Conference Overview

Public Health in Canada:

     Creating and Sustaining Healthy Environments

“Health is created and lived by people within the settings of their everyday life; where they learn, work, play and love. … The overall guiding principle for the world, nations, regions and communities alike, is the need to encourage reciprocal maintenance – to take care of each other, our communities and our natural environment.”

Public health and environmental health professionals, researchers, policy-makers, academics and students from across the country and around the world will meet in Edmonton, Alberta for the 2012 Annual Conference of the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA).

In 1990, CPHA’s membership approved a motion declaring the Association’s concern for the global environment as an issue with serious public health implications. The membership subsequently requested that the Association form a task force to prepare a report on the human health implications of global ecological change. Released in 1992, the task force report “Human and Ecosystem Health: Canadian Perspectives, Canadian Action” was based on the concept of sustainable development and improved health at a global and national level. The final section of the report laid out a strategic framework for addressing the threats to ecosystem and human health and what could be done by public health.

Two decades after the release of this report, the CPHA 2012 Annual Conference will explore the role of public health in creating and sustaining a diverse range of healthy environments using the following tracks:

• Built Environment;
• Economics & Development;
• Ecosystem Health;
• Leadership & Communications; and
• Society & Culture.

Cross-cutting Themes

The Conference Steering Committee encourages submissions that address these areas and may also address cross-cutting themes such as: life stages, Aboriginal (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) and Indigenous peoples, immigrant populations, disadvantaged populations, mental health, equity, measuring the health of the environment and how we measure progress, and environmental justice.

Public health is based on the premise that we should anticipate and act to prevent health problems, protect people from health hazards and promote health and well-being. Conference presenters will be encouraged to showcase accomplishments and to challenge delegates to identify required actions and solutions.

Conference Objectives

• To put forward the latest research, programs, approaches and policies proven to have a positive impact on environmental conditions affecting health.
• To profile successful strategies, policies and initiatives aimed at safeguarding or improving environmental conditions at the local, regional, provincial/territorial, national and global levels.
• To provide networking and knowledge exchange opportunities for those with an interest in public health and/or the environment including those who work in research, those who devise and implement policy, and those who advocate and act across a wide range of disciplines.

Learning Objectives

On completion of their participation in the CPHA 2012 Annual Conference, delegates will be able to:

• identify public health/environmental health trends and emerging issues;
• articulate the current status of public health/environmental health research, policy and practice;
• utilize effective research-based education programs and health promotion practices;
• evaluate strategies for knowledge translation;
• develop and access a network of colleagues and partners for initiating or expanding public health initiatives; and
• For students: become actively engaged in a community of public health/environmental health professionals and learn more about the wide range of public health careers available.

Scientific Program

The scientific review committee of the CPHA 2012 Annual Conference encourages the submission of abstracts for presentations that:

• identify innovative research, programs, approaches and policies that help maintain and improve environmental health conditions;
• demonstrate collaboration and engagement across sectors, whole-of-government approaches, and community and civil society partnerships; and
• address future health human resource requirements by creating an interest in and sense of excitement about population and public health careers, and by nurturing a new generation of public health practitioners who have the knowledge and skills to innovate.