I don't believe any "health promoter" arguing for the Wellness Fund in
Alberta would disagree with Dennis Raphael or Alana that health is best
addressed through the means they have outlined. However, that appears to be
off the radar for Alberta politicians. The only two recommendations removed
from the Mazinkowski report addressed child poverty and education. They
apparently were inappropriate for a "health" initiative.

[The state of thinking in Alberta is clearly outlined in the appendix on
health promotion and prevention in the Mazinkowski Report. We were lucky
that the concepts showed up at all but the thinking (except for a short
section on determinants) is very dated. Whose fault is this? Where is the
voice for health promotion in the discussion about health reform going on in
the country right now? Who is providing the evidence and making sure the
right people see it? Where are organizations like the Canadian Public Health
Association?]

We should be educating and pushing for a broader approaches to addressing
health. However, that discussion (and conversion) cannot occur in the few
short weeks that are left before the Alberta government takes the $200-$300
million dollars from a tobacco tax increase and pours it into general
revenues! In doing so, they may put a little back into social services and
education (we can hope!) but the opportunity to really work collaboratively
with other constituencies to address health in a comprehensive way will be
lost.

What the health promotion community needs to do is develop and hone
effective, on-going mechanisms to influence decision makers about these
issues and approaches. We should not be waiting until there is a tiny window
of opportunity (like a tobacco tax) to make the case.

Linda

_____________________
Linda Rasmussen
Population Health Promotion Consultant
Capital Health
Phone: (780) 413-5150
Fax: (780) 482-5383
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
_________________________

> ----------
> From:         Alana LaPerle[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent:         Tuesday, February 19, 2002 3:47 PM
> Subject:      Wellness Alberta
>
> As an alternative to a Wellness Fund, what if we "health promotors" in
> Alberta lobbied the government to direct the extra $200 million from
> tobacco
> taxes into early intervention programs, higher SFI rates, affordable
> housing, basic education and other programs that address the social
> determinants of health? Wouldn't that have a greater impact on health
> outcomes than the proposed wellness fund/programs?
>
> Just asking.
>
> Alana
>
> Alana LaPerle Consulting
> [log in to unmask]
> Phone: 780.416.8085
> Fax: 780.416.1267
>

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