-- Call for Abstracts extended until 1/29/99. See Abstract Guidelines at http://www.sophe.org.



Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) Midyear Meeting, June 17-20, 1999, Minneapolis/St. Paul Hilton Hotel, in cooperation with the International Union for Health Promotion and Education, North American Regional Office.



This conference, "New Challenges in Health Promotion: Reaching Beyond our Boundaries," is intended to challenge health educators from Canada, the United States, and the U.S. territories of North America to reach beyond geographic, language, cultural and other boundaries to improve the effectiveness of population and individual-based behavior change. In particular, the conference will focus on five areas related to health promotion evidence, theory, and practice: economics and health care systems access and quality; community interventions; vulnerable populations; evaluation and evidence-based outcomes; and linkages between research and practice.



To receive a copy of the preliminary program, to be available in early April, contact

kmacdonald@sophe.org.

New features and services oriented to men's heath are available at http://www healthfinder.gov , the U.S. government gateway Web site for health information. Healthfinder brings under one umbrella the vast health information resources of the federal government and its many partners. Healthfinder offers a broad range of reliable consumer resources and serves, on average, more than 350,000 consumers each month - more than 5.3 million visitors since it was launched.



The new resources at healthfinder.gov come just in time for (U.S.) National Men's Health Week, June 14-20 (concluding on Father's Day). Healthfinder is managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in collaboration with other HHS agencies.

See the full report at: http://www.qli-ont.org



The Quality of Life in Ontario marred by Social Deficit



The Quality of Life in Ontario has recovered almost to the level of 1990. But there is a growing "social deficit." This deficit reflects the failure of society to care for its vulnerable populations. It refers not only to the immediate consequences of unmet basic needs, such as hunger and homelessness, but also the long term damage it inflicts, especially on the life chances of children. This is the trend revealed by the Quality of Life Index in the Spring of 1999.



This report is the fourth in the series on The Quality of Life in Ontario, which is published by the Ontario Social Development Council (OSDC) and the Social Planning Network of Ontario (SPNO). We are using the Quality of Life Index (QLI) as a tool to measure and monitor changes in living and working conditions which affect the quality of life in our communities.



There are twenty community partners across Ontario involved in the QLI project, using the Quality of Life Index to measure changes in their local communities. Their results, and those of those province, are included at http://www.qli-ont.org .



The main areas of progress have been in the environmental indicators, low birth weight babies, and social assistance. There are setbacks in public housing, child welfare, long term care, new cancer cases, and bankruptcies.



The sectoral trends in the QLI indicators show a disturbing undercurrent. The social indicators have been hardest hit since 1990, showing a decline of 21%. A social deficit has emerged in the '90s as a result of changes in public policies and the globalization of the economy. "The short term fiscal gains made by governments through drastic cuts in public services have come at the expense of long term pain for the vulnerable groups most affected by these negative social trends -children, the elderly, and the poor, who are mainly women and children. The gradual economic recovery is not being matched by a social recovery," says Malcolm Shookner, author of the report. Our quality of life has been the subject of public debate from many different points of view this spring. The trends and issues we have identified through the Quality of Life Index provide a basis for raising issues of public policy for attention by the newly elected provincial government.



Contact: Malcolm Shookner

Ontario Social Development Council

2 Carlton Street, Suite 1001, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1J3

Tel: (416) 345-8561 Fax: (416) 345-8904 Net: osdc@web.net

In late May, the Muskoka-Parry Sound Health Unit unveiled the results of a survey of 2,700 teenagers in six of the secondary schools in the area. The survey revealed that the incidence of smoking has been on the rise among teenagers since a similar survey was conducted in 1995; today, more than half of the high school population smokes either occasionally or regularly. The trend in this rural/recreational area is higher than the provincial average as well.



