Spotlight On: Gail MacKean, driving change in patient-centred health care
Gail has been an Operations Committee member, Evidence Support Working Group Co-lead and cares a great deal about the health care system as a way of supporting people in having good health and good lives.
Six common themes from six regional meetings
Over the last 4 months IMAGINE held six regional meetings across the province. We would like to sincerely thank everyone who joined us and shared their thoughts in Wainwright, Stettler, Peace River, Pincher Creek, Okotoks and Brocket. Participants from these communities shared their thoughts about their health care experiences and a number of key themes […]
Giving Day – Make a Gift Today
Imagine Citizens Network, in partnership with the O’Brien Institute for Public Health at the University of Calgary, is thrilled to invite you to participate in Giving Day. Your donation will be doubled thanks to matching funds from the University!
Last year, we saw an incredible demand for our citizen engagement services. We are proud to be a trusted and respected organization that brings citizen perspectives to the forefront.
Engaging Albertans on Modernizing Alberta’s Primary Health Care System
Imagine Citizens Network (ICN) has been working with Albertans to capture what matters most to them about primary healthcare and share these insights with the Modernizing Alberta’s Primary Health Care System (MAPS) initiative. The goal is to identify immediate and long-term improvements that can build on Alberta’s many primary health care successes.
ICN engaged with 32 Albertans from across the province to identify guiding principles that reflect people’s values regarding the redesign and delivery of primary care programs, services, and care.
Addressing the Social Determinants of Health – Modernizing Primary Health and Care
This is the third story in our series Modernizing Primary Health and Care where we share the recommendations we provided to Alberta Health’s Modernizing Alberta’s Primary Health Care System (MAPS) initiative.
Our health is shaped by a complex set of factors, including genetics, lifestyle choices, environment, and social determinants of health. Social determinants of health refer to a wide range of social, economic, and environmental factors that affect our health, such as income, housing, education, and discrimination.
Advice to the National Roundtable on Primary Care
Last fall, Judy Birdsell, ICN’s Board Chair, had the rare opportunity to meet and hear from leaders in Primary Care from other parts of Canada at the invitation of The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health.
“This was an invaluable experience, not only to have ICN’s voice at a national table, but to meet ten other exemplary leaders in Primary Healthcare from across Canada,” says Judy. “This opportunity has enabled connections with several individuals at the roundtable.”
With input from ICN members, we brought the following key messages to the Roundtable:
Board Recruitment March 2023
Imagine Citizens Network (ICN) is looking for Board Members to join our organization. The Board of Directors provides leadership and strategic oversight to ensure the organization is working to its full potential. We are looking to add individuals with valuable experience and diversity to our Board.
Focusing on Community – Modernizing Primary Health and Care
While a citizen-centred approach to health is essential, many factors beyond an individual and his/her family impact health. Health is a community accomplishment. Structural and social community assets such as easily accessible recreation facilities, green spaces, employment opportunities, affordable housing, safe roads, faith-based and cultural organizations, and service clubs are examples that contribute to health outcomes.
Healthy Aging in Alberta – Measuring What Matters
The recent Healthy Aging in Alberta: Measuring What Matters project led by Imagine Citizens Network, in partnership with Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the University of Alberta, was a unique opportunity for citizens to help AHS identify the most important measures of quality in its work with seniors, continuing-care clients, and their supporting caregivers to improve health, well-being and independence.
Becoming Citizen-Centred – Modernizing Primary Health and Care
At Imagine Citizens Network, we believe citizen-centred care should be a priority in reforming Alberta’s primary health system.
Citizen-centred care considers the individual in the context of their life, their environment and social context and the opportunities life has afforded or limited, and the health and community options available in them. This needs to be the starting point for primary health: the understanding of the context in which the citizen lives.
Modernizing Our Primary Health Care System: Including a Patient-Citizen Voice
We have had a wonderful response to this project and registration for it is full. Please sign up for our newsletter and follow us on social media to learn about other engagement opportunities in the future. Plans for primary health care system changes in Alberta are coming. Let’s make sure citizens help shape the plans! […]
Digital Health – What is it and why it matters
We are on the cusp of unprecedented change in the way health services are delivered, personalized, accessed, and funded. The rapid growth in connected personal health services, devices, and data is creating opportunities to re-imagine aspects of healthcare access and delivery, personal health and fitness, and health data.
