Appendix B: Evaluation of the Canadian Public Health Service Program at the Public Health Agency of Canada – Field service programs

The Canadian Public Health Service program builds Canada's public health capacity by employing and training professionals. The Service places Public Health Officers in jurisdictions across Canada to address both ongoing and emerging needs. These placements benefit the host organization and strengthen Canada's public health workforce and professional network.

The Public Health Agency’s Canadian Field Epidemiology Program (CFEP) builds Canada’s public health capacity. The program trains public health professionals in applied epidemiology—the specialized techniques and competencies required to respond to diverse public health issues in real-life settings.

It also mobilizes field epidemiologists anywhere they are needed within Canada or around the world, supporting public health organizations as they respond to urgent public health events.

Finally, the program creates and nourishes a vibrant network of public health professionals to promote the sharing of ideas, insights and information.

The Field Surveillance Program was created to enhance the national surveillance of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), emerging retroviruses and other blood-borne sexually transmitted pathogens.

Field surveillance officers across Canada support provincial/territorial Ministries of Health and staff in Ottawa to develop and maintain national surveillance databases, to publish reports from these data and to enhance HIV strain and drug resistance surveillance.

Specifically, field surveillance activities from the Public Health Agency of Canada, provinces and territories include:

• Coordination of shipment of HIV specimens and epidemiologic data to the national centre;
• Technical support for data collection and enhancement;
• Support for provincial surveillance activities;
• Monthly submission of sexually transmitted infection data

The Border Health Security Program builds and maintains the health security of the Canadian population by implementing public health measures across borders. The Program includes communicable disease control and environmental health services activities to help maintain public health and provide information to international travellers. This is done by helping to prevent the introduction of communicable diseases into or from Canada. This Program administers and enforces the Quarantine Act as it relates to international travelers and conveyances arriving in or departing from Canada. The issuance of Ship Sanitation Certificates to international vessels, the implementation of passenger terminal and passenger transportation inspection Programs (conveyances), and responding to passenger conveyance gastrointestinal disease outbreaks also help to prevent the introduction and spread of communicable diseases. The Border Health Security Program promotes coordinated border health measures by creating linkages between key border departments and agencies, including the Canadian Border Services Agency, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The Laboratory Liaison Technical Officer (LLTO) Program was established to enhance public health capacity by providing highly trained, educated and experienced laboratory personnel hosted in provincial public health jurisdictions. LLTOs are dedicated to enhancing national outbreak preparedness and response by strengthening inter-jurisdictional communication and collaboration, and supporting provincial participation in key national laboratory-based surveillance and microbiology reference service programs and initiatives.