HLTH 410 Health Policy Overview

Course Information

• Course name: HLTH 410
• Course topic: Health Policy
• Institution: University of Waterloo, School of Public Health Sciences

Defining Health Policy

• Health policy is defined as specific government actions, including laws, regulations, campaigns, and funding initiatives, that directly impact health.
• Policy can also include inaction.
• Health policies don't always fall under the direct mandate of health ministries.

Policy Process

• The policy process considers various factors, including stakeholders, political context, organizational context, problem identification, evaluation, government structure, history and current practice, evidence (research, colloquial information), public health events, and exogenous factors.
• Exogenous factors include recent events like nutrition labels in restaurants, impaired driving laws, sugary drink taxes, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 Pandemic as a Factor in Health Policy

• The COVID-19 pandemic was an exogenous factor that profoundly influenced health policy considerations.
• The pandemic led to questions about future preparedness, with discussions about mandatory masking, vaccination mandates, school shutdowns, and closures of high-risk business settings.
• Public health experts noted prior to the pandemic, influenza outbreaks should have been anticipated.
• The experience impacted public trust in health professionals and potentially changed the way governments respond to future pandemics.

Additional Topics

• The images included mention Manitoba's school nutrition program, Ontario's minimum wage increase, and Ontario LTC nurse pay increases as examples of potential health policies.
• There were mentions of impacts on youth homelessness, and alcohol retail rules in Ontario as factors in health policy considerations.