Conference Tracks

The Conference Steering Committee has developed the following conference tracks that look at five core aspects of environmental health and the role of public health in creating and sustaining healthy environments. These tracks underscore the vital connections between research, policy and practice and suggest the integrated actions required to take evidence-based action when addressing the needs of communities.
 

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.
 

Built Environment

Different aspects of the built environment are gaining attention among the complex web of interconnected factors that influence health. We now recognize that land use and infrastructure, neighbourhood design and housing, as well as traditional and active modes of transportation all contribute to the health and vitality of the communities in which we live, work, learn and play. We are also learning to understand the differences between rural, urban and suburban built environments and the unique needs of each of these communities. Adopting more thoughtful land use practices and implementing infrastructure design that considers issues such as walkability, active transportation, sustainability, air pollution, traffic congestion, crime, land values and legislation will help to address a multitude of population and public health issues including homelessness, obesity, cardiovascular disease and asthma. Recognizing and responding to the health impacts of our built environment is critical to building healthy and sustainable communities in Canada.
 

Economics & Development

The health impacts of economic, political and social environments are well established. We can no longer ignore the influence of globalization and of social, economic, political and cultural systems on access to society’s resources and, by extension, health status. There is a need to make explicit the factors that work together to create and sustain marginalization, disparity and inequalities related to health. Society’s increasing focus on globalization, production, wealth and consumption has intensified inequalities and led to the social exclusion of many. Ideologies that view low socioeconomic status as the failure of individuals to thrive in capitalist societies ignore the role that unequal life opportunities play in perpetuating these outcomes.
 

Ecosystem Health

The rapid increase in the human population places extreme demands on our earth and is altering terrestrial and marine ecosystems globally. These changes, along with the impact of climate change, are having detrimental effects on ecosystem and human health, effects that are likely to worsen in the future. There is an urgent need to change the way we look at creating and sustaining healthy environments. Access to safe food, clean water, land and air is an increasing challenge globally, as is disease regulation of vectors, pests and pathogens.
 

Leadership & Communications

Vital to building a strong and sustainable public health system and advancing the role of public health in times of both calm and crisis is the need to recruit and support public health leaders and to use their collective knowledge and experience. Strong public health leaders must have a wide array of skills, including the ability to: position public health internally and externally; recognize the importance of and enhance the public health organizational culture; provide coordinated leadership among diverse populations, disciplines and sectors; use innovative communication strategies; and be prepared to communicate to the public about health promotion, risks to the population’s health, and how to respond in public health emergency situations. The fields of environmental public health, health advocacy and social marketing provide some cues on how to successfully frame the public health message and ensure that it is heard.
 

Society and Culture

Now more than ever, we understand that health and well-being are associated with the social and cultural conditions that surround us but lie outside the realm of traditional health systems. Social exclusion and discrimination directed at individuals and groups in society have serious consequences for health, while traditional cultural beliefs and practices are gaining recognition as potentially health protective for many groups. In a world in which individualistic tendencies have increased, social capital and social support are also neglected but vital components of healthy societies. Health literacy and a range of other factors related to society and culture also impact health both in proximate terms and from a life course perspective.