Towards the Development of Health Promotion

Competencies

Laying the Foundation for Discipline-Specific Competency Development

Marco Ghassemi, MSc

Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention DivisionRegion of Peel, Public Health Department

Canadian Public Health Association 2008 Annual Conference

Halifax, Nova Scotia June 1-4, 2008

supported by:

www.hpoph.org

Session Goals1. To understand Health Promotion Ontario’s

competency development experience:

Research Definition Why competencies Consultation process

2. To describe the “Discussion Draft” Competencies for Health Promoters

3. Key Learnings and Next Steps

www.hpoph.org

20032003 20052005 20062006

Environmental Scan – health

promoters in Canada: Roles,

networks

Environmental Scan – health

promoters in Canada: Roles,

networks

Health Promotion Ontario’s Strategic

Plan

Health Promotion Ontario’s Strategic

Plan

20062006 20072007

“Discussion Draft”

Competencies

“Discussion Draft”

Competencies

Literature Review –

International health

promotion competency

Sets

Literature Review –

International health

promotion competency

Sets

Discussion Paper - health

promotion and

professional skills

Discussion Paper - health

promotion and

professional skills

Steps in Development of Discipline-Steps in Development of Discipline-Specific Specific Competencies for Health PromotersCompetencies for Health Promoters

All of the above documents can be found at:

www.hpoph.org

Health Promoter

Competencies

Health Promoter

Competencies

To inform curriculum development of continuing

education for health promoters

To inform curriculum development of continuing

education for health promoters

To increase understanding of the range of knowledge and

skills required by health promoters to effectively plan,deliver and evaluate health

promotion initiatives

To increase understanding of the range of knowledge and

skills required by health promoters to effectively plan,deliver and evaluate health

promotion initiatives

To inform and structure the content of health

promotion training programs

To inform and structure the content of health

promotion training programs

To assist in the development of competency-based job

descriptions for HP

To assist in the development of competency-based job

descriptions for HP

To inform the development of health promotion training needs and assessment tools

To inform the development of health promotion training needs and assessment tools

Potential Uses of Health Promotion Competencies

www.hpoph.org

Competency ConsultationCompetency Consultation March/07 National

Teleconference

May 11/07 Health Promotion Ontario Conference

June 11-15/07, 19th World Conference on Health Promotion and Health Education

Ongoing meetings, survey, web

input, etc.

www.hpoph.org

2. Conduct a community needs/situational assessment for a specific issue that includes:i. Identifying behavioural, social, environmental and

organizational factors that promote or compromise health

ii. Identifying relevant and appropriate data and information sources

iii. Identifying community assets and resourcesiv. Partner with communities to validate collected

quantitative and qualitative datav. Integrating information from available sources to

identify priorities for action

“Discussion Draft” Health Promotion

Competencies

www.hpoph.org

6. Engage in partnership and collaboration that includes:

i. Establishing and maintaining linkages with community leaders and other key health promotion stakeholders (e.g., schools, businesses, churches, community associations, labour unions, etc.)

ii. Utilizing leadership, team building, negotiation and conflict resolution skills to build community partnerships

iii. Building coalitions and stimulating intersectoral collaboration on health issues

“Discussion Draft” Health Promotion

Competencies

www.hpoph.org

On-Line Questionnaire Launched at HPO conference – initial response

period from May 11-May 31, 2007

Open to all health promotion practitioners in Canada

96 questions

Response Rate, N = 91

Some useful data, further analysis is required

May be refined and re-opened for future consultations

www.hpoph.org

Results: Demographics – job title

15.5% 14.1%

40.8%

1.4% 1.4%7.0%

1.4%

18.3%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Pe

rce

nta

ge

%

N = 91

www.hpoph.org

Results: Demographics – place of employment

81.7%

0.0% 1.4%7.0% 9.9%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Pe

rce

nta

ge

%

N = 91

Note: 22 participants identified Ontario as province of employment (n = 22)

www.hpoph.org

Results (1 - 4): Role Reflection & Compliance

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Pe

rce

nta

ge

%

Yes

No

HPC 1 HPC 2 HPC 4 HPC 3

N = 91

Note: HPC, health promoter competencies

www.hpoph.org

Results (5 – 8): Role Reflection & Compliance

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Pe

rce

nta

ge

%

Yes

No

HPC 5 HPC 6 HPC 7 HPC 8

Note: HPC, health promoter competencies

N = 91

www.hpoph.org

Key LearningsKey Learnings

Competencies are advisory & voluntary Competencies reflect the range of health

promotion practice Health promotion is process-oriented.

Competencies help to clarify the role and strengthen the practice & programming

Generalizable to reflect HP

Practice in Canada

Descriptive enough for

strengthening and guiding

practice

www.hpoph.org

Questions for Discussion

1. Do the proposed competencies reflect your experience with health promotion practice and your day-to-day role as health promoters?

2. What, if anything, is missing from the competencies?

3. Do you have any suggestions for revising the competencies?

4. How do you see yourself using the health promotion competencies?

Visit the HPO Website at:

www.hpoph.org

Ongoing

Fall 2008

2008Ongoing

Collate and analyze feedback results

Explore feasibility of a national public health

promotion working group

Validate the draft from

a Pan-Canadian Perspective

Next Steps …

www.hpoph.org

Questions?

Kevin Churchill kevin.churchill@county-lambton.on.ca

Marco Ghassemi marco.ghassemi@peelregion.ca