The Canadian Alliance for Regional Risk Factor Surveillance (CARRFS) ‏ Dr. Bernard Choi 蔡智強博士 ‏ Senior Research Scientist 高級研究科學家 ‏ Public Health Agency of Canada ‏ 加拿大政府公共衞生署 ‏ ‏ Presentation at the Conference on Public Health and Preventive Medicine, November 6, 2010, Hong Kong

The Canadian Alliance for Regional Risk Factor Surveillance (CARRFS)

3 Health Regions in Canada Canada has 10 provinces and 3 territories Health regions of Canada are used to administer public health to Canadians There are about 150 health regions

4 Context - the Need for Regional/ Local Surveillance Monitoring situation at the local level leads to action at the local level Turn post-hoc tracking into a priori prevention (rather than tracking accidents, get data on pubs where drivers served over the legal limit) National surveys may not always address local needs – may not be timely enough, may not be local enough

5 Canadian Experience It is recognized that regional/local data collection is needed to inform program and policy decisions Canada has a role to build and strengthen the capacity for regional/local surveillance To build capacity it is important to draw on existing and diversified skills and resources at the regional/local level

6 Background The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) in 2008 in collaboration with public health stakeholders across Canada created a network- the Canadian Alliance for Regional Risk Factor Surveillance (CARRFS). CARRFS was established to coordinate efforts and build capacity on local-area chronic disease risk factor surveillance

7 History 2005 – a PHAC task group recommended locally/regionally coordinated ongoing flexible public health data collection systems 2007 Nov – Think Tank Forum Planning 2008 Feb – Think Tank Forum (n=108 attendees) 2008 Feb – National Working Group (n=30) 2008 Feb – Terms of Reference Working Group 2008 Sep – CARRFS created (n=180)

8 History 2008 Oct – Canadian Coordination Committee (n=11) strategic planning 2009 Feb – CARRFS 1 st Symposium (n=200) 2009 – Members needs assessment 2009 – Environmental Scan 2009 – International Scan

9 History 2010 – Listserv for members, and website (under construction) 2010 – E-learning sessions (webinars) 2010 – Regional Workshops 2010 – Members in all provinces and territories (n=500 members)

10 CARRFS Mission Vision To build and strengthen the capacity for regional/local risk factor surveillance in Canada There is sustainable and effective regional/local collection, analysis, interpretation and use of risk factor data to inform program and policy decisions in Canada

11 CARRFS Activities 1. Communications Working Group – promotes internal communications (e.g. listserv, website development) 2. Membership & Publicity Working Group – oversees new member recruitment/registration and publicity. (e.g. membership database, welcome package, promotional materials) 3. Training Working Group – identifies educational opportunities and develops training modules for CARRF members (e.g. webinars, regional workshops, national symposiums)

12 CARRFS Activities 4. Tools and Resources Working Group – identifies tools and resources to create an inventory (e.g. literature review, scan) 5. National Writing Group – 25 authors are preparing a scientific journal paper summarising the Canadian experience from CARRFS

13 CARRFS Activities 6. Symposium Planning Working Group – plans the 2 nd CARRFS Symposium in Symposiums are held biennially. 7. Environmental Scan Working Group – conducts environmental scan by contacting all regional health authorities in Canada; case studies; international situational analysis

Importance of Networking Linking people who are in isolation Discussion forum for better communication Sharing of experience, tools and resources Getting support from the network Feeling of togetherness Collaboration

15 How CARRFS is Building Capacity On-line tools/resources (e.g. literature review, environmental scan) Training/educational opportunities (e.g. symposiums, workshops, webinars) Ability to connect with colleagues across the country using the CARRFS social networking platform (listserv) Opportunities to meet and exchange ideas virtually and face to face

16 International Significance No other local/regional surveillance network that has a similar mandate/vision Others are watching with interest how CARRFS develops

17 Conclusion - Future of CARRFS Ongoing development of network Meeting the needs of members Sharing tools and resources Involving all members, who are able, in the functioning and evolving of CARRFS (e.g. steering committee, working groups, ad hoc task groups, discussion forums, case studies) Promoting use of electronic discussion platform