouraging the use of survey data for advocacy.

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Ecosystem Approaches to Health

Jena C. Webb, PhD
CoPEH-Canada

Donna Mergler, PhD
Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la biologie, la santé, la société et l'environnement, Université du Québec à Montréal

Margot W Parkes, MBChB, PhD
University of Northern British Columbia
University of British Columbia, Northern Medical Program.

Johanne Saint-Charles, PhD
Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la biologie, la santé, la société et l'environnement, Université du Québec à Montréal

Jerry Spiegel, PhD
School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia

David Waltner-Toews, BA, DVM, PhD
Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph

Annalee Yassi, MD, MSc, FRCPC
College for Interdisciplinary Studies, University of British Columbia

Robert F Woollard, MD
Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia

Abstract

The intimate interdependence of human health and the ecosystems in which we are embedded is now a commonplace observation. However, for much of the history of public health this was not so obvious. After over a century of focus on diseases, their biologic causes and the correction of exposures (clean water and air) and facilitation of responses (immunizations and nutrition), public health discourse shifted to embrace the concept of determinants of health as extending to social, economic and environmental realms. This moved the discourse and science of public health into an unprecedented level of complexity just as public concern about the environment heightened. To address multi-factorial, dynamic impacts on health a new paradigm was needed which would overcome the separation of humans and ecosystems. Ecosystem approaches to health arose in the 1990s from a rich background of intellectual ferment as Canada wrestled with problems as diverse as Great Lakes contamination to zoonotic diseases. Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) played a lead role in supporting an international community of scientists and scholars who advanced ecosystem approaches to health. These collective efforts have enabled a shift to a research paradigm that embraces transdisciplinarity, social justice, gender equity, multi-stakeholder participation and sustainability.

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Developing Canada's Research Base for Harm Reduction and Health Equity Approaches to HIV Prevention and Control

Jeannie Shoveller, PhD
Professor, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia

Kora DeBeck, MPP, PhD (c)
British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

Julio Montaner, MD, DSc (hon), FRCPC, FCCP, FACP, FRSC
Director, British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
Director, Division of AIDS, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia

The authors developed the case for this nomination based on a large body of scientific evidence generated by Drs. Kerr and Wood and their collaborators at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS as well as research collaborations undertaken elsewhere in Canada and internationally.

Thomas Kerr, PhD
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Medicine
University of British Columbia
Co-Director, Addiction and Urban Health Research Initiative
British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, B.C.

Evan Wood, MD, PhD
Clinical Associate Professor, Dept. of Medicine
University of British Columbia
Co-Director, Addiction and Urban Health Research Initiative
British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, B.C.

Abstract

In the area of Infectious Disease Control, Canadian research efforts to address the HIV epidemic in Vancouver's Downtown East Side neighborhood have fueled the development of harm reduction and health equity perspectives worldwide. These research efforts have, in turn, reshaped the field of public health approaches to HIV prevention and control. As a result of the intensive and sustained research initiatives led by Canadian scientists Drs. Thomas Kerr and Evan Wood, the 'HIV problem' and public health responses to it have been radically reconceptualized – shifting from an exclusive focus on individual choice towards asking fundamental questions about our society and the structural features that put people at risk for contracting HIV. Their research on harm reduction and health equity related to HIV vulnerability and outcomes has informed and shaped: 1) the establishment of North America's first supervised injection facility, Insite, located in Vancouver's Downtown East Side neighborhood; 2) dramatic changes to Vancouver's needle exchange policies; 3) HIV treatment approaches among injection drug using populations (IDU). By drawing attention to the ways in which Canadian health care policies and programs can be restructured to better support the health of vulnerable populations, the work of Drs. Kerr and Wood represents a uniquely Canadian public health milestone.

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The full articles about the 2010 CIHR-IPPH-CPHA Population and Public Health Research Milestones are now available in the Nov/Dec issue of the Canadian Journal of Public Health. Until April 2011, the full journal issue is only accessible to subscribers. However, due to this partnership with the Canadian Public Health Association, you may view the full articles about the milestones below. Note: the articles' abstracts are available in both French and English, but the main text of the articles is available in English only.

• Why Are Some Books Important (and Others Not)? [ PDF (56 MB) | Help ]
• Canada's Health Promotion Survey as a Milestone in Public Health Research
  [ PDF (57 MB) | Help ]
• Tools for Thoughtful Action: The Role of Ecosystem Approaches to Health in Enhancing Public Health [ PDF (58 MB) | Help ]
• Developing Canada's Research Base for Harm Reduction and Health Equity Approaches to HIV Prevention and Treatment [ PDF (58 MB) | Help ]