Sylvie Stachenko

• University of Alberta

Objective:: Since 2002, a course entitled 'Evidence-Based Public Health (EBPH): A Course in Noncommunicable Disease (NCD) Prevention' has been taught annually in Europe as a collaboration between the Prevention Research Center in St Louis and other international organizations. The core purpose of this training is to strengthen the capacity of publ...

p>Given that chronic diseases account for 88% of all deaths in Canada, robust surveillance and monitoring systems are essential for supporting implementation of health promotion and chronic disease prevention policies. Canada has a long tradition of monitoring premature mortality expressed as potential years of life lost (PYLL), dating back to the...

Background: Potential years of life lost (PYLL) rate describes the number of years lost due to pre-ventable premature death in a population. This is equal to the loss of human capital. Cause-specific PYLL-rates provide information for public health policy. Methods: PYLL-rate is calculated as an absolute difference between the age at death and the a...

Like many countries Armenia is facing a growing noncommunicable disease (NCD) burden. This report examines the opportunities and challenges for Armenia to accelerate improvement in cardiovascular and diabetes outcomes. Signifi cant progress on population-level prevention is required and eff orts and enforcement modalities for alcohol and tobacco co...

Health surveillance is the ongoing, systematic use of routinely collected health data to guide public health action in a timely fashion. This paper describes the creation and growth of national surveillance systems in Canada and their impact on chronic disease and injury prevention. In 2008, the authors started a review process to retrace the histo...

La surveillance de la santé consiste en l’utilisation systématique et continue de données sur la santé recueillies régulièrement en vue d’orienter les mesures de santé publique en temps opportun. Ce document décrit la création et l’essor des systèmes nationaux de surveillance au Canada et les répercussions de ces systèmes sur la prévention des mala...

The control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) was addressed by the declaration of the 66th United Nations (UN) General Assembly followed by the World Health Organization's (WHO) NCD 2020 action plan. There is a clear need to better apply evidence in public health settings to tackle both behaviour-related factors and the underlying social and econo...

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) have become a global challenge. Thirty-six million deaths in 2008 were due to NCDs as estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO). The “big four” NCDs—cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and chronic lung diseases—share the four main risk factors historically associated with socioeconomic development. Thes...

Chronic diseases, especially cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and chronic obstructive respiratory diseases,are neglected globally despite growing awareness of the serious burden that they cause. Global and national policies have failed to stop, and in many cases have contributed to, the chronic disease pandemic. Low-cost and highly effect...

Chronic Diseases (CDs) are the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. CD experts have long promoted the use of integrated and intersectoral approaches to strengthen CD prevention efforts. This qualitative case study examined the perceived benefits and challenges associated with implementing an intersectoral network dedicated to CD preven...

Les maladies chroniques (MC) sont la principale cause de décès et d’incapacités à l’échelle mondiale. Les spécialistes des MC favorisent depuis longtemps le recours à des approches intersectorielles afin de consolider les efforts en matière de prévention des MC. Cette étude qualitative de cas a pour objet d’examiner les avantages et les difficultés...

This chapter highlights the historical context and current challenges of public health in Canada. It describes recent key institutional developments involving the new Public Health Agency of Canada and its contributions to leadership and to new investments that address domestic and global public health challenges.

Background Chronic diseases are now a major health problem in developing countries as well as the developed world. Although chronic diseases cannot be communicated from person to person, their risk factors (e.g. smoking, inactivity, dietary habits) are readily transferred around the world. With increasing human progress and technological advance,...

The aim of the Population Health Intervention Research Initiative for Canada (PHIRIC) is to build capacity to increase the quantity, quality and use of population health intervention research. But what capacity is required, and how should capacity be created? There may be relevant lessons from the Canadian Heart Health Initiative (CHHI), a 20-year...

A number of major challenges face surveillance systems in the field of chronic disease. The complex interplay of risk factors and determinants that result in chronic disease is calling into question traditional surveillance systems in terms of what is collected to inform policy decisions. At the same time, the complexity presents an opportunity to...

Chronic diseases are now a major health problem in developing countries as well as in the developed world. Although chronic diseases cannot be communicated from person to person, their risk factors (for example, smoking, inactivity, dietary habits) are readily transferred around the world. With increasing human progress and technological advance, t...

Decision makers consider numerous factors besides surveillance data in establishing public health policies and programmes. In an evidence-informed system, it is important to collect, interpret, and present information that has maximum impact on the broader policy agenda. Successful policies and programmes are rational, feasible, and practical, with...

