CCYHC Initiatives in Early Development

A Health Human Resource Strategy to Serve Canadian Children & Youth

The development of a Health Human Resource (HHR) Strategy has been identified by the Coalition as a critical priority in the area of child and youth health and one where the combined efforts and expertise of the individual members could have significant influence. CCYHC is committed to exploring HHR resource issues across interdisciplinary health professions and to the promotion of sustained excellence in education and training to ensure a workforce prepared to meet the health needs of children and youth across the spectrum of promotion, prevention and care. The Coalition has established a working group to review the state of health human resources in the child/youth sector and identify specific opportunities and challenges which are best addressed by a strategic Coalition initiative in this area.

The Child & Family in the Healthcare System

As one of its newest initiatives, the Coalition has decided to take a fresh look at the way in which children and their families are included within the modern-day health care system. The Coalition believes that developing a common vision of how this interaction should occur and sharing best practices is an important undertaking, especially given the opportunity to have the Canadian Family Advisory Network (CFAN) centrally engaged in this initiative. Preliminary discussion at the CFAN workshop on October 19th, 2008 focused on establishing an action plan for obtaining a picture of current practices across institutions and determining how best to structure a team to move this initiative forward. The Child and Family in the Healthcare System Working Group was established and began meeting in January 2009. The purpose of this group is to guide the development of this initiative through the early stages towards the definition of several specific deliverables to be achieved within a 3-year period. Through a process of identifying priority issues, reviewing the literature, collecting data, anecdotal information and stories, the working group will determine best practices and develop recommendations to be delivered to hospitals, rehabilitation centres, and government. The working group will consult with and seek input from the Coalition steering committee in a collaborative process as it works to define feasible priorities and appropriate recommendations.

Child Rights Education for Health Professionals (Boulton Initiative)

The Coalition is participating in the development of the Boulton Initiative, a new project which seeks to provide a strategy for educating health professionals about the use of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in practice. This initiative was established to achieve a developmental child rights approach in all child/youth health programs and services, an approach that reflects a holistic and inclusive understanding of health and the realities of associated challenges and opportunities. An organizational and planning meeting for the Boulton Initiative was held March 28-29, 2008 and an Executive Committee was established to provide overall direction to the initiative; sub-committees were also established. A workshop was held on November 3rd, 2008 to map out youth engagement in this project. Over the next year the Boulton Initiative intends to build a strategic plan, continue to gather support and representation from various stakeholders in the health professions and larger society, and to begin implementing related projects in British Columbia and across Canada. As well, committee members are working with coordinators and staff to create a stable funding base.