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Building for the Future

OPHA’s Annual Conference is the single largest forum for public and community health workers in the province of Ontario.

Conference Goals

1. Participants will examine current organizational challenges and workforce practices in a changing public health system.
2. Participants will develop innovative public health human resource initiatives designed to increase the capacity of the public health workforce ie. mentorship, orientation, professional development models, leadership development, succession planning.
3. Participants will share new evidence and increase awareness of methods to support the application of evidenceinformed decisions for public health practice.
4. Through interaction, participants will broaden existing intersectoral and interdisciplinary opportunities for collaboration.

Conference Objectives

There are several objectives for the conference, including:

• providing an accessible and affordable professional development opportunity;
• providing a venue for enhanced local community and regional health community relations;
• profiling health issues particular to the host community region;
• facilitating the active participation of public and community health practitioners and OPHA staff;
• addressing leading issues through keynote presentations;
• encouraging local economic development.

Conference Sub-Themes

In recognition of the many partnerships involved in the delivery of public health, themes for this year’s

• Health Equity: This theme focuses on how a health equity lens is being incorporated into organizational practices, service delivery, program evaluations and research.
• Public Health Workforce: This theme focuses on strategies, approaches, tools, techniques, core competencies, and lessons learned that enhance the workforce including leadership and skill development for program staff and managers.
• Collaboration: There are two approaches of interest in this theme. First, interdisciplinary collaboration within public health units – how teams are being formed and how they are functioning, what lessons are being learned as a result of interdisciplinary collaboration. Second, what external partnerships are proving useful to public health units – how are these being operationalized and sustained, and what lessons are being learned?
• Innovation in Public Health Practice: This theme focuses on new and emerging practices that make a difference to client, practitioner or organizational well-being.
• Knowledge Exchange (KE): This theme profiles practitioners, decision makers, policy makers and researchers working closely together to address questions that are important to the health of the population. KE recognizes the expertise of all partners. Such linkages result in mutual learning and enhanced practice based on the best available evidence.

There will be panel, workshop, oral, roundtable sharing sessions and poster presentations scheduled over the three days for participants to contribute and learn.

Approximately 450 to 600 delegates and 20-25 exhibitors regularly participate in the conference.

In addition, OPHA's Annual General Meeting is held on the first full day of the conference, and there will be an OPHA Awards luncheon at which the winner of the PHRED Studentship Award will be presented.

This Year's Co-Hosts

Often co-hosted by a local public health organization, the goal of the conference is to provide a provincial forum for profiling the leading developments and topical issues facing people who are active in public and community health throughout Ontario.

This year, in honour of our 60th anniversary as the Voice of Public Health in Ontario, we are privileged to be co-hosting our conference with our 11 Constituent Societies:

• Public Health Nursing Management (ANDSOOHA)
• Association of Ontario Health Centres (AOHC)
• Association of Public Health Epidemiologists in Ontario (APHEO)
• Association of Supervisors of Public Health Inspectors of Ontario (ASPHI-O)
• Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (Ontario Branch) (CIPHI-O)
• Community Health Nurses Initiatives Group (RNAO)
• Health Promotion Ontario (HPO)
• Ontario Association of Public Health Dentistry (OAPHD)
• Ontario Public Health Libraries Association (OPHLA)
• Ontario Society of Nutrition Professionals (OSNPPH)
• Public Health Research, Education and Development Program (PHRED)

To learn more about the Ontario Public Health Association, please visit our website.