What Does Public Health Mean by PSE Change? Connecticut Cancer Partnership 13th Annual Meeting December 6, 2016 Lisa Strelez McCooey, MPH, Director DPH Comprehensive Cancer Program Connecticut Department of Public Health Keeping Connecticut Healthy

What is PSE short for? PSE Change = Policy Systems Environmental Change

What is PSE change? An approach on how to effectively improve health in a community Prioritizes creating or changing infrastructure to support healthy behavior across populations Focuses on modifying context in which people live through changing policy, systems, and/or environment to make healthy choices available and easy for everyone

Why is PSE change important? Where you live affects how you live – you simply cannot make healthy decisions if healthy options are not available to you Makes healthier choices a real, feasible option for every community member by looking at laws, rules, and environments that impact our behavior

What’s the difference between a program and a PSE change? Hold a low-cost community mammography event Change appointment hours to include nights and weekends Provide a healthy lunch at a work meeting Adopt a healthy food meeting policy Sponsor a screening fair at work Allow time off every year for employees to get screened Hold free breastfeeding courses for new moms Implement WHO 10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and become a baby friendly hospital

About Policy Change Policy change includes passing of laws, ordinances, resolutions, mandates, regulations, or rules Examples: Adding a tax on unhealthy foods Passing an ordinance allowing residents to plant community gardens in vacant lots Schools establishing a policy that prohibits junk food in school fundraising drives

About Systems Change Systems change involves change made to the rules within an organization Examples: Creating a community plan to account for health impacts of new projects Creating a certification system of school bake sales to ensure they are in line with school wellness policy

About Environmental Change Environmental change is change made to the physical environment Examples: Municipality undertakes a planning process to ensure better pedestrian and bicycle access to main roads and parks Community development includes neighborhood corridors with pedestrian accommodations meeting needs of seniors (e.g., adequate benches and ramped sidewalks)

How does PSE change relate to cancer control? Maximizes public health cancer control resources by extending impact of interventions to reach populations instead of individuals Applicable to all stages of cancer control continuum, and to various settings including communities, neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and healthcare settings

What can CT Cancer Partnership members do to affect PSE change? Examples from CT Cancer Plan, 2014-2017: Promote use of environmental changes, such as shade structures, to reduce risk of harmful UV exposure Implement evidence-based physician and employer reminder systems and incentives for routine cancer screenings Support patient navigation programs Support efforts of CT stakeholders to develop collaborative initiatives that provide culturally appropriate palliative care education in all settings, including colleges, hospitals, out-patient settings, long-term care, pediatric care and veteran care Advance efforts for policies that support survivorship services (such as cancer rehabilitation) to be reimbursed by public and private insurance Advocate for policy and systems changes that provide for adequate federal, state, and private funding of hospice care, especially for underserved populations

Who does what? CT Cancer Partnership Roles Convener Communicator Guide Educator Planner Supporter

Ask yourself… What role do you see your organization (or you) playing in the following scenarios? Establishing a patient reminder system? A policy to assure survivorship care plans? Encouraging municipalities to adopt policies requiring shade structures at town- or city-owned recreational facilities?

And remember… The Power of Unity!

Thank you Lisa Strelez McCooey, MPH Comprehensive Cancer Program Connecticut Department of Public Health lisa.mccooey@ct.gov (860) 509-7804