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Case 2 : Saving The Rural Ontario Maternity Services – Can We Do It?, Sabrina Haque, Preeti Nigam, Shannon L. Sibbald

Western Public Health Casebooks

Inaya, manager of the ‘low-risk’ project at Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health (PCMCH), had to come up with an integrative solution for the issues encompassing maternity care in Ontario. The low-risk project aims “to design and develop effective low risk maternal and newborn strategy for Ontario (2015-2018) to ensure that all women have an equitable choice of delivery options, and access to the right level of care at the right time, no matter where they live in the province”. In response to external and internal challenges facing Ontario’s hospitals, the province has seen the closure of rural maternity …

Case 1 : Where Are The Sex Workers?, Jaspreet Bhullar, Rebekah Vaughan, Gerald Mckinley

Western Public Health Casebooks

The Bloom Clinic of the WellFort Community Health Services in Brampton, Ontario is mandated to serve six specific populations for HCV (Hepatitis C Virus) testing. The Bloom Clinic also tests for all Hepatitis viruses, HIV and STIs. The six priority populations listed below were identified as at-risk peoples due to having barriers “accessing traditional forms of health care” (Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, 2013).

• Substance users
• People involved with the correctional system
• Homeless people and those with inadequate housing
• Aboriginal Peoples
• Street-involved Youth
• People with tattoos and/or piercings

The specially designed, multidisciplinary Bloom Clinic HCV team consists of a …

Case 4 : Changing School Food Environments: Is Policy Enough?, Sai Chaphekar, Paula Dworatzek, Amanda Terry

Western Public Health Casebooks

Nutrition is important for overall physical, mental, social, and cognitive well-being. It is especially crucial for children as it is linked to all aspects of their growth and development, which is connected to their health as adults. Children on their own are incapable of deciding what foods are good for their health. Hence, it is important to provide them with the right nutrition and a supportive environment to instill healthy eating habits. These habits will promote a better quality of life that will be perpetuated later on (Children’s Heart Centre, 2007). To address the nutritional standards of foods provided at …

Case 5 : Investigating Suspected Outbreaks Of Rare Infectious Disease Using Surveillance Data: The Cjdss Perspective, Elizabeth Fan, Michel Deilgat, Mark Speechley

Western Public Health Casebooks

A suspected cluster of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) cases (a fatal neurodegenerative disease) has been identified in Toronto. Renée Dubois, a public health nurse, must utilize epidemiological data to recognize the outbreak, and mobilize resources to support patients and health care providers. The assembled epidemiological information gathered by the CJD surveillance system must be used to further support data analysis, public health decision-making, and public messaging. This case may be used to supplement lectures covering relevant public health events or epidemic analysis.

Case 3 : Providing Continuing Professional Development In A Developing Country – The One Health Initiative, Elyse Burt, Emily Quinn, Rick Quinn, Mike Cranfield, Shannon L. Sibbald

Western Public Health Casebooks

In Musanze, Rwanda, two NGOs, Gorilla Doctors and Docs4GreatApes, are working on the One Health Initiative to indirectly protect the endangered mountain gorillas. They aim to build capacity and strengthen the public health care of the people who live in close proximity to the gorillas’ habitat. By creating healthier human populations, there will be less risk of disease transmission, such as TB or parasites, to the gorillas, and the overall well-being and development of the area will be improved.

An unpublished study by Western University in 2010 identified areas in the public health system in Rwanda that health care professionals …

Case 6 : “I Know There Is Hope, Even In A World Of Loss”: A Local Community-Based Intervention To Address Mental Health Challenges Among First Nations Men And Boys, Jasmine Fournier, Julie George, Samantha Wells, Lloy Wylie

Western Public Health Casebooks

Kieran, a young man from River Rock First Nation (RRFN), is frustrated that there are no evidence-based, culturally-safe, and male-specific mental health resources available at any of the treatment centres he has attended. Kieran and his friend Jake partner with Jade, a recent PhD graduate, to initiate a boys’ and men’s mental health program in the community. Using the information Jade gathered for her PhD as a foundation, as well as drawing on applied research at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), the team uses a participatory action research approach, including photovoice, to address mental health challenges of …

Case 7 : Transitioning From Prison To Community, Alison Green, Graham Betts-Symonds, Amardeep Thind

