Gaining influence: Developing a Healthy Public Policy Unit at Vancouver Coastal Health

Regional Public Health Unit (Office of the Chief MHO, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, BC, Canada).

Recognizing the need to invest resources that strategically move public health work “upstream” where policies and investments can shape the determinants of health, the Office of the Chief MHO for Vancouver Coastal Health embarked on a process in 2019 to develop a population health team designed to engage in Healthy Public Policy (HPP) and Health in All Policies (HiAP) approaches to health promotion. The mission and design of this unit was informed by internal and external research and engagement which continued even through the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the fall of 2022, this new unit, the first of its kind in British Columbia, was launched. In 2023, it embarked on strategic planning, engaged in key public policy processes, and implemented priority areas of work to help advance healthy public policy in the region, including the development of processes, tools, and practices to support a more systematic and rigorous approach to this emerging area of public health practice.

The creation of this new Healthy Public Policy Unit invites discussion within Canada’s public health community on the issue of resource allocation to support upstream interventions seeking to build the capacity and effectiveness of HPP and HiAP approaches.