Health Promotion Consultant

HP Definitions & Key Papers | Online Discussions | Canadian HP resources | Ontario HP resources| International HP resources | Prevention | Mapping Community HP projects

This page is an introduction to health promotion in Ontario, across Canada and in other parts of the world. It is a large aspect of my work as a health promotion consultant, to assist people working in the health promotion field to find the resources and networks that enable them to do their work and to improve the health and well-being of their communities and organizations. I have found that Internet accessible resources have greatly aided in the exchange of information and ideas and the ability to work together effectively. I have put together a small portion of a large collection of annotated bookmarks as a contribution to health promotion work on the Internet. For a similar guide, take a look at the excellent Interactive Health Communication Web Tour prepared by Larry Hershfield of The Health Communication Unit. They are organized from general to specific with a guide and annotations. See them at http://www.thcu.ca/infoandresources/ihctour.htm
I am gradually separating these long pages into separate files and adding new topic areas.
 

Ontario Health Promotion & Community Health Organizations: http://www.web.net/~stirling/onphuweb.htm    All Ontario based web-sites moved to a separate page. This is a web-page devoted to health promotion, community & public health, health planning councils, health-care, mental health and support organizations.  It replaces the Ontario listings on this page.

Canadian Health Network -[http://www.canadian-health-network.ca] Health Canada funded exciting new web-site for consumers and 'health intermediaries' featuring health information, resources, links to multiple parnter organizations who have provided the information and much more!  Worth visiting regularly as it is being updated and changed.

Ontario Health Promotion Email (OHPE) Bulletin [http://www.ohpe.ca] Weekly electronic news, features and resources bulletin now available in a searchable database of all bulletins since May 1997. Job postings, conferences, events, extensive print, Internet and program resources on health promotion as well as articles on issues, programs and strategies of health promotion in Ontario.

 
The Canada Page of the WWW Virtual Library: Public Health
[http://www.ldb.org/vl/geo/america/2cnd.htm] Prepared by Eberhard Wenzel of Brisbane, Australia as part of a very comprehensive collection of links on Public Health. A very large and exhaustive compilation of government, academic and non-government web-sites related to public health and health promotion. Recommended

Getting Connected: Using Computers for Health Promotion
This guide that I prepared for the Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse is about getting connected to the Internet and what tools to use when you are there (e-mail, electronic lists, search engines for finding web-sites), as well as relevant print and on-line resources. It is available on-line in HTML format and downloadable in Adobe Acrobat at: http://www.opc.on.ca/pubs/connected/index.html.

Your comments are welcome!

Health Promotion Resources

Definitions & Key Papers on Health Promotion

 
World Health Organization Health Education & Promotion - Background on HP
Definitions, key papers and Frequently Asked Questions and the central repository for the archives and papers from all of the international conferences on health promotion since 1986

WHO Resolution on Health Promotion 1998  [http://www.who.int/hpr/backgroundhp/hpresolution51.12.pdf] This Resolution was adopted at the 51st World Health Assembly, in May 1998.

The Health Promotion Glossary of the World Health Organization (WHO) [http://www.who.int/hpr/backgroundhp/glossary/glossary.pdf] is a substantial (and useful) document. It is stored on this site as a PDF file. To see a copy of this 36 page document you need to download and use Adobe.

The Ottawa Charter on Health Promotion[http://www.who.int/hpr/archive/docs/ottawa.html] written in 1986 at the first international conference on health promotion provides a broad definition of HP, the prerequisites for health, three basic requirements of advocacy, enabling and mediating differing interests. Health promotion action is seen as necessary in policy, supportive environments, community action, personal skills and reorienting health services.

The Jakarta Declaration on Health Promotion into the 21st Century [http://www.who.int/hpr/archive/docs/jakarta/english.html] The 4th International Conference on Health promotion in Jakarta is the first to be held in a developing country, and the first to involve the private sector in  supporting health promotion. It provides an opportunity to reflect on what has been learned about effective health promotion, to re-examine determinants of health, and to identify the directions and strategies which are required to address the challenges of promoting health in the 21st Century.

On-Line Discussions and E-Lists

Ontario Health Promotion E-Mail Bulletin, a weekly electronic news and resources bulletin, produced by the Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse and The Health Communication Unit, offers a valuable, select, summarized information exchange among Ontario community leaders, practitioners and researchers interested in health promotion. OHPE Bulletin issues are easily searchable and accessible on the Internet at http://www.ohpe.ca/
To be added to the list for this weekly bulletin, send an e-mail request to info@ohpe.ca with your e-mail address, or use the handy subscription form on the OHPE Bulletin website.

Canadian Health Promotion Resources

National and provincial (not Ontario, see below) health promotion resources, web-sites and useful places.

