BC Environmental and Occupational Health Research Network

To consolidate lessons and experiences gained through applied global health research partnerships, the Global Health Research Initiative (GHRI) is inviting Case examples to contribute to a Global Health Research Casebook. This Casebook will present concrete examples of how Canadian-LMIC research partnerships have operationalized efforts to reduce health inequities across a range of themes. This requires a context-specific understanding of the social, economic and political factors that determine people’s health, not only through their interactions with the health system and other sectors, but also through their access to a range of resources and opportunities.
Deadline for submission: August 1, 2010
Details: here

Statistics Canada’s Canadian Community Health Survey: Healthy Aging The Canadian Community Health Survey focuses on the health of Canadians aged 45 and over by examining the various factors that have an impact on healthy aging, such as general health and well being, the use of health care services, social participation, and work and retirement transitions. The data were collected from December 2008 to November 2009, and about 30,900 individuals aged 45 years and older in the provinces were interviewed. The data are now available through the Statistics Canada website

A First Nations environmental health guide, Your Health at Home, was also launched to provide useful information and practical tips for First Nations to keep their homes safer and healthier.
More information on the First Nations guide can be found here

The Government of Canada launched a four-year public education campaign to help make Canadian families more aware of the environmental health risks around them. As part of the campaign, Hazardcheck, a guide that provides simple advice that Canadians can take to keep their homes safer and healthier for themselves and their children.
For more information on the guide, please visit the website

The federal government recently decided to eliminate the mandatory long-form census in favour of a voluntary survey. This is an unfortunate news for occupational and environmental health researchers and those working in occupational and environmental health surveillance as it will prevent access to quality data about the state of the Canadian population for a wide range of relevant indicators. Arguably, a voluntary long form would result in a non-representative sample of the Canadian population and therefore would be of limited value for generalisable research. A reduction in information about the Canadian population, in turn, restricts knowledge available for all kinds of resource allocation and policy decisions, including those related to occupational and environmental health.

Those wishing more information about this issue can refer to recent media articles:
• Globe & Mail
• CBC
• Toronto Star

If you wish to voice your opinion about this decision, you can take part in a web petition, which has been started to protest this move to make the long census form voluntary. It can be found here .
Also, the Digital Economy Consultation federal website has a voting poll to save the Census (note registration is required). Click here for more details.

UBC School of Population and Public Health is currently in the process of selecting a new Director. Four shortlisted candidates will give public presentations during the month of July. The first of these, Dr. Paradis, will present on July 16th (Michael Smith Laboratories, Rm 102-2185 East Mall, UBC). His title is: “Building Public Health Capacity through Research Partnerships: the Experience of the Experience of the Quebec Population Health Research Network”. He will also give his vision statement for the School. A question and answer period will follow. Everyone is welcome to attend this one-hour presentation.
See here for more details.

The successful applicant would work with the Policy and Research Division and the Evidenced based Practice Department on a couple of research projects.
Interested individuals can contact
Susan Hynes: susan.hynes@worksafebc.com
or
Ed McCloskey ed.mccloskey@worksafebc.ca

The Public Health Association of BC, in partnership with BC universities, health authorities and health organizations, presents the 2010 BC Public Health Summer School. This exciting two-day event seeks to provide an opportunity for public health practitioners to hone their skills in population health promotion with a particular emphasis on community change.

Title: Supporting Community Change from a Population Health Promotion Perspective

Locations: University of British Columbia (Vancouver campus); University of Victoria (Victoria campus) & University of Northern BC (Prince George campus)
Details: here

BCEOHRN members who were disappointed to learn that BCEOHRN is no longer able to provide WebEx service will be pleased to learn of a free alternative.

If your team is interested in free web conferencing, explore Dim Dim (desktop sharing) and Skype (audio):

Dimdim.com

Skype.com

New BCEOHRN Mentorship Special Interest Group!
Workplace Bullying SIG

This Special Interest Group is created to seek participation and initiate discussion from researchers, students and professionals interested in the topic of workplace bullying and to find solutions for the problem of workplace bullying. Workplace bullying is a leading cause of ill health and reduced safety and well-being for people on the job in all sectors and at all levels of employment in the province. In health science related fields these include study of people who bully and the effect their behaviour has on targets, on bystanders, and on the workplace environment overall in terms of physical and psychological illness, absenteeism, disability, return to work obstacles, and the potential for violence. As well as study in these areas, there is a need for data, diagnostics, and metrics to measure the negative effects and then the effectiveness of remedies.

Details: Workplace Bullying SIG webpage

In September a paper newsletter and flyer for the AGM being held in November in Vancouver was mailed to select groups and members. Mailing a paper newsletter is part of BCEOHRN’s communications strategy, aimed at raising awareness of the Network and its operations by encouraging recipients to post these materials for others’ interest. BCEOHRN materials are printed using water-based inks on recycled content paper to reduce their environmental footprint.

BCEOHRN endeavours to reduce its impact on the environment to the greatest extent possible through all of its operations: by encouraging the use of web-based technologies to reduce carbon emissions created by travel; by reducing the use of paper and encouraging members to likewise do so; and by managing events and meetings using green principles.

For BCEOHRN’s green tips, download "Going Carbon Neutral for HoPNs" (pdf).