Digital Commons Network^™

Evidence-Based Practice For Public Health Project: Final Report, E. Hatheway Simpson, Elaine R. Martin

E. Hatheway Simpson

There are numerous clinically based models for finding the “best evidence” for the diagnosis and treatment of disease. This process is called evidence-based medicine or EBM, which has been defined as "the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. The practice of evidence-based medicine means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research”.¹ The need for improved access to high quality public health information has been echoed in various forums involving public health professionals, librarians, and information specialists since the mid 1990s. …

Getting To The Root Of The Problem: Health Promotion Strategies To Address The Social Determinants Of Health, Dana Gore, Anita Kothari

Anita Kothari

Although extensive research shows that the social determinants of health influence the distribution and course of chronic diseases, there is little programming in public health that addresses the social determinants as a disease prevention strategy. This paper discusses different types of health promotion initiatives and differentiates them based on whether they attempt to impact intermediate (environmental) determinants of health or structural determinants of health. We argue for the importance of programming targeted at the structural determinants as opposed to programming targeted solely at the immediate environment. Specifically, the former has more potential to create significant improvements in health, contribute to …

Social Determinants Of Health In Canada: Are Healthy Living Initiatives There Yet? A Policy Analysis, Dana Gore, Anita Kothari

Anita Kothari

Introduction: Preventative strategies that focus on addressing the social determinants of health to improve healthy eating and physical activity have become an important strategy in British Columbia and Ontario for combating chronic diseases. What has not yet been examined is the extent to which healthy living initiatives implemented under these new policy frameworks successfully engage with and change the social determinants of health. Methods: Initiatives active between January 1, 2006 and September 1, 2011 were found using provincial policy documents, web searches, health organization and government websites, and databases of initiatives that attempted to influence to nutrition and physical activity …

Enacting Accountability: Networked Governance, Canadian Ngos And The Fctc, Raphael Lencucha, Anita Kothari, Ronald Labonte

Anita Kothari

Accountability is a pressing challenge within the present system of international lawmaking. Scholars continue to examine the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to encourage the accountability of governments during this process. The negotiation of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) provides an important context to examine accountability as it is and was inherently influenced by corporate interests and government economics, and involved extensive NGO participation. We conducted in depth interviews and document analysis to examine the role of Canadian NGO representatives in the negotiation of the FCTC. We highlight two sets of findings about Canadian …

Preceptorship: Exploring The Experiences Of Final Year Student Nurses In Acute Hospital Setting, Lorraine Varley, Patricia Mannix Mcnamara Dr., Catherine Macnamara

Dr. Patricia Mannix McNamara

Background: Preceptors play a pivotal role in inducting, supporting, teaching and assessing students on clinical placement. This research sought to examine student nurses’ experiences of preceptorship during their clinical placement in their final year of studies in order to further illuminate what is known about preceptorship in Ireland.

Method: A qualitative research design was adopted for this study. Forty-seven final year nursing students were questioned using a structured enquiry schedule about their experiences of preceptorship during clinical placement. All participants were female. The data were analysed thematically according to Smith, Flowers and Larkin’s (2009) framework.

Results: The results indicate that …

Paradigm Shift: A New Model – The Caa Wellness Initiative., Dennis M. Richards

Dennis M Richards

It has been projected that the costs of health care have the potential to threaten the fiscal stability of Australian Governments in upcoming decades. These costs relate in particular to the ageing of the population, common lifestyle activities that involve health risks, and the ever-increasing demand for taxpayer-funded medical, drug and surgical treatments and technologies. Various Government bodies have determined that there is a need for change in thinking about health care, with new models of care being required and with much more emphasis being placed on disease prevention and health promotion. The Chiropractors ‘ Association of Australia has developed …

Proud Voices, P. Mannix Mcnamara Dr., E. Devaney, E. O Grady

Dr. Patricia Mannix McNamara

No abstract provided.

Is Reporting On Interventions A Weak Link In Understanding How And Why They Work? A Preliminary Exploration Using Community Heart Health Exemplars, Barbara Riley, Joanne Macdonald, Omaima Mansi, Anita Kothari, Donna Kurtz, Linda Vontettenborn, Nancy Edwards

Anita Kothari

Background: The persistent gap between research and practice compromises the impact of multi-level and multi-strategy community health interventions. Part of the problem is a limited understanding of how and why interventions produce change in population health outcomes. Systematic investigation of these intervention processes across studies requires sufficient reporting about interventions. Guided by a set of best processes related to the design, implementation, and evaluation of community health interventions, this article presents preliminary findings of intervention reporting in the published literature using community heart health exemplars as case examples.

Methods: The process to assess intervention reporting involved three steps: selection of …