School of Public Policy Research & Publications

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  • ItemOpen Access
    Canadian Climate Policy Inventory Methodology
    (2024-08-01) Scott, William A.; Winter, Jennifer; Munzur, Alaz; Koch, Katharina
    Governments have implemented a variety of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Canada's climate policy landscape is marked by variation in timing, effort, and approach, and driven by differences in economic structures, political ideologies, energy resources, and emissions among provinces and territories. To bridge this gap in understanding, the Canadian Climate Policy Partnership (C2P2) is developing a comprehensive and dynamic inventory of climate policies in Canada, which allows for direct comparisons and a better understanding of potential policy interactions and overlap. This methodology paper outlines the steps taken to establish an initial inventory of 327 emissions-mitigation policies in Canada, and the coding protocol used to assess policy design elements. By shedding light on the complex web of climate policies in Canada, this inventory provides researchers, policymakers and businesses with a clear picture of the ongoing efforts to reduce GHG emissions.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Protocol for a scoping review on agricultural digital technologies in Canada used for crops.
    (2024-04-10) Sanguinetti, V. Margarita; Ishaque, Hanan; Nelson, Francine; Ganshorn, Heather; Lhermie, Guillaume
    Agriculture is undergoing a digital transformation, driven by technologies aimed at improving efficiency, productivity, and sustainability. In Canada, the sector is embracing digital solutions to enhance crop production while meeting increasing food demand and consumer preferences for transparency. Digital technologies, including precision agriculture (PA) and data analysis tools are revolutionizing agriculture by integrating on-farm data collection, analysis, and interpretation. They enable informed decision-making tailored to diverse field needs and optimize soil and crop management practices This study conducts a scoping review of Canadian research on digital technologies in crop production, aiming to understand current trends, identify emerging technologies, and address research gaps. It highlights successes, challenges, and areas needing attention, emphasizing the importance of responsible deployment considering issues such as data governance, privacy, and security. This review aims to inform future policy environment for the widespread adoption of digital technologies in Canadian agriculture
  • ItemOpen Access
    Protocol for a rapid scoping review to examine child health and well-being indicator frameworks in OECD countries
    (2022-09-26) Roth, Christiane; Zwicker, Jennifer; Hagel, Brent; Boynton, Heather; Crowshoe, Lynden F.J.; Dimitropoulos, Gina; Exner-Cortens, Deneira; Metcalfe, Amy; Russell-Meyhew, Shelly; Schwartz, Kelly Dean; Thomas, Karen; Tough, Suzanne
    The purpose of the rapid scoping review is to identify commonly recognized domains/dimension and indicators considered important to the measurement of child health and wellbeing of children and youth to inform the development of a wellbeing indicator framework. Understandings of the concept and importance of health and wellbeing has evolved in the recent decades to encompass wider determinants of health. The concept of wellbeing or quality of life in particular, has become increasingly relevant at the international and national policy levels as a measure for a country’s overall performance. Wellbeing or quality of life indicator frameworks can help monitor health and wellbeing over time in a given jurisdiction and guide the development of cross–sectoral wellbeing policies and strategies to improve overall wellbeing outcomes of the population. This protocol describes our approach to a scoping review, which will gather comprehensive data on how child health and wellbeing is defined and measured across the globe. The protocol is based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) Checklist, which will also guide its reporting. The scoping review will include peer-reviewed articles and information from a grey literature search of inter-governmental organizations and official documents of OECD countries. Data will be synthesized to showcase what child health and wellbeing is commonly comprised of (dimensions/domains/components) and which indicators and sources are used to measure the concept.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Using the ages and stages questionnaire in the general population as a measure for identifying children not at risk of a neurodevelopmental disorder
    (BioMed Central, 2018-04-03) Lamsal, Ramesh; Dutton, Daniel J.; Zwicker, Jennifer D.
    Background Early detection of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) enables access to early interventions for children. We assess the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ)’s ability to identify children with a NDD in population data. Method Children 4 to 5 years old in the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) from cycles 5 to 8 were included. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were calculated for the ASQ at 24, 27, 30, 33, 36 and 42 months. Fixed effects regression analyses assessed longitudinal associations between domain scores and child age. Results Specificity for the ASQ was high with 1SD or 2SD cutoffs, indicating good accuracy in detecting children who will not develop a NDD, however the sensitivity varied over time points and cut-offs. Sensitivity for the 1 SD cutoff at 24 months was above the recommended value of 70% for screening. Differences in ASQ domains scores between children with and without NDD increases with age. Conclusions The high specificity and negative predictive values of the ASQ support its use in identifying children who are not at the risk of developing a NDD. The capacity of the ASQ to identify children with a NDD in the general population is limited except for the ASQ-24 months with 1SD and can be used to identify children at risk of NDD.
  • ItemOpen Access
    How Health in All Policies are developed and implemented in a developing country? A case study of a HiAP initiative in Iran
    (Oxford Journals, 2016-12) Khayatzadeh-Mahani, Akram; Sedoghi, Zeynab; Mehrolhassani, Mohammad Hossein; Yazdi-Feyzabadi, Vahid
    Population health is influenced by many factors beyond the control of health system which should be addressed by other sectors through inter-sectoral collaboration (ISC). Countries have adopted diverse initiatives to operationalize ISC for health such as establishment of Councils of Health and Food Security (CHFSs) and development of provincial Health Master Plans (HMPs) in Iran. The literature, however, provides meager information on how these initiatives have been moved into the top policy agenda, how and by whom they have been formulated and what factors enable or inhibit their implementation. In addressing these knowledge gaps, we employed a qualitative case study approach, incorporating mixed methods: in-depth interviews and a textual analysis of policy documents. Iran founded the Supreme Council of Health and Food Security (SCHFS) at national level in 2006 followed by provincial and district CHFSs to ensure political commitment to ISC for health and Health in All Policies (HiAPs). In 2009, the SCHFS mandated all provincial CHFSs across the country to develop provincial HMP to operationalize the HiAP approach and Kerman was among the first provinces which responded to this call. We selected Kerman province HMP as a case study to investigate the research questions raised in this study. The study revealed two types of leverage, which played crucial role in agenda setting, policy formulation and implementation of HMP including politics (political commitment) and policy entrepreneurs. The multiple streams model was found to be informative for thinking about different stages of a policy cycle including agenda setting, policy formulation and policy implementation. It was also found to be a useful framework in analyzing HiAP initiatives as these policies do not smoothly and readily reach the policy agenda.
  • ItemRestricted
    Obesity prevention: co-framing for intersectoral ‘buy-in’
    (Taylor & Francis, 2017-01-25) Khayatzadeh-Mahani, Akram; Ruckert, Arne; Labonté, Ronald
    The multi-factorial causes of obesity demand integrated prevention policies with the collaboration of diverse sectors, although to date, there is little evidence of engagement by non-health sectors in developing obesity prevention policies. In this commentary, we develop a three-step argument for improving intersectoral collaboration. We first note that to encourage non-health sectors in developing and implementing integrated preventive policies, obesity should be reframed as a systemic problem rather than its dominant framing as a matter of individual behavioural change. We then propose a co-framing of obesity, such that it aligns with the policy goals of diverse non-health sectors. Finally, drawing on the network governance literature, we argue that a network-based governance approach with an independent network administrative organization will best facilitate multisectoral collaboration through a successful co-framing strategy.