When the stats were released it prompted a flurry of attention from the media. Even more beneficial to the staff of this health unit, it prompted members of the board of health to offer their help in generating bylaws and raising awareness of the problem. The research has given us momentum as the tobacco project office begins working on strategies to toughen local smoking bylaws - and to increase enforcement of the laws that exist. A full copy of the report is available on the health unit's website as an Acrobat .pdf file. It's located at:

http://www.mpshu.on.ca/HomePageSideBar/tobaccosurvey.htm



Submitted by: John Challis

Communications Officer

Healthy Lifestyles

Muskoka-Parry Sound Health Unit

London Ontario, Westin Hotel



Association of Ontario Health Centres

Call For Workshop, Presentation Ideas



Workshop Category: (please select one only)

1) Governance (Board of Directors issues)

2) Front Line Staff issues (ie. Clinical issues)

3) Volunteers (Orienting, encouraging, recognizing)

4) Policy (How things affect our daily work)

5) Programs (innovative program development)

6) Systems (Best Practice Guidelines, Y2K, Performance Appraisals, Wellcom)

7) Beyond Our Borders



Workshop Description Info Required: Each submission must contain facilitator's name, title and brief bio of about 100 to 150 No later than Friday October 16, 1998



Please return to AOHC no later than Friday October 16, 1998

Return to: 5233 Dundas Street West, Suite 410, Etobicoke, ON M9B 1A6

Or fax to: 416-236-0431

Colette Fraser, Health Promotion Summer School Coordinator

Sudbury and District Health Unit, Tel: (705) 522-9200 ext 253

Fax: (705) 522-5182 E-mail: fraserc@sdhu.moh.gov.on.ca

WWW:

alPHa and OPHA collaborated on an all-party election survey. All three parties responded and the results are posted on the OPHA web site at

http://www.web.net/opha/SURVEY99.html

a) The Ontario Public Health Association has produced an ELECTION ACTIVITATION KIT - 1999



This kit has Key Messages and Questions for Candidates, a form letter to Candidates, a sample letter to the Editor, and Tips for Meeting with Candidates. The kit is designed to support people who work in community and public health throughout Ontario. To acquire a kit or more information, contact:



Peter Elson, Executive Director, OPHA

468 Queen St. East, suite 202, Toronto ON M5A 1T7

Tel: 416-367-3313, 1-800-267-6817; FAX 416-367-2844

Email: opha@web.net; Web-site: http://www.opha.on.ca/opha





b) WOMEN - OUR VOTES COUNT

Non-Partisan Campaign Election kit



Includes: Organizing Events & Activities to Encourage Voting, Get Ready To Vote, Tip Sheets (facts & questions on Health Care, Violence against women and more).



For more information, call Andrea Calver at

The Ontario Coalition for Social Justice

Tel: 416-441-3714; Fax: 416-441-4073

Email: ocsj@sympatico.on.ca





c) Women Vote '99

Pre-Election Kit Developed by the Ontario Federation of Labour Women's Committee



Fact sheets with records of each party on: health care, violence against women, pay & employment equity, education and child care.

For more information - toll-free 1-877-230-1999 or email: info@RecoverOntario





d) Campaign 2000 - End Child Poverty in Canada

Fact Sheet on Child Poverty, Questions to ask Candidates



Contact Campaign 2000, c/o Child Poverty Action Group - FSA

22 Wellesley St. E. Toronto, ON M4Y 1G3

Tel: 416-922-3126; Fax 416-922-9235

ATRA, the Alberta Tobacco Reduction Alliance has recently produced five excellent reports:



Tobacco Reduction in Youth

Concise Briefing on Tobacco Reduction & Youth

Tobacco Reduction and the Workplace

Survey of Large Employers: Tobacco Policy and Programming Needs

Tobacco Reduction and Women



The documents were prepared to support ATRA members in their efforts, but may be of interest to those working in Ontario for Tobacco Use Reduction. You can get an order form by requesting one from Joy McGill, Communications Coordinator. Fax: (780) 407-6494. Phone:(780) 407-3296.



The costs vary from $5-$10. Other comprehensive resources for youth teams and workplaces may be of interest and are described on the order form. THCU also has the order form (Fax: (416) 971-2443 or Email Lorraine Telford l.telford@utoronto.ca with your fax number).

Hamilton Convention Centre, Hamilton, Ontario



- Health Provider/Patient Encounter

- Models of Treatment Decision-Making

- Role of Patients and Physicians

- Practical Issues and Problems in Implementation

- Beyond the Dyad (Patient and Health Professional)

- Decision Aids

- Policy Implications



Cosponsored by: The Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, and the Supportive Cancer Care Research Unit, McMaster University

For more information, contact: CHEPA, Tel (905) 525-9140, ext. 22135 Fax: (905) 546-5211,

E-mail: marshl@fhs.mcmaster.ca internet: http://hiru.mcmaster.ca/chepa