The following information is for those interested in working with a U of T
year II MHSc Health Promotion Student. The practicum is from Jan 1 through
to April 30, 2000.

Our program is one of the few in North America that takes a critical
perspective towards HP within WHO concepts of health and health promotion.

This practicum should take place in or near Toronto, though if the student
is willing to return to Toronto once a month or arrange teleconferencing,
it can take place elsewhere.

Dennis Raphael

        MHSc HEALTH PROMOTION PROGRAM
        DIVISION OF COMMUNITY HEALTH, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

        Information for Potential Field Research (Year II) Practicum
        Community Supervisors

        The MHSc Program in Health Promotion

        The Master of Health Science Program in Health Promotion is a two-year
graduate program offered within the Division of Community Health in the
Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.  The purpose of the
program is to educate professionals who can assess the health promotion
needs of groups and communities, and design, implement and evaluate health
promotion programs and policies.

        The program consists of four terms of academic study, one Field Placement
Practicum, and one Field Research Practicum. During the two practica, the
student is guided by an academic supervisor and a community supervisor in
the field.


        The Field Research Practicum Experience

        The Field Research Practicum takes place over a four month period (January
through April after the third semester - second year - of course work).
The main goal of the Field Research Practicum is to have students conduct
an inquiry into an issue or problem in health promotion practice. The
agency serves as a resource and pivot for carrying out the health promotion
practice inquiry.

        A variety of Field Research Practicum formats are possible. One format
would involve a student engaging with one or two projects at an agency.
These projects would serve as a basis for the research inquiry and the
required time to carry out the inquiry would be negotiated. Another
possibility would involve a student carrying out an inquiry on a timely
issue of interest for both the agency and the student. Within this format,
the student would not necessarily be involved with ongoing projects at an
agency. Additionally, some mixture of these two scenarios could be
negotiated to constitute the Field Research Practicum. One particularly
useful and successful approach is to have the student spend four days a
week at the agency on one or a number of projects.  One day per week is
allowed for the student to spend time working independently on the inquiry
component of the practicum.

        Potential Field Research Practicum inquiries could be analyses of: (and
these are only a few of a very large number of possibilities)

 - community participation
 - inter-sectoral cooperation
 - the development of community health centres in Ontario
 - models of integrated health and social service provision
 - evaluation of health promotion activities
 - assessing needs of communities
 - sources of satisfaction of health promoters in various settings
 - health promotion education initiatives

        The particular inquiry undertaken will depend on the nature of the
practicum, the on-going projects and needs of the agency, and the student's
own health promotion interests. The content and format of the Field
Research Practicum is negotiated by the student in consultation with their
community supervisor and their academic supervisor.  A written copy of this
agreement should be prepared at the start of the practicum and be signed by
the student, community supervisor, and academic supervisor.


        Students arrange their Field Research Practicum, with their academic
supervisor and a community supervisor.  All arrangements have to be
approved by the MHSc Health Promotion Program. The Field Research Practicum
is intended to be a full-time activity. The amount of time a student
actually spends at an agency is a subject for negotiation between the
Community Supervisor, the Academic Supervisor and the student. Based on
recent experience, it is expected that an agency  offer students a stipend
to support their activities. In the past few years, the level of this
support has ranged from $1,500 to $3,000 per month for the four month
practicum.

        The outcome of the Field Research Practicum will be a 20-25 page paper
which is potentially publishable as a contribution to the health promotion
practice literature. Depending upon the degree of collaboration, joint
authorship of the published product is envisioned. The student would be the
senior, and the community and academic supervisors, the co-authors.

Ethics Clearance and Field Research Practicum Supervision

        The responsibilities of the Community Supervisor are:

1)      To establish with the student a mutually-agreed upon "contract" for the
practicum.  This will include a written statement of overall goals and
objectives and specify the learning experiences for achieving these goals.
The document must be agreed upon by the student and the academic and
community supervisors before the practicum begins. A copy must be submitted
to the MHSc Health Promotion Program Director. In this document any
agreements between the student and the agency should be outlined. (e.g.
that the practicum may involve evening work).

2)      To ensure that the student's agency activity and, when applicable,
inquiry activity is sufficiently structured. Additionally, concerning the
field research practicum, the community supervisor will provide assistance
and practical guidance to the student in carrying out these inquiry
activities. The need for supervision will vary with the student and the
project. The Community Supervisor must be available for meeting with the
student on a regular basis. This should average, at a minimum, two
hours/week over the course of the Field Research Practicum.

3)      To provide the student with a place to work and access to individuals
and/or settings as appropriate to the practicum objectives.

4)      To communicate with the Program Director at the University of Toronto if
any problems arise or if assistance with any aspect of the practicum is
needed.

5)      To submit an Evaluation Form which is based on the goals originally
agreed upon. The Evaluation must be discussed with the student and then
submitted to the MHSc Health Promotion Program Director. The evaluation
process is an important opportunity for feedback to the student on his or
her performance. Receipt of the Evaluation Form by the University is needed
before the student can be given credit for the Practicum.

6)      In addition, the community supervisor will review, with the student,
their final paper. This paper will be 20-25 pages in length and will
provide results of the field research activities.

If there is any aspect of the Practicum that you would like to discuss,
please feel free to call the Associate Program Director, Dr. Dennis Raphael
(416) 978-7567.

June, 1999                      Dennis Raphael, Associate Program Director


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  ****************************************************
   Canalising a river
   Grafting a fruit tree
   Educating a person
   Transforming a state
   These are instances of fruitful criticism
   And at the same time instances of art.
       -Bertolt Brecht
  ****************************************************

Dennis Raphael, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Associate Director,
Masters of Health Science Program in Health Promotion
Department of Public Health Sciences
Graduate Department of Community Health
University of Toronto
McMurrich Building, Room 101
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA M5S 1A8
voice:    (416) 978-7567
fax: (416) 978-2087
e-mail:   [log in to unmask]