Speaker Abstract

Putting Policy Into Action

Sharon M. Macdonald, MD, FRCPC

Moving from policy statements to implementing public health interventions can take years. The pathways are not straight and the forces which drive or impede the introduction of new programs can vary from one issue to another. Often government is blamed for slowing policy and program change when the real obstacles are external political forces such as special interest groups. Current policy approaches are now using a very broad base of consultation. However, the speed of moving from policy to intervention continues to be slow. In some issues, interventions seem to precede the establishment of the scientific basis for policy development. In other cases the evidence is overwhelming but the impetus for action remains elusive. Evidence-based approaches are relevant to public policy as well as clinical medicine. Recent initiatives by organizations of medical doctors may help physicians to understand and influence the process of policy development and implementation. Further collaboration amongst voluntary agencies, the private sector and medicine can help but the forces of special interest need to be addressed.