Western Public Health Casebooks

The Irish Red Cross (IRC) Community Based Health and First Aid (CBHFA) Prison Program was piloted at Wheatfield Prison in 2009 and, following several successful evaluations, was implemented across all of Ireland’s 14 prisons in 2014. The CBHFA Prison Program trains inmates as special status IRC volunteers through weekly CBHFA training sessions, which take place over six months. After completing the community assessment module within the CBHFA program, volunteers, with the support of prison staff, implement projects and engage in peer-topeer health education in an effort to promote the health of the prison community. In addition to having a positive …

Case 10 : Moving Towards An Inclusive Society: Implementing Epilepsy Awareness Education In The Ontario Elementary School Health Curriculum, Joanne Tay, Michelle Franklin, Mary Secco, Shannon L. Sibbald

Western Public Health Casebooks

This case revolves around the stigma experienced by individuals living with epilepsy. It discusses how Martha, a strategic planner at the Epilepsy Support Centre in London, Ontario, identified the negative health and social implications that confront individuals living with epilepsy. It then sets the stage in terms of problems faced by children and adolescents with epilepsy who are living in London, Ontario, and in terms of public health issues, school boards and government, and future directions. As this is a new initiative that is designed to be introduced into the school curriculum, it is crucial to have appropriate and influential …

Case 8 : Camp Fyrefly, Nina Malek, Spencer J. Harrison, Ava John-Baptiste

Western Public Health Casebooks

Since its founding in 2004, Camp fYrefly has become Canada’s only national leadership retreat for sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth. The camp has expanded to include two successful locations in Alberta (Edmonton and Calgary), and one in Saskatchewan (either Regina or Saskatoon, alternating annually). The main focus of Camp fYrefly is building leadership capacity and personal resiliency in campers. 2017 is the planned inaugural summer for Camp fYrefly to expand to Peterborough in Ontario. In addition to maintaining Camp fYrefly’s original mission of building resilience and leadership capacity, the Ontario camp director hopes to integrate a holistic approach to …

Case 9 : From Theory To Action: Implementing An Internationally Developed Mental Health And Substance Abuse Program In Indigenous Communities In The Americas, Ashley Sebastian, Sandra Del Pino, Devora Kestel Kestel, Gerald Mckinley

Western Public Health Casebooks

Intergenerational trauma compounded throughout centuries by the effects of colonialism have left indigenous peoples within the Americas in grave despair. Indigenous communities are subject to a variety of human rights violations and social neglect, which contribute to reduced physical and mental health. The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues has identified these insufficiencies in acknowledging higher rates of poor mental health, substance abuse, and elevated rates of suicide, when compared to non-indigenous peoples. The World Health Organization has developed the Mental Health Gap Action Program Intervention Guide (mhGAP IG) to assess, monitor, and manage, neurological, and mental health conditions, …

Case 11 : United Hearts: Fostering Interdisciplinary Collaboration For The Detection Of Critical Heart Defects In Newborns, Emily Wood, Jennifer Milburn Milburn, Ava John-Baptiste

Western Public Health Casebooks

Newborn Screening Ontario (NSO) prepares to implement screening for critical congenital heart defects (CCHDs) in all newborns born in Ontario. Janet Marcadier, a genetic counsellor at NSO, recognizes the particular challenges of implementing a point-of-care newborn screening test that will be performed by submitters (nurses, midwives) across the province. The other 29 conditions screened for by NSO do not involve a point-of-care test but rather testing is done in the NSO laboratory. While standardization for a provincial program is important, there are many contextual factors that will impact CCHD screening implementation at each specific birth site. Interdisciplinary collaboration among health …

Case 12 : Policy Meets Practice – People Who Inject Drugs (Pwid), Shannon L. Sibbald, Jacob J. Shelley

Western Public Health Casebooks

Dr. Silverman is the Chief of Infectious Diseases at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) and St. Joseph’s Health Care in London, Ontario. He is concerned about the increasing prevalence of people who inject drugs (PWID) in London, and the risk to PWID of bacterial infections due to contamination (e.g., improperly or unsterilized injection equipment, skin not being sterilized before injection). Of primary concern is the risk of infective endocarditis (IE), an infection in a patient’s heart. Treatment for IE entails antibiotics administered through the intravenous (IV) route. IE is generally treated through home care; in London, the South West Community …

Complete 2017 Casebook

Western Public Health Casebooks

No abstract provided.