The Canada Page of the WWW Virtual Library: Public Health
[http://www.ldb.org/vl/geo/america/2cnd.htm] Prepared by Eberhard Wenzel of Brisbane, Australia as part of a very comprehensive collection of links on Public Health. A very large and exhaustive compilation of government, academic and non-government web-sites related to public health and health promotion.Recommended!

AIDS/HIV_Clearinghouse [http://www.clearinghouse.cpha.ca/] based at the Canadian Public Health Association - good links to AIDS related information

Alberta Centre for Active Living [http://www.centre4activeliving.ca/]- mission is supporting practitioners and organizations to improve the health and quality of life of Albertans
through physical activity. On October 3, 2001, the Alberta Centre for Well-Being launched its new name, the "Alberta Centre for Active Living".  Get the regular publication Well Spring and access the Health in Action database of health promotion and injury prevention programs through Links.

Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre  [http://www.medicine.dal.ca/ahprc/] This HP research centre is based at Dalhousie U. in Halifax NS Canada and works with researchers and community groups on a wide variety of topics. Email: ahprc@dal.ca

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety [http://www.ccohs.ca] The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) is Canada's   national centre for occupational health and safety information. As an agency of the federal government, their mandate is to prevent workplace illness and   injuries by providing Canadians with occupational health and safety information.

CAHPERD Canadian Health Physical Education [http://www.cahperd.ca/] National Association has info. on the organization, values, membership, resources, special interest groups, initiatives, active living, and related links Programs include Fun for Fit Kids, Quality Daily Physical Education (QDPE),Gender Equity Schools Initiative (GESI) and Quality School Health (QSH).Recently updated and enlivened web-site.

Canadian Health Network -[http://www.canadian-health-network.ca] Health Canada funded web-site supported by hundreds of health organizations, for consumers and 'health intermediaries' featuring health information, resources, links to multiple partner organizations who have provided the information and much more!  Health events, FAQs, how to assess quality sites, search tips, health centres on more than 25 topics, daily news and more. Worth visiting regularly.

Canadian Institute for Child Health CICH/ICSI [http://www.cich.ca/] A national non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of children and youth in Canada. CICH programs are designed to ensure that children are born healthy and stay healthy into adulthood. Section on environmental contaminants and children's health, advocacy, child health report cards, healthy pregnancy and childbirth and more (conferences, publications etc).

Canadian Institute for Health Information [http://www.cihi.ca/index.html] a federal not-for-profit organization, its primary functions are: collecting, processing and maintaining a comprehensive and growing number of health databases and registries; covering health human resources, health services and health expenditures; and setting national standards for financial, statistical and clinical data as well as standards for health informatics technology.

Canadian National Forum on Health [http://wwwnfh.hc-sc.gc.ca/] National discussion on reform of health care system, policy, federal-provincial split, Canada Health Act etc. Final report came out in Feb. 1997. This website remains available to access the Forum's publications only.

Canadian Society for International Health[http://www.csih.org/] National network of individuals and organizations from all health sectors and all health and related professions. Site has documents, events listings, links and a discussion e-list Synergy Online. In French and English.

Canadian Public Health Association [CPHA] [http://www.cpha.ca/] Has Saskatchewan PHA articles on Health Determinants,  links to extensive descriptions of national programs, including Public Health Infrastructure review, Mental Health promotion and to AIDS clearinghouse, descriptions of provincial chapters and international programs.

Community Health Promotion Network Atlantic  [http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/CommunitySupport/CHPNA/] Supports individuals, groups, and communities to increase control over, and to improve  their health. Makes existing health promotion knowledge accessible throughout the region; facilitates decision-making and action by sharing information and expertise; and promotes discussion of issues and strategies from diverse points of view.

Canadian Consortium for Health Promotion Research [http://www.utoronto.ca/chp/chp/consort/index.htm] The 14 Centres from across Canada who are members of the Canadian Consortium for Health Promotion Research represent a wealth of experience in applying health promotion-related research to policy development and practice. The individual Centres are partners with Health Canada, universities, provincial government
Ministries of Health, non-government organizations, community groups and agencies, and other special groups.

Dietitians of Canada [http://www.dietitians.ca] Dietitians of Canada - good interactivity on the virtual kitchen tour, useful for the public & professionals. Website has interesting Eat Well area; nutrition resources & links, FAQs, quizzes, events, more

Health Canada [http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca] Federal government site with links to all Health Canada sites - English & French with quick jumps to News, Health Care, Public Health, Health Factors, Regulated Products, Research, Regulation & Policy plus a search engine. News and hot topics easy to see.  See new comprehensive section on Population Health Development at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hppb/phdd/

Health Care Information Resources [T.Flemming] [http://www-hsl.mcmaster.ca/tomflem/top.html] Excellent collection of resources on health, wellness, alternative medicine and medical care - based at McMaster U. Hamilton ON

Health In Action [Alberta clearinghouse] [http://www.health-in-action.org/] On line access to information on health promotion and injury prevention in Alberta - database of programs and links, search function, monthly events and articles submitted by readers.

Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada [http://ww2.heartandstroke.ca/] New comprehensive bilingual web-site for public with provincial links, news & events, nutrition, kids & heart info, glossary and general information.

Home + Health: Sympatico [http://www1.sympatico.ca/Contents/Home+Family/health.html] Sympatico's health news and articles site, full of information, mostly Canadian content. Good site for news, articles, health tips and monthly list of events. Provides access to over 7000 health and wellness sites

Institute for Health Promotion Research [http://www.ihpr.ubc.ca/] Based at University of British Columbia, this centre's mission statement is: To provide a UBC focus for interdisciplinary collaboration on research, education, and community partnerships in health promotion.

Jean Fremont's Food and Nutrition Page [http://www.sfu.ca/~jfremont/] Extensive resources on food, nutrition and exercise including bulletin board, conference lists, diverse and comprehensive links and course outlines - based at Simon Fraser U. Burnaby BC. Has an excellent page on resources to help evaluate websites for quality and accuracy. See http://www.sfu.ca/~jfremont/evalwebsites.html

NCTH National Clearinghouse on Tobacco & Health [http://www.ncth.ca/NCTHweb.nsf]  An information and networking service relevant to tobacco use prevention and reduction programs, projects, resources, and advocacy initiatives with the objective of contributing to the goal of a tobacco-free Canada. Excellent documents, links and search capabilities on tobacco

Organization for Nutrition Education [http://www.stfx.ca/academic/human-nutrition/organization/main.html]Resources on food, nutrition by national network of nutrition professionals

Prairie Region Health Promotion Research Centre [http://www.usask.ca/healthsci/che/prhprc/] This Centre supports and fosters health promotion research across communities and five universities in the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The site has description of centre, contacts, papers, newsletters, resources and a listserv for more discussion.

Ontario HP Resource Centres & Organizations has been replaced by a separate page:

Ontario Health Promotion Resource System: http://www.ohprs.ca
A system of 21 individual resource centres that are accessed at the community level by organizations such as the Boards of Health, that want to increase their community capacity and require enhanced knowledge and skills in the form of training, consultations, partnership building / networking, and information/knowledge exchange or diffusion. The OHPRS takes a system approach to joint planning, reporting and provision of service in order to share resources efficiently and optimize the services provided by the member centres.

Health funded HP Resource Centres [http://www.opc.on.ca/ohrctrs.html] This site is located on OPCs web-site - most of the resource centres now have their own web-pages.

Health Services Research Organizations
 

Centre for Advancement of Health Online Resource
[http://www.ucalgary.ca/md/CAH/research/]     The Centre for Advancement of Health is a multi-center health care research resource group designed to provide advice and assistance, and promote communication and collaboration, for investigators within the Calgary Health Region.(Alberta, Canada).

Centre for Applied Health Research (CAHR) [http://www.ahs.uwaterloo.ca/~cahr/]  The Centre for Applied Health Research (CAHR), based at the University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada) was established in 1984. It provides a vehicle for 70+ research members from widely varying disciplines to collaborate on applied health problems.

CHEPA [ http:hiru.mcmaster.ca/chepa] Centre for Health Economics & Policy Analysis, a centre disseminating research evidence to decision makers in the health sector. You can search their literature, read news, see projects.

Cochrane Collaboration [http://hiru.hirunet.mcmaster.ca/cochrane/default.htm] Preparing, maintaining and disseminating systematic reviews of the effects of health care. Very detailed web-site to search.

Health Information Research Unit [http://hiru.mcmaster.ca/] The Health Information Research Unit (HIRU) at McMaster University conducts research in the field of health
 information science and is dedicated to the generation of new knowledge about the nature of health and clinical  information problems, the development of new information resources to support evidence-based health care, and  the evaluation of various innovations in overcoming health care information problems.

ICES Institute for Clinical Evaluative Studies [http://www.ices.on.ca] ICES isa non-profit research organization dedicated to conducting research that contributes to the effectiveness, quality and efficiency of health care in the province of Ontario. Site is full of research info, news, documents, data.

Institute for Work and Health [http://www.iwh.on.ca/] Responsible for research on workplace health and disability, evaluate designated Ontario rehabilitation facilities, and provide information on workplace health to stakeholders. Site has events, publications, news, links, research and more.

Manitoba Centre for Health Policy & Evaluation [http://www.umanitoba.ca/centres/mchp/] MCPHE undertakes population-based health services research and policy analyses. Site has papers, data, links, contacts.
 

