What is THCU?
Founded in 1993, the Health Communication Unit (THCU) was developed to provide training and support in health communication. In 1997/98, our mandate was expanded to include health promotion planning, evaluation, and policy change. In 2000, it was again expanded to include sustainability. In April 2011 was re-aligned and operates within HDCDIP section of Public Health Ontario.
THCU is one of several organizations funded by the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion to provide training and support to health promotion practitioners in Ontario. We also actively partner with the Healthy Communities Consortium and other resource centres to provide these capacity-building services.
What is our goal?
Our goal is to increase the capacity of community and public health agencies to plan for, conduct, and evaluate a wide range of health promotion programs (within a comprehensive and population-based approach).
If you wish to view the THCU logic model (
),
detailing our goals, objectives, services, and clients, please click
here.
What services are available?
We provide provincial and regional workshops, webinars, tailored consultations,
and quality resource materials.
Who can use the services?
THCU's services are available free of charge to Ontario health promotion practitioners from public health units, community health centres, district health councils, voluntary agencies, and others working in the field of health promotion.
Do you provide services in French?
One of our three Field Support Specialists (consultants) is bilingual.
We work with our partners, including the Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse, to provide workshops and consultations based on client demand.
We have translated a number of our core resources into French and will continue to add new ones.
Download the Overview of French Language Services Pamphlet.
As with all our services, time, travel, and resource limitations exist.
If you have any questions, please contact us at THCU@oahpp.ca.
NEW What is your policy regarding travel costs of THCU consultants for consultations and regional workshops?
Due to steadily increasing budget pressures, THCU must now request that our clients pay part or all of the THCU travel costs for regional workshops, presentations, and consultations. Payment is not a requirement of service, as we do have some travel funds available for organizations who are unable to pay. However, these funds are limited. If travel costs prove prohibitive, we may explore alternative service delivery methods (e.g., do a webinar instead of a face to face event).
Thanks to a grant from the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion, we are able to offer these workshops for free to people working with Ontario-focused health promotion initiatives.
When you complete a THCU Service Request Form, you will be asked about your ability to cover travel costs. The THCU consultant assigned to your service request will also discuss these costs in more detail. We apologize for this inconvenience. Thank you for understanding as we work to deliver our high quality service within budget constraints.
NEW What changes have been made to the Comprehensive Workplace Health Promotion (CWHP) Project?
As of July 30, 2010, CWHP will no longer exist as a project separate from other THCU core services. An integration of core THCU and CWHP projects will increase our effectiveness and alignment, and decrease costs. The workplace website has been amalgamated with the Core THCU site.
In response to emerging priorities of the OAHPP and MHP (including the Guidance Documents tied to the Ontario Public Health Standards and the Healthy Communities Fund), THCU has been directed to provide broader products and services relating to planning, evaluation, communication and policy, in response to these priorities.
Our popular workplace resources and on-line catalogues are still available through THCU's Online Resource Database. The focus of THCU's core consultation service will continue to be on program planning, program evaluation, policy development, health communication and sustainability within a variety of settings, including the workplace. We have no plans to hold a workplace symposium in the spring of 2011 and we will not produce new resources, or update older ones.
The workplace team – Jessica Elgie, Giovanna Ferrara, and Nancy van Boxmeer – will not continue their existing roles on the CWHP project. We will also wind down our support to the Ontario Healthy Workplace Coalition. The OHWC is still alive and well, with tremendous support from CMHA (Ontario).
Moving forward it has been very rewarding to watch the workplace project grow and flourish over the past 10 years. We will continue to await and encourage new opportunities for resources and policy to address the critical role workplaces play in the health of our communities.
