Challenges in Public Health Governance: The Canadian Experience

by Claude Rocan, Trevor Hancock (Introduction)

Overview

Challenges in Public Health Governance: The Canadian Experience is an examination of public health from a governance perspective. Part 1 begins with an examination of the fragmented nature of public health in Canada, identifies some major fault lines that characterize the public health realm, and reviews briefly the notion of network governance. Part 2 looks at specific public health theatres: crisis issues such as SARS and the HlNl pandemic, and the ongoing work of the Canadian Heart Health Initiative. It also examines the Pan-Canadian Public Health Network as the key piece of network infrastructure at the national level.

It seeks to demonstrate that current governance structures and mechanisms are inadequate to deal with the governance challenges facing public health, and that network governance, appropriately applied, is a means through which public health in Canada can better achieve its objectives. Part 3 examines the nature of the relationships with the voluntary sector and discovers that much of the potential of these organizations to contribute to public health is being lost.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780776638249
Publisher:	Les Presses de l'Université d'Ottawa/University of Ottawa Press
Publication date:	08/10/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	242
File size:	2 MB
Language:	French

About the Author

Claude M. Rocan (1950-2020) est né à St. Boniface, Manitoba. Il a réalisé ses études au Collège universitaire Glendon (Université York) et à l'Université McMaster avant d'obtenir son doctorat en science politique à l'Université York. Il a occupé des postes de politique/conseil dans le gouvernement de la Saskatchewan et le gouvernement du Canada aux niveaux supérieurs professionnels et exécutifs. En tant que Directeur général du Centre de la Promotion de la santé pour l'Agence de la Santé Publique du Canada, il a eu la chance d'observer les complexités et défis de la gouvernance collaborative, ainsi que son potentiel positif. À la suite de sa carrière dans l'administration publique, il est devenu professeur invité à l'École supérieure d'affaires publiques et internationales de l'Université d'Ottawa. En 2012, il a publié Challenges in Public Health: The Canadian Experience (Invenire Books). Pendant les dernières années de sa vie, il a travaillé en tant qu'auteur, chercheur et consultant indépendant en politique publique, spécialisé dans la gouvernance.
Claude M. Rocan (1950–2020) was born in St. Boniface, Manitoba. He studied at Glendon College (York University), McMaster University, and earned a PhD in Political Science from York University. He held policy/advisory positions within the Government of Saskatchewan and the Government of Canada at the senior professional and executive levels. As Director General of the Centre for Health Promotion at the Public Health Agency of Canada, he had the opportunity to directly experience the complexities and challenges—and potential — of collaborative governance. Following his career in the public service, he became Visiting Fellow at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa. In 2012, he published Challenges in Public Health: The Canadian Experience (Invenire Books). In his later years, he worked as an independent public policy writer, researcher, and consultant, specializing in governance.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction – Governance, networks and public health
Part I – Setting the Stage
Chapter 1 – Public health and fragmentation: Three fault lines
Introduction
The length and breadth of public health
Three major fault lines
Conclusion
Chapter 2 – Looking ahead: Is network governance ‘the answer?’
Introduction
Network governance – what is it?
The need for ‘entanglement strategies’
Weighing the costs and benefits
Conclusion: Applying network governance to public health
Part II – Public health governance in Canada: Three theatres
Chapter 3 – Governance and the public health network: Too much or not enough?
Introduction
The Pan-Canadian Public Health Network (2005 edition)
The PNH (2005): A breakthrough towards network governance?
The 2011 Operational Review
The PNH (2011 edition): Increased efficiency, but at what price?
Conclusion
Chapter 4 – Governance in ‘war time’: Networks and public health emergencies
Introduction
Brief review of SARS events
Flawed governance prescriptions in post-SARS literature
Can network governance be applied to emergencies?
Taking stock
Emergency preparedness and response in the Canadian context
The H1N1 pandemic in Canada: What did this reveal^
Conclusion
Chapter 5 – Governance in ‘peace-time’: The case of the Canadian Heart Health Initiative
Introduction
Analytical framework
The Canadian Heart Health Initiative
Starting conditions
Institutional design
Collaborative process
Facilitative leadership
Conclusion
Part III – Expanding the Base
Chapter 6 – The voluntary sector in public health governance
Introduction
The voluntary sector: Terminology and context
The voluntary sector in Canada
What makes the public health voluntary sector special?
Three types of government-VSO relationships
Conclusion: A base to build on?
Chapter 7 – Global Drivers
Introduction
Westphalia and beyond
From international health governance (IHG) to global health governance (GHG)
The drive for collaborative mechanisms
Conclusion: Implications for Canada
Part IV – Developing the Tools
Chapter 8 – Facing the tough questions
Introduction
Network governance and the ‘governability’ question
Accountability, transparency and legitimacy
Operating in the ‘shadow of hierarchy’
Chapter 9 – Towards a Network Governance Regime in Public Health
Introduction
Where to from here?
Conclusion?
Bibliography