Environmental health in Nova Scotia : a framework for moving forward / by Stephen Parker.

Abstract

In 2006 the Province of Nova Scotia released a report entitled The Renewal of Public Health in Nova Scotia. This report served as a comprehensive overview of opportunities to enhance public health services in the province. The overall intent was to demonstrate the need to elevate public health from the shadow of the traditional acute care model of health care delivery. This report identified deficiencies with existing structure, function and responsibilities, and included broad recommendations for addressing these issues. One of the areas of concern relates to the Environmental Health profession, and the fragmented approach to service delivery and government oversight in the province. As the result of an uncoordinated structure of several departments contributing to safeguarding the health and safety of its citizens, many areas of environmental health have become under-addressed or completely unaddressed. This project builds upon The Renewal of Public Health in Nova Scotia report. It outlines a proposal for how Environmental Health can move forward and be effectively managed across multiple departments / agencies. It identifies a number of strategies related to collaboration, priority setting and core competency skill development to strengthen the overall approach to health protection. Finally, it also demonstrates the value of combining diverse knowledge, strengths and skills to enhance decision-making and service delivery for the protection of environmental public health.