-----Forwarded by Dennis Raphael/fs/YorkU on 08/28/2017 02:00PM -----

To: [log in to unmask]
From: PHACPresident-Correspondence-PrésidenteACSP-Correspondance <[log in to unmask]>
Date: 08/28/2017 01:45PM
Subject: Response from Public Health Agency of Canada

Dear Dr. Raphael:

Thank you for your correspondence of June 27, 2017, addressed to the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, and on which the Honourable Jane Philpott, Minister of Health, was copied, concerning the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation’s (CMHF) Don’t Change Much initiative. The Minister has asked me to reply to you on her behalf, and I regret the delay. I appreciate being made aware of your views about the Government of Canada’s support for the Don’t Change Much initiative.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) recognizes the importance of having multiple sectors take action on the social determinants of health for all Canadians. Federal public health funding programs support a range of approaches to prevent chronic disease, promote health, and reduce health inequalities.

The Don’t Change Much initiative is funded through PHAC’s Multi-sectoral Partnerships to Promote Healthy Living and Prevent Chronic Disease approach, which is designed to advance innovative, multi-sectoral approaches for promoting healthy living, preventing chronic disease, and creating supportive social and physical environments. For example, the Multi-sectoral Partnerships to Promote Healthy Living and Prevent Chronic Disease program recently funded Toronto Public Health for Healthy By Design: Active Apartment Neighbourhoods. In collaboration with an array of public, private, and non-government organizations, Toronto Public Health will engage residents in two apartment neighbourhoods in Toronto to identify the changes to their environments that would support better health. Early successes of the Multi-sectoral Partnerships program and published evidence of promising interventions are showing us that we can achieve a greater positive impact on population health by leveraging the innovation, reach, and resources of multi-sectoral partners.

The Don’t Change Much initiative focuses on the health behaviours and health outcomes related to chronic disease that are specific to men. Since it has been found that men and women differ in their health behaviours, health outcomes, and well-being, it is important that we take this factor into consideration when we develop, implement, and evaluate research, programs, and policies. If you would like more information about the role that sex and gender plays in health, please read The Chief Public Health Officer’s Report on the State of Public Health in Canada: Influencing Health–The Importance of Sex and Gender, which you can find at: https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/migration/phac-aspc/cphorsphc-respcacsp/2012/assets/pdf/cpho-acsp-2012-eng.pdf.

The Don’t Change Much initiative is supported by a mobile application and web-based intervention, which have the potential to improve health behaviours in more vulnerable groups of men. Statistics Canada’s Survey of Household Spending (SHS) indicates that mobile applications can be effective in reaching a wide variety of Canadians, including those with lower incomes. If you would like to read more about the Survey, please visit: http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=3508.

Thank you once again for writing.  


Sincerely,


Dr. Theresa Tam, BMBS (UK), FRCPC
Chief Public Health Officer
Public Health Agency of Canada

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