Introduction
This paper will examine selected public health agencies that would help improve access to health in Canada. As such the agencies are selected on the basis of their contribution to public health matters. It’s therefore vital to understand what public health entails before delving into the agencies that would help improve access to public health in Canada. According to Winslow (1920) public health is all about health promotion, disease prevention and improving the quality of life through structured efforts and informed individual and communal decisions. This discourse will basically evaluate one international agency and several Canadian public agencies that may be useful in improving access to health in Canada.
World Health Organization (WHO)
It would be obnoxious to examine public health agencies and leave out WHO, a major international player in the global health issues particularly public health. WHO was formally constituted on 7th April 1948, taking over from International Classification of Disease, to work within the United Nation framework as the main coordinating body on health issues. WHO accomplishes its mandate by provision of leadership, resource mobilization, promoting and funding research on health issues, policy formulation, providing technical assistance, public health surveillance and setting, promoting and monitoring the implementation of standards.
Since its inception WHO has plaid a key role in improving access to healthcare throughout the entire globe. WHO advocates for universal access to healthcare and over the years has injected billions of dollars to build capacity within the healthcare system. In addition, WHO engages partners and stakeholders where joint action is required. By so doing WHO mobilizes resources, expertise and builds the capacity required to increase the level of access to healthcare. Of critical importance is the role of WHO in public health surveillance which identifies the gaps in the healthcare system and inform policy formulation.
In terms of opportunities to leverage global, national and local public health resources, WHO is in a perfect position. As a global authority in health matters, WHO could easily mobilize other public health agencies and donor organization to improve access to healthcare in Canada. WHO, in my considered opinion, should increase funding and collaboration in public health surveillance and advice policy makers on what ought to be done to increase access to healthcare. I also believe WHO should engage donors more in mobilizing resources to develop the healthcare infrastructure and in capacity building.
First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB)
This is a branch of the department of health that was established by the federal government to cater for the unique needs of the Inuit and first Nations communities. It would not be possible to discuss the role and the achievements of FNIHB without first discussing the communities served by this agency. The First Nations and Inuit are the indigenous Americans living in Canada and the arctic. These communities have distinct cultures, lifestyle and low income that have often contributed to their historical marginalization. As such these communities are categorized as a “designated group”, alongside persons with disability, women and visible minorities, by Canada’s Employment Act. Due to the mentioned historical marginalization the communities have had lower access to healthcare as compared to the general Canadian population. FNIHB was therefore established to address the inequality in terms of access to healthcare.
FNIHB have note only advocated for improved access to public health service by the target population but has played an active role in making this a reality. The agency is mandated with the provision of community-based healthcare, drugs and other healthcare services and programs to the target population. The agency has particularly been helpful in the provisions of primary care services in remote areas where such services are not readily available. With regard to public health FNIHB runs programs involved in disease control, monitoring the quality of drinking water, waste water and environmental health issues. Additionally FNIHB is also involved in carrying out health surveillance, data collection and analysis to inform policy formulation. Through these functions FNIHB has been able to improve availability and access to healthcare by the community and by so doing the agency has improved health outcomes and increased the control of health programs by the First Nations and Inuit. In my opinion the agency should build more capacity to carry out research on the progress of health care provision to the target community. In addition more needs to be done to increase the control of the health programs by the First Nations and Inuit. The latter can only be achieved by the agency developing programs to promote education of the target communities.
FNIHB has greater opportunities to mobilize resources to improve the access to healthcare by the target communities. One of the areas I believe the agency could contribute is to rally donors to help improve the education and income of the First Nations and Inuit. Education and income levels are the single most important factors limiting the access to healthcare by the target communities. As such investing in the said factors would improve access to healthcare and thereby the health outcomes. Additionally the agency could invest on research in the alternative, particularly herbs, medicine used by First Nations and Inuit to validate the use and probably incorporate their use in healthcare.
Public Health Agency of Canada
Public Health Agency of Canada is a federal agency mandated by the federal government to oversee the promotion and protection of Canada’s health by providing leadership, crafting partnership and other activities in public health. The agency has played a role in the prevention of chronic and communicable diseases and injuries. The agency also coordinates preparation and response to public health related emergencies. The agency coordinates interagency collaboration in public health planning and policy formulation. Finally the agency ensures application of knowledge from international research in development of public health policy and program. By so doing the agency has advocated for the preventive medicine thereby reducing the need for healthcare.
The Public Health Agency could play a more active role in promotion of health. It is undisputable that prevention is better than cure but development of treatment capacity is equally important. As such the agency should also engage in promoting treatment as well. It as a major player in policy formulation relating to public health the agency should also participate in identifying the gaps in the healthcare system and formulate policies that would improve availability and access to healthcare.
Building support for improvement of access to healthcare
My area of concern and interest in the public health in Canada is access to healthcare. Of particular concern is the access by marginalized groups such as the poor, First Nations and Inuit. Due the fact that Canada has an exemplary public health system; very little effort and resources have been dedicated to the marginalized groups. I would build support for improvement of access to healthcare through research collaboration with the agencies. I would want to carry out research that compares access to healthcare by the marginalized groups and the general Canadian population. By gathering statistical data on the significant difference between the marginalized groups and the general population, with regard to access to healthcare, I would easily persuade the agencies to support the improvement of healthcare access. With particular interest in the First Nations and Inuit, I would audit the FNIHB database to establish whether the agency has made significant impact in terms of access to healthcare by the target groups. I would also engage the agency to identify where there are gaps in terms of access to healthcare by the target groups. I would work with the public health agency with the aim of identifying the level of access to healthcare by other marginalized groups and the factors hindering the access. Eventually I would seek the collaboration of WHO and other local and international agencies to come up mitigation strategies such as capacity building, building facilities that bring health services near the marginalized groups and creating a scheme that allows the groups to access to healthcare at affordable cost e.g. through cost sharing. Finally other resources that could be useful in supporting continuous development of public health system include United Nations, CDC and Canadian department of health.
References
Health Canada . (2008, May 5). Fact Sheet - First Nations and Inuit Health Branch. Retrieved October 26, 2012, from Health Canada : http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/branch-dirgen/fnihb-dgspni/fact-fiche-eng.php
Public Health Agency of Canada. (2012, October 1). About the Agency. Retrieved October 26, 2012, from Public Health Agency of Canada: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/about_apropos/index-eng.php
WHO. (2012). The role of WHO in public health. Retrieved October 25, 2012, from WHO website: http://www.who.int/about/role/en/
WHO. (2007). Working for health: An introduction to World Health Organization . Geneva: WHO.
Winslow, C.-E. A. (1920). The Untiltled Fields of Public Health. Science , 51 (1306), 23–33.