Too often, public health decisions are based on short-term demands rather than long-term research and objectives. Policies and programmes are sometimes developed around anecdotal evidence. The Evidence-Based Public Health (EBPH) programme trains public health practitioners to use a comprehensive, scientific approach when developing and evaluating c...

This paper addresses a fundamental question in evidence based policy making--can scientists and policy makers work together? It first provides a scenario outlining the different mentalities and imperatives of scientists and policy makers, and then discusses various issues and solutions relating to whether and how scientists and policy makers can wo...

Existe la necesidad de reforzar la capacidad regional para la vigilancia de las enfermedades crónicas en las Américas. Los objetivos de este artículo son 1) ofrecer nuestro apoyo decidido a favor de la vigilancia de las enfermedades crónicas, 2) presentar una revisión descriptiva y un resumen de las actividades de vigilancia y los problemas en torn...

The use of evidence-based reasoning and decision-making theory and practice is becoming increasingly commonplace in most of the health sciences. Public health, which encompasses health protection, disease prevention and health promotion, has traditionally been more evidence-based than clinical medicine. However, more must be done to grade evidence...

To report the prevalence of lipid and nonlipid coronary artery disease risk factors in women classified by use of oral contraceptives or sex hormone replacement therapy. A population-based cross-sectional survey in nine Canadian provinces (not including Nova Scotia) between 1988 and 1992 invited 13,506 women aged 18 to 74 years to participate. Duri...

To report the associations of plasma triglyceride, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) with nonlipid coronary artery disease risk factors. In particular, the associations for persons with high triglyceride and low HDL-C levels were examined. A stratified random probability sample of 29,855 me...

OBJECTIVE: To report the prevalence of lipid and nonlipid coronary artery disease risk factors in women classified by use of oral contraceptives or sex hormone replacement therapy. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A population-based cross-sectional survey in nine Canadian provinces (not including Nova Scotia) between 1988 and 1992 invited 13,506 w...

OBJECTIVE: To report the associations of plasma triglyceride, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) with nonlipid coronary artery disease risk factors. In particular, the associations for persons with high triglyceride and low HDL-C levels were examined. DESIGN: A stratified random probability...

Currently there are at least 22 countries worldwide where national, regional or pilot population-based breast cancer screening programmes have been established. A collaborative effort has been undertaken by the International Breast Cancer Screening Network (IBSN), an international voluntary collaborative effort administered from the National Cancer...

Background Currently there are at least 22 countries worldwide where national, regional or pilot population-based breast cancer screening programmes have been established. A collaborative effort has been undertaken by the International Breast Cancer Screening Network (IBSN), an international voluntary collaborative effort administered from the Nati...

Objective: To summarize the Smoking Cessation Clinical Practice Guideline that provides recommendations for 3 groups of professionals: primary care clinicians, smoking cessation specialists, and health care administrators, insurers, and purchasers. Participants: An independent panel of scientists, clinicians, consumers, and methodologists select...

The issue of linking research and policy is not unique to health care of the elderly; it has been articulated by numerous stakeholder groups, including those with specific diseases, such as breast cancer. A method of enhancing these links is now being systematically addressed in the Canadian Breast Cancer Initiative with the input of women with bre...

Objective: To determine the mathematic formula for weight, height and waist and hip circumference that is most closely correlated to cardiovascular disease risk factors. Design: Population-based, cross-sectional surveys. Setting: Five Canadian provinces, between 1990 and 1992. Participants: A probability sample of 16 007 men and women aged 18 to 74...

Objective: To describe the distribution of body fat, prevalence of obesity, and knowledge of cardiovascular disease in Canadian adults. Design: Population-based, cross-sectional surveys. Setting: Ten Canadian provinces between 1986 and 1992. Participants: A probability sample of 29 855 men and women aged 18 to 74 years was selected using health ins...

Objective: To assess the degree of association of abdominal obesity with blood pressure and plasma lipid levels and to determine which anthropometric measures of obesity are most closely associated with these cardiovascular risk factors. Design: Population-based, cross-sectional surveys. Setting: Five Canadian provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario,...

Objective: To assess simple anthropometric measures as indicators of the concurrent presence of high blood pressure, dyslipidemia and diabetes mellitus in adults. Design: Population-based, cross-sectional surveys. Setting: Five Canadian provinces between 1990 and 1992. Participants: A probability sample of 16 007 men and women aged 18 to 74 years w...