Population Health Research Unit (Dalhousie U.) [http://www.medicine.dal.ca/gorgs/phru/]  A university-based research and support group conducting systematic research into population health, health services and their inter-relationships. It has provincial medical, clinical, and general health databases and has access to a variety of other data sources including clinical databases and large scale population surveys.
 

International Health Promotion Resources

WWW Virtual Library on Public Health  [http://www.ldb.org/vl/index.htm ] An enormous collection of links prepared by Eberhard Wenzel and Lucien Schlosser. Public health information is mainly collected by topics and public health activities in their geographical context. Their goal is to connect all communities dealing with Public Health and Health Promotion and other related themes.

Health Promotion Research Internet Network [Sweden] [http://www.phs.ki.se/hprin/] The best international web-site for Health Promotion Research (mostly university based) internet links. HPRIN provides links to Health Promotion Research Centres, Schools of Public Health, and other Internet Resources of Health Promotion or Public Health Interest in North & South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Many links to documents and WHO Collaborating Centres.

Monash Health Promotion on the Internet -[http://www.monash.edu.au/health/] Australia university - excellent, comprehensive site linking medical education with community health. Has an interactive lounge, online HP internet journal, events, news, issues in patient education, links to health related sites, community projects, research

World Health Organization WWW Home Page [http://www.who.int/] Contains links to major programs, regional offices, world health reports, World Health Day information, publications, links to NGOs who are affiliates, and a search engine

Healthy People 2000: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives [U.S.] http://158.72.20.10/pubs/hp2000/ federal government description of commission objectives, review at midpoint, link to Nat. Health Info Clearinghouse, fact sheets.

Institute for Health Sciences at the Technical University, Berlin http://www.tu-berlin.de/~ph-doc/engphh.htm - setting up bilingual (German-English) public health documentation, exchange
 

Prevention & Health Information Resources

Consumer Health Information Service (CHIS) [http://www.tpl.toronto.on.ca/TRL/centres/chis/index.html]supports people in gaining greater control over their own health through access to a wide range of health and medical information. A partner of CHN providing information on Complementary and Alternative therapies. Also a health promotion resource centre in Ontario.

Help Yourself To Health  [http://www.opc.on.ca/healthinfo/] Consumer Health Information Services at St. Joseph's Community Health Centre in Hamilton, Ontario has developed a new web site to help you locate self help groups and health newsletters.This site is updated regularly - highly recommended for the overview of prevention and health information sites!

Health Hotlinks [http://www.stjosham.on.ca/hotlinks.htm] from St. Joseph's Consumer Health Information Service - excellent doorway to consumer health resources.

HealthFinder [http://www.healthfinder.com] healthfinder® is a free gateway to reliable consumer health and human services information developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  healthfinder® can lead you to selected online publications, clearinghouses, databases, web sites, and support and slf-help groups, as well as the government agencies and not-for-profit organizations that produce reliable information for the public. Organized for quick searches and links to Hot  Topics, News, Smart Choices, More tools and "Just For You". Excellent US resource.

Mapping' Ontario Communities Health Promoting Projects

by municipal pages, community nets, projects

Click on the above link to see resources of the Community Health Promotion Mapping project - connecting to resources and projects for many communities in Ontario with local health promotion [HP] or healthy community [HC] project in each area. Note that this project ended in May 1998 and some links may be gone.

North Victoria Healthy Communities Coalition  [http://www.peterboro.net/~nvhcc/] has revamped its website and added  Asset Based Community Development Project [http://www.peterboro.net/~nvhcc/asset.html] which uses some of the mapping tools offered by the following sites to ask residents what skills and resources they have to offer.  This web-site is a great example of a well-linked community.

Community Mapping worksheets [http://www.tcfn.org/mapping/] Tri-Cities freenet (WA) posted this excellent collection of worksheets and resources on how to map individual capacities, local institutions and citizen associations.

Community Building Resources - Aim High [http://www.cbr-aimhigh.com] Edmonton AB based CD organization  offering workshops, newsletter, consultation on capacity-building, asset mapping, collaboration. Get their regular newsletter online, see great Links page and much more.

Community Tool Box [http://ctb.lsi.ukans.edu/]   Overall - a great resource for any community building and development initiative. Very comprehensive Tool kit from U. of Kansas - See Ch. 2 Sec. 6 on 'mapping' which is very useful for community projects.

Participatory Avenues (http://www.iapad.org) promotes the diffusion of Participatory 3D Modeling
  (P3DM) as best practice for merging people's knowledge and traditional spatial information and
  acts as focal point for sharing information and technical progress on community-based mapping
  and Public Participation GIS (PPGIS).
 
 
 

Last update Wednesday November 21, 2001

For more information or comments

Alison Stirling: alison@opc.on.ca or stirling@web.net