Who Should Own Our Health Information?
As healthcare becomes increasingly reliant on technology, questions about who owns health information and how it is accessed become increasingly important. Understanding where data is stored, how it is accessed, and who is responsible for safeguarding it are at the centre of the digital health evolution. According to Dr. Ewan Affleck, “information is the currency of care.” Personal health data is an enabler of patient safety, better health outcomes and reduced harm.
Educating Future Healthcare Leaders: ICN Brings the Patient Voice
Last summer, Imagine Citizens Network (ICN) was invited to participate in the new transdisciplinary Precision Health program at the Cumming School of Medicine (University of Calgary) which brings together future healthcare leaders, entrepreneurs, and educators to improve patient care. Precision health is a new and innovative approach to healthcare delivery. It’s tailored to a patient’s genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors and, as the name implies, it is aimed at keeping people healthy by personalizing the prevention and treatment of individuals “precisely”.
Health Equity: The Vision for a Fairer and Healthier World
As September signals the start of the formal academic year, students from all communities across Canada prepare for the year of learning ahead. Yet significant cultural variations may emerge to illustrate the diversities and dynamism of the student group as a whole. Equity raises awareness about these important variations with reference to fair access and participation in basic needs such as health and education, to transform social systems that serve everyone equally within their unique contexts.
Supporting Newcomer Communities to Improve Their Own Healthcare
Several years ago, ICN and other patient-partnered organizations initiated the iKnow Health project to help people in Alberta understand how healthcare works, how to navigate and advocate for themselves, and how to apply their rights. While that project was designed to reach a wide population with its online guide Healthcare Basics for Albertans, we knew there were significant additional challenges for rural and minority/marginalized communities. To better understand these challenges, we partnered with the Alberta International Medical Graduates Association (AIMGA) to support volunteer Connectors to host seven conversations about healthcare in newcomer communities in Alberta.
Is all your health information accessible to all providers? Why you might want to keep a paper trail
Can you be confident that your health data and entire health record are complete and available to any healthcare provider when needed? What about your prescriptions from your drug store? Is that information available if you suddenly experience an emergency? The short answer is no.
A retrospective: 10 years after Greg’s death, the need for teamwork in health care remains
May 19 was the tenth anniversary of Greg’s death. A lot has happened since then, highlighting life-altering gaps in accessing information within Alberta’s healthcare. Much work still needs to be done.
Healthy Aging in Alberta: measuring what matters
If you are 65 and older or care about someone who is, add your voice to Alberta Health Service’s (AHS) strategic planning!
ICN is partnering with AHS to connect with Albertans to identify the most important measures of quality in AHS’s work with older adults and their supporting caregivers.
Giving Day 2022
Imagine Citizens Network, through our relationship with O’Brien Institute of Public Health at the University of Calgary, is inviting you to participate in Giving Day – our most significant donor campaign of the year. Your gift will go twice as far with the matching funds offered by the University.
Last year marked a turning point in our evolution. Since our inception seven years ago, we have been a volunteer powered organization. Last year we received a donation of $150,000 ($50,000 over three years) allowing us to begin to hire core staff.
In the coming year, we will continue to build our foundation (technology infrastructure, staffing and funding) as well as focus on two key initiatives:
Safe Spaces for Patient Storytelling
This is the second in a series of articles about Patient Storytelling.
Patients share their health care stories in public for many reasons: fundraising purposes, media exposure, advocacy efforts, and to educate or to support quality improvement projects. We even tell a version of our stories when we simply submit a biography or introduce ourselves at a meeting.
I’ve had many experiences writing and speaking my own story as the mom of a young man with Down syndrome and as a recent breast cancer patient. I’ve spoken with the media for advocacy campaigns, explained parts of my story at committee meetings, lectured at grand rounds and presented at health conferences. Most of these experiences have been positive, but some have gone side-ways.
ICN Board Member Recruitment
Background Imagine Citizens Network (ICN) is looking for independent board members to join our organization. The board of directors provides leadership and strategic oversight to ensure the organization is working to its full potential. ICN’s mission is to enable and mobilize citizens’ ability to influence and become valued partners in improving health care experiences and […]