The question of how to enhance the dissemination of knowledge and the use of innovations related to disease prevention and health promotion was posed to an international group of experts at an invitational research conference held in Vancouver, British Columbia in March 1995. The Canadian Conference on Dissemination Research Strengthening Health Pr...

The Canadian Heart Health Initiative is a country-wide strategy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Initiated with a 15-year horizon, it has resulted in extensive networks and coalitions involving Health Canada, the 10 provincial departments of health and over 1,000 organizations. There are five phases: policy development through country-...

Although screening for cervical cancer has been shown to be effective in reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with this disease, and despite many attempts to encourage the development of provincial programs, as of 1995 no province had a comprehensive screening program for cervical cancer. Participants at the Interchange '95 workshop, hel...

The 1987 Report of the federal/provincial working group on cardiovascular disease prevention entitled "Promoting Heart Health in Canada" was developed about the time the new concepts for health promotion were emerging in government policy. The public health strategy supported in "Promoting Heart Health in Canada" captured the approach advocated in...

Self-management teaching programs are becoming an important asset in the management of pediatric asthma. The study was designed to evaluate the impact of self-management teaching programs on the morbidity of pediatric asthma. The meta-analysis included randomized clinical trials, published between 1970 and 1991, addressing the outcome of morbidity....

Health professionals can play a major role in prevention. They are perceived as a reliable and credible source of health information and they have contact with a large percentage of the population every year. In Canada, a key development for the integration of prevention in clinical practice was the establishment of the Canadian Task Force on the P...

Health promotion is a fundamental strategy to address the major issues which confront health systems in developed and developing countries alike. Chief amongst these issues are unhealthy environments, health inequities and non-communicable diseases. The infrastructures for health promotion include mechan isms for development and implementation of h...

Increasingly, health professionals are being called upon to be knowledgeable about and to integrate prevention and health promotion into their day-to-day practice. Working in partnership with a variety of disciplines and sectors is also an emerging reality in the health field. This paper describes a national collaborative strategy development proce...

To describe the prevalence and patterns of smoking among Canadian adults, the relation of smoking to other cardiovascular disease risk factors and the awareness of the causes of heart disease. Population-based cross-sectional surveys. Nine Canadian provinces, from 1986 to 1990. A probability sample of 26,293 men and women aged 18 to 74 was selected...

To estimate the prevalence and distribution of the coexistence of major cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among Canadian adults. Population-based cross-sectional surveys. Nine Canadian provinces, from 1986 to 1990. A probability sample of 26,293 men and women, aged 18 to 74 years, was selected from provincial health insurance registries. Fo...

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and distribution of elevated blood pressure (BP) among Canadian adults and to determine the level of control, treatment, awareness and prevalence of other risk factors among adults with high BP. Design: Population-based cross-sectional surveys. Setting: Nine Canadian provinces, from 1986 to 1990. Participants:...

Objective: To describe the distribution of weight and abdominal obesity among Canadian adults and to determine the association of obesity with other risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Design: Population-based cross-sectional surveys. Survey nurses administered a standard questionnaire and recorded two blood pressure measurements during a home...

To test three methods of introducing health charts into the medical records of six family medicine units. Quasi-experiment. The staff physicians and family medicine residents in all six units and the nurses in two units. Group 1 (minimal intervention): health charts, a user's guide and one training session. Group 2 (intermediate intervention): same...

An overview analysis of seven randomized controlled trials testing the effectiveness of aspirin in the treatment of patients with transient ischemic attacks and minor strokes was performed. A total of 6409 patients from the seven trials was entered in the analysis; 2182 patients received only aspirin; 1598 patients received an aspirin-combination r...

Massachusetts birth and death certificate tapes for the years 1970-1980 were linked and analyzed to determine causes of death in the neonatal and postneonatal periods and to identify any related sociodemographic factors. Our analysis suggests that, although the neonatal mortality rate declined by about 43 percent, the postneonatal mortality rate re...

With more women entering the labor market, concern about adverse effects of occupational exposure on reproductive health has been increasing. Of special importance are those agents which might cause birth defects and gene mutations. The fetus can be subject to chemical, biological, physical and ergonomic threats to its wellbeing. Most of the concer...

With more women entering the labor market, concern about adverse effects of occupational exposure on reproductive health has been increasing. Of special importance are those agents which might cause birth defects and gene mutations. The fetus can be subject to chemical, biological, physical and ergonomic threats to its wellbeing. Most of the concer...