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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.

Case 1 : The Fire Under The Shed: The Cornerstone Fuelling Our Plight, Omolola Oyinkan Adeshina, Kwaku Poku Asante, Ava John-Baptiste

Western Public Health Casebooks

In Ghana, smoke from biomass fuel cook stoves leads to acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) in children under five. Akosua Agborson, a research fellow, had the opportunity to work with the Ghana Randomized Air Pollution and Health Study (GRAPHS) team at the Kintampo Health Research Centre to address this public health issue. The GRAPHS team is responsible for reducing air pollution and improving cook stoves for households in Ghana. Akosua decided to support the GRAPHS team by doing a case research study on gari processing involving biomass fuel. She focused on gari processors because Ghana is the sixth largest producer …

Case 2 : Teleophthalmology Screening: Economic Evaluations In Health Care Decision Making, Faten Bahnacy, William Hodge, Mark Speechley

Western Public Health Casebooks

This case presents a dilemma that can happen to anyone with an intervention to offer, which they are confident would alleviate a problem they believe is worth addressing. Many public health professionals will find themselves in one of two positions. The first, a position of believing so much in a proposal but not sure of how to make it go through. The second, a position of a decision maker who would be faced with more than one needed, effective, feasible, and sustainable proposal but could implement one or a few due to limited resources.

The case is meant to shed …

Case 3 : Ciguatera Fish Poison: An Emerging Risk Associated With Climate Change?, Molly Dion, Patricia Huston, Lloy Wylie, Charles Trick

Western Public Health Casebooks

This case takes place in the Bahamas and surrounds a complex toxic illness, Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP). It discusses how CFP is contracted and where it is most common, as well as prevention and diagnosis methods. It then goes into the context of the Bahamas, setting the stage in terms of health care, health of the population, government, and various employment industries. Due to its location in the Caribbean, the Bahamas has a large number of tourists each year contributing to the number of CFP cases, as well as affecting the local populations in a variety of ways. This case …

Case 4 : The Unique Role Of Leadership In Public Health, Savnit Kaur, Pegeen Walsh, Ava John-Baptiste, Amanda Terry

Western Public Health Casebooks

Sarah Johnson was given the task to create a Public Health Leadership Hub within the OPHA website that could provide resources for development of leadership for professionals in the Public Health sector. Another task was to work on developing an initial curriculum for an intensive leadership development program. Both of these tasks would be a part of the development of a Leadership Center at OPHA. Some of the ground work was already done by the Ontario Public Health Association, including a program proposal.

Sarah started doing a scan on developments taking place in this field in Canada and other parts …

Case 7 : What Do We Do About The Families?, Burton Mohan, Alexxa Abi-Jaoude, Andrew Johnson, David Wiljer, Ava John-Baptiste

Western Public Health Casebooks

Families are involved in the support of many people with mental health conditions. Support ranges from financial, housing, help with ADL (activities of daily living) etc. Families can also be useful sources of clinical information/history during inpatient treatment. Families generally want to be more involved in the care of their loved ones while they are in hospital.

Mental health literacy includes knowledge and information on access and evaluation related to mental health pathology/issues. This includes being able to assess and identify mental health pathology and symptoms. Increasing mental health literacy (and health literacy) among family members can lead to improved …

Case 8 : Ismile Project – Improving Seniors’ Mouthcare In Long-Term Care Establishments, Edesiri Udoh, Maria Vanharten, Chimere Okoronkwo, Amardeep Thind

Western Public Health Casebooks

The Ontario universal healthcare coverage through the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) was established to provide for the health needs of Ontarians ranging from children to the elderly. However, it does not include oral healthcare. Publicly funded programs that provide dental services are offered to children from low income families, recipients of Ontario works, and Ontario Disability Support with no program for seniors. With most seniors already retired and no longer receiving employment derived dental benefits, those in need of dental services would have to purchase private insurance or pay out-of-pocket. The cost of dental treatment for those who cannot …

Case 9 : Shifting Culture Between Patients And Health Care Teams To Impact Symptom Screen And Management, Vanessa Yeboah, Melissa Beilhartz, Millie Litt, Mark Speechley

Western Public Health Casebooks

Health Promotion Specialist Lisa Grey is faced with the task of strengthening patient and health care team culture using the Edmonton Symptoms Assessment Screening (ESAS) tool. ESAS is a standardized symptom screening tool used in health care settings across Ontario and is completed by patients at each clinic visit. The tool measures and tracks a patient’s symptom severity relating to nine common cancer symptoms. Symptoms are an indication of the progression of cancer and patient health status. ESAS gives an opportunity to identify symptoms earlier on, prevent emergency admission, and manage symptoms such as pain (Barbera et al., 2012; Barbera …

Complete 2016 Casebook

Western Public Health Casebooks

No abstract provided.

Case 2 : Understanding And Developing Conceptual Frameworks And Causal Models In Maternal And Child Health Programming, Rupinder Chera, Stanley Zlotkin, Amardeep Thind

Western Public Health Casebooks

This case attempts to help students understand the various terminologies (“frameworks”, “pathways”, “models”, etc.) used by organizations in planning, implementing, and evaluating programs and interventions. It is based on the work done by the Center for Global Health at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto on the Knowledge Management Initiative (KMI) of the Muskoka Initiative Consortium (MIC). The case starts by reprising the Muskoka I and II Initiatives, and then focuses on the global context before narrowing down to programs and interventions for maternal health in Mali.

Case 4 : Returning To Our Roots: Building Capacity In Public Health For Action On The Social Determinants Of Health, Giovanna Longo, Kevin Churchill, Lloy Wylie

Western Public Health Casebooks

Canadians are healthier than ever before, and live longer. But improvements in health are not distributed evenly between population groups. In fact, studies show that only 25% of our health is determined by health care and 15% by our genetics. The remaining 60% is determined by factors outside the traditional health care system, such as our income and social status, education, employment and working conditions, social support networks, social and physical environments, and culture. These factors are called the social determinants of health (SDOH). When these conditions are distributed in ways that are unfair, unjust, or avoidable, they are termed …

Case 11 : Knowledge Dissemination And Private Well Water Testing In Middlesex County, Ontario, Amanda Pellecchia, Fatih Sekercioglu, Amanda Terry

Western Public Health Casebooks

The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) is challenged with regards to influencing health behaviours of private well water users. Private well owners are responsible for the testing of their water, and it is recommended by Public Health Ontario to do so three times per year. However, testing rates are either declining or at best, remaining stagnant across Middlesex County. It appears that well owners are unaware of the risks of not testing their drinking water, or if they are, they have become complacent. In short, the health unit is lacking an appropriate knowledge and education dissemination strategy that is suitable and …

Case 13 : Chikungunya In The Americas: Estimating The Burden Of Disease And Cost Of Illness, Sydney Todorovich, Ciro Ugarte, Ava John-Baptiste, Amanda Terry

Western Public Health Casebooks

An intern at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in Washington, DC is conducting an economic impact assessment of a Chikungunya epidemic in the Caribbean. PAHO would like to promote preparedness amongst PAHO member states and forecasting the economic impact may encourage governments to increase disease mitigation efforts. Chikungunya had been spreading through the Caribbean for several months and concerns about the impact of an epidemic in Jamaica were heightened by its reliance on tourism. The intern must incorporate information from a variety of sources to forecast the burden of disease and cost of illness of a Chikungunya outbreak in …