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MPH* Health Promotion Specialization
The MPH* degree with a
specialization in Health Promotion is guided
by the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986) which
defines health and health promotion in the following way:
“Health promotion is the process of enabling
people to increase control over, and to improve, their
health. To reach a state of complete physical, mental and
social well-being, an individual or group must be able to
identify and to realize aspirations, to satisfy needs, and
to change or cope with the environment. Health is,
therefore, seen as a resource for everyday life, not the
objective of living. Health is a positive concept
emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as
physical capacities. Therefore, health promotion is not just
the responsibility of the health sector, but goes beyond
healthy life-styles to well-being”
The MPH* degree is a 20-24
month graduate program offered in the Dalla Lana School of
Public Health (DLSPH). Founded in 1979, the Health Promotion
specialization has
a unique social science emphasis on health and health promotion
issues.
An MPH* with an emphasis on health promotion educates, trains, and prepares its
graduates for a wide range of career positions in governmental,
quasi-governmental, and community health-relevant agencies at
all levels of government and community. Sufficient training in
research methods is provided to enable students to pursue
doctoral studies and careers in health promotion/public health
research.
Description:
Our
MPH*
degree with a specialization in Health Promotion takes an explicitly social science perspective
in addressing issues related to the health of individuals,
communities and populations. In particular, our program gives
special attention to identifying, understanding and addressing
the societal and personal determinants of health. We give
attention to an array of mutually reinforcing health promotion
and public health strategies, including: health education and
communications, community development, the role of
organizational development and change, health advocacy, and the
development of health promoting public policy.
Goals
Our MPH* degree has two main purposes:
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To train professionals who can assess
the health promotion needs of groups and communities, as
well as design, implement and evaluate the impact of various
health promotion strategies, programs and policies
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To develop student research skills as a
foundation for applied health research in the field of
health promotion and public health (e.g., community health
needs assessments, program evaluations), and/or as a
foundation for further graduate study either in our own PhD
programs or at other universities
Objectives
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Issues in Health Promotion Definition
and Practice
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To have a basic understanding of
the concepts of health and illness.
This understanding requires having knowledge of the
changing social, historical and cultural factors which
influence the definition of health and illness and the
individual and social reactions to these phenomena.
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To develop a critical understanding
of a range of theoretical approaches to Health
Promotion.
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To develop a critical understanding
of the methods and strategies of Health Promotion.
A “critical understanding” is more than describing; it
is the ability to analyze and judge the merits and
limitations of theories, methods and strategies
pertinent to health promotion. It requires an
understanding of the historical roots of the theories,
methods and strategies, their embeddedness in social
thought and their implications for health and social
change.
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To appreciate that Health Promotion
primarily involves changing the social and physical
conditions that either produce illness or disease or
enhance health.
This appreciation rests on knowledge of the process of
social and individual change and of the factors that
result in the improved health of the public.
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Understanding the Canadian Political
System and Its Relation to Health
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To understand the relationship of
Health Promotion to the Canadian health care and social
service delivery systems, and to the broader social,
economic and political environments.
Understanding this relationship requires knowledge of
the history of health promotion in the health care
system and how health promotion is shaped by the
national, economic, and political character of Canada.
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To be able to recognize the effect
of ideology on problem definition and choice of solution
to health issues in Canada and internationally.
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To have a basic understanding of
the determinants of health and illness in Canada.
This requires knowing the health status of Canadians,
and its major correlates – age, gender, class, and
ethnicity – and how health status is affected by health
care service and the social and physical environment.
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Skills in Implementing and Evaluating
Health Promotion Programs
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To gain skills in assessing health
needs of individuals and communities.
The ability to conduct efficacious needs assessments,
appropriate to the health questions being asked,
requires knowing basic issues of design and
implementation of needs assessments and having a working
knowledge of resources which are available to
researchers.
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To gain skills in designing
effective health promotions including: community
development, advocacy, social marketing and policy
development.
For interventions to be effective they should be based
on theory, on identified needs and resources, and on
knowledge of similar interventions.
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To gain skills in implementing
effective Health Promotion interventions.
Effective implementation depends on its integration with
other interventions, programs and resources in
collaborative and cooperative endeavors. Supportive
management and budget strategies are also crucial.
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To gain skills in research and
evaluation of Health Promotion interventions.
Developing a working knowledge of evaluation foci – e.g.
process, or outcome, and to developing proposals for
funding which contain an evaluation component. To be an
informed consumer of (i.e. critical appraisal and
application of) applied public health research (both
quantitative and qualitative). To acquire skills and
experience in designing and conducting applied research
in the field.
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To be able to work effectively
across disciplines, across sectors, and with members of
the public.
To develop interpersonal skills; that include: ‘active
listening’; striving for cooperative and collaborative
approaches; democratic vs. authoritarian leadership
style; good negotiating skills; respect and
acknowledgment of other actors in the field.
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To develop an ability to be
critical in the appraisal and use of statistics, health
surveys and epidemiological data.
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To be capable of reflecting on and
assessing one’s own value system and how it has an
impact on professional behaviour.
This reflection and assessment depends upon a clear
identification of one’s own values and their origins in
the social milieu and an examination of how they
correspond to the values which are needed for effective
health promotion in different milieus.
Core Principles of Health Promotion:
Health promotion initiatives should be:
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Empowering (enabling
individuals and communities to assume more power and control
over the personal, socioeconomic and environmental factors
that affect their health)
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Participatory (involving
all concerned at all stages of the process)
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Holistic (fostering
physical, mental, social and spiritual health)
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Intersectoral (involving
the collaboration of agencies from relevant sectors)
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Equitable (guided by a
concern for equality and social justice)
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Sustainable (bringing
about changes that individuals and communities can maintain
once initial funding has ended)
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Multi-strategy,
multi-level and comprehensive (using a variety of approaches
in combination at the individual, organizational, community
and policy levels)
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Reflexive regarding
power relations, one’s own social location, health promotion
discourse and rhetoric (including the need to ‘walk the
talk’), asking critical questions about the differential
social impacts of health promotion practice
*known as the MHSc degree prior to September 1,
2009.
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