Health Policy Committee

The Health Policy Committee has been very busy preparing a full day pre-conference workshop In Montreal, October 14th. We are very excited to be hosting this event in collaboration with the Canadian Nurses' Association Director of Public Policy, the Canadian Association of Midwifery former Treasurer and the Executive Vice President of the Society of Obstetrician's and Gynecologists of Canada. It will be a wonderful day dedicated to uniting our interprofessional commitment to physiological birth and exploring how to translate that commitment to healthier public policy.

The workshop is titled:

Bridge Over Troubled Waters: An interprofessional commitment to bridge the gap between normalizing physiologic birth and public health policy.

A full day workshop dedicated to applying the CNA ‘Influencing Public Policy: Strategies and Tactics’ learning modules to an interprofessional commitment to normalizing physiologic birth in Canada.

The objectives of the day are to introduce Canadian perinatal and women's health care providers to a curriculum that will:

Enhance understanding of the processes of developing and influencing Canadian public policy;
Introduce and enhance/advance skills; and
Provide an introduction to pragmatic tips and tools for initiating/pursuing an endeavour to address public policy as it relates to supporting normal physiological birth.

The day will build Modules 4. Being Strategic 5. Engaging People and 6. Managing Change upon self study Modules 1. What is Policy? 2. The Policy Cycle 3. Leading Change. Modules 1-3 will be distributed to participants in preparation for the workshop.

Module 1: ‘WHAT IS POLICY?’ introduces the concept of policy and illustrates what we mean by “public policy” and “healthy public policy.” The module also differentiates among the concepts of policies, procedures, guidelines and rules.

Module 2: THE POLICY CYCLE describes a practical model to help participants understand the steps to policy development, and examines examples of situations that explain why policy sometimes “happens” or “doesn’t happen.” The module also discusses examples of real-life policy development, from idea to legislation.

Module 3: LEADING CHANGE considers how we can prepare to lead change and why effective leadership is critical to successful policy change. The module also provides a framework for leading change, with three main areas of attention: being strategic, engaging people and managing the change. Each of these areas is discussed individually in the final three modules.

Module 4: BEING STRATEGIC examines the area of being strategic, including clarifying values and beliefs, defining the problem and the issues, analyzing barriers and challenges, gathering information, conducting research and situational analyses, determining goals and objectives, and assessing resources.

Module 5: ENGAGING PEOPLE focuses on the area of engaging people by discussing who influences policy, decision making and policy development, target audiences, influencing public opinion, identifying and cultivating allies, understanding and dealing with resistance, and developing effective messages.

Module 6: MANAGING THE CHANGE discusses the key steps to managing the change : developing a plan, implementing the plan, and evaluating progress. The module also introduces a number of activities, tools and strategies for managing the policy change, including resolutions and position statements, personal meetings and lobbying, media relations, and briefing notes.

(Canadian Nurses’ Association, Influencing Public Policy ‘Strategies & Tactics’, Nov. 2008)

Co-facilitating participants will include:

Lisa Little RN , CNA Director of Health Policy

Sinclair Harris, Canadian Association of Midwifery

Andre Lalonde, Executive Director Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Melanie Basso RN,AWHONN Canada Health Policy Committee former Chair

Viva Swanson RN, AWHONN Canada Health Policy Committee Chair

Submitted by:

Viva Swanson RN, AWHONN Canada Health Policy Committee Chair
viva.swanson@northernhealth.ca

AWHONN Canada is sharing with you current health policy issues in Canada

Newborn Screening

There is now a Canadian Newborn Screening discussion list forum for anyone wishing to join (membership is free!).

The purpose of this list is to keep Canadians up-to-date with the latest information about newborn screening in our country. Also, to provide a forum for discussion of issues related to newborn screening in Canada.