theresa schumilas wrote:

"The others of us just kind of look on and smile politely
when we hear of such appointments."

I respond:

Many of us did not smile when our current Ontario premier
appointed "A Minister of Privatization."

A public statement by a government about its priorities can
set the tone for its policies and actions. It provides a
forum about what is safe to say and what is not safe to say
within a society.  Has anyone been heard in Ontario speaking
up about the public health implications of the privatization
agenda?

One of the problems of our last NDP government was that they
made no statements about priorities except to state that the
ones they were elected upon were not relevant anymore.

On another note, one of the important bottom line
differences between health promotion and illness prevention
is this.  The latter puts the ball solely in the court of
doctors, nurses, hospitals, illness, disease, and
treatments. The former opens it up to social and
psychological analysis, emphases upon community and societal
structures, and welcomes participation from social
scientists, informal care providers, and the lay public.

Illness prevention also tends to be top-down as
"professionals" know what diseases are worth being concerned
about.  Health promotion has the possibility of being
bottom-up as it accepts the principle that people themselves
are in the best position to identify the components and
contributors to their own health and well-being.

Finally, illness prevention downplays lay perceptions and
the validity of multiple perspectives.  Health promotion has
the potential to emphasize lay perceptions and voices.

Dennis Raphael, Ph.D., C.Psych.
Associate Professor
University of Toronto
Division of Community Health
Department of Public Health Sciences
McMurrich Building, Room 101
Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8
Tel: (416) 978-7567
Fax: (416) 978-2087
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]