Webinar: On the Path to Better Health – A Closer Look at Three Routes

BC Alliance for Healthy Living invites you to join us on Monday, May 26th (9:00 -10:30 am) for our upcoming webinar: On the Path to Better Health – A Closer Look at Three Routes.

This past March, BC Alliance for Healthy Living (BCAHL) released ‘On the Path to Better Health,’ a report that examined BC trends in chronic disease over the past decade and outlined future opportunities for prevention. It looked at factors that can either reduce or raise the risk for some of the most common diseases (cancer and diabetes, heart and lung diseases) – namely: diet, activity, smoking, obesity and poverty.

This webinar will include highlights from the report, which outlines the gains made in BC over the last 10 years, and points to where we still need to go. Our speakers will then provide a closer look at three promising areas for promoting wellness and preventing disease in the decade ahead.

Program

Mary Collins, Director of the BC Alliance for Healthy Living Secretariat will provide an overview of the findings and recommendations of BCAHL’s most recent report On the Path to Better Health.

Stephen Smith, Director of Mental Health Promotion and Prevention of Mental Disorders at the BC Ministry of Health will discuss the connection between mental and physical wellness and look at how key settings such as schools and workplaces can be used to improve health.

Dr. Judith Lynam, professor at the UBC School of Nursing and the research lead for the RICHER Social Pediatrics initiative will explain how an innovative health service model is improving the health of a community with high levels of poverty and discrimination.

Iglika Ivanova, economist and the Public Interest Researcher with the BC Office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives will look at opportunities to reduce childhood vulnerability by shifting tax policy so that it is more effective in reducing family poverty.

Speakers:

Mary Collins is Director of the Secretariat of the BC Alliance for Healthy Living and also Chairs the Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of Canada which focusses on similar issues at the national level. From 1984-93, Mary served as a Member of Parliament and a Cabinet Minister including as Minister of Health and Welfare. From 2002-2007 she worked with the World Health Organization in Russia, and throughout her career has been involved in health policy and practice, locally, nationally and internationally. She currently serves on the Boards of the Vancouver Police, Royal Roads University and the Arts Club Theatre.

Stephen Smith is the Director of Mental Health Promotion and Prevention of Mental Disorders at the B.C. Ministry of Health. His portfolio includes policy oversight of upstream mental health promotion and prevention efforts focused on building individual and community strengths, capacities and resilience, while working towards reduced incidence, prevalence and severity of mental disorders. His previous work focused on addressing vulnerabilities to blood-borne diseases and reducing harms associated with substance use. Prior to joining the BC public service, he worked for a number of years within the NGO sector, most recently in a senior management position with AIDS Vancouver. Stephen is a 2012 recipient of the Nancy Hall Public Policy Leadership Award for his contribution to the writing and implementation of Healthy Minds, Healthy People: a Ten-year Plan to Address Mental Health and Substance Use in British Columbia.

Dr. Judith Lynam is a professor at the UBC School of Nursing and the research lead for the RICHER (Responsive Interdisciplinary Coordinated Health Education and Research) Social Pediatrics initiative. She has been the primary investigator for numerous studies that examined the RICHER model and its potential for improving health equity and healthcare access in a community with multiple forms of marginalization. Her list of published works includes a range of topics including: approaches for engaging with, and delivering healthcare to at-risk families; the development of culturally competent practitioners; and action theory, among others. She is the recipient of several awards, including the 2010 Community Builder Award from the Network of Inner City Community Service Societies and the 2009 Award of Excellence in Nursing Research from the College of Registered Nurses of BC. She received her PhD in 2004 from Kings College London.

Iglika Ivanova is an economist and the Public Interest Researcher with the BC Office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. She researches and writes on issues in healthcare, education, social programs, and government finance in British Columbia. Iglika’s other research interests focus on the Canadian labour market and in particular trends in income inequality, low wage work and the integration of immigrants. Iglika is a frequent media commentator on public policy issues and a blogger on PolicyNote.ca She holds an MA in Economics from the University of British Columbia.