Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care

Background

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is establishing the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care as part of its mandate for disease prevention and health promotion. The renewed Task Force will build on the previous Task Force's international recognition with its 25-year pioneering history of providing independent, evidence-based recommendations for clinical prevention.

PHAC plays an important role in supporting evidence-informed health policy and practice in Canada, especially in areas with a key public health impact, such as preventive care. The development and dissemination of independent, evidence-based recommendations for preventive care by the Task Force will support quality of care for patients and the work of primary care settings.

Mandate

The purpose of the Task Force is to develop and enhance dissemination of evidence-informed clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) and recommendations to support preventive practices in primary care.

Key Activities

• Produce high quality evidence-informed reviews on priority preventive health care topics
• Make recommendations of graded strength, based on the quality of published evidence that inform clinicians, health care planners, and policy makers
• Collaborate with other evidence-informed guideline producers and related groups in Canada and internationally
• Ensure effective dissemination and implementation support of practice guidelines and related practice tools/aids
• Link to policy developers and health professional groups at various points during and after the review process to facilitate implementation of Task Foce recommendations for all target audiences

Target Audience

The primary target audience for Task Force's practice guidelines and related practice tools/resources are primary care health professionals (physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners). However, its work is also of direct relevance to community and public health professionals (public health nurses, nutritionists), physician specialists, other health care and allied health professionals, program developers, policy makers, and Canadian citizens.

Structure

The Task Force structure consists of four components:

1. Task Force Scientific Panel (Chair & members)
2. Task Force Office (PHAC)
3. Evidence Review & Synthesis Centre
4. Task Force Partners Group

Schematic representation of the Task Force structure

The Task Force Scientific Panel will be comprised of 10-12 independent experts in disease prevention and primary care and will lead the development of recommendations for clinical preventive services in Canada. The Chair and members will serve a 3-year volunteer term appointment beginning in September 2009.

The Task Force Office will be housed within the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control at PHAC and will provide staff support to the Task Force panel. Task Force operations will be supported by a team of professionals skilled in the methodologies of guideline development, dissemination, evaluation, and stakeholder engagement. The Task Force Office will disseminate and facilitate the uptake of Task Force recommendations and related practice tools.

An Evidence Review and Synthesis Centre will be established and responsible for developing systematic evidence reviews to inform practice guidelines and recommendations. This centre will be co-funded and established through a competitive granting process in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

The Task Force Partners Group will be representative of the Task Force's partnerships with established national organizations, federal and provincial government departments and linkages with other relevant organizations to coordinate and support dissemination and implementation of Task Force guidelines.

Priority Setting & Topic Selection

The Task Force Office will conduct needs assessments and scans to help identify and prioritize relevant topics. Topic selection (new and updates) to guide Task Force work will be determined through prioritization exercises undertaken by the Scientific Panel.

Guideline Development Process

The guideline development process will include topic selection, development of a work plan, work groups, evidence synthesis, recommendation statement, and evidence report for that particular topic along with considerations for practice tools/aids and implementation supports. The entire process will be peer-reviewed by Task Force leads, experts, and partners.

Dissemination, Implementation & Evaluation Support

The Task Force will be involved in dissemination and guideline implementation activities to support practice guidelines use and Task Force recommendations. These support activities include the development and evaluation of dissemination and implementation strategies such as the use of decision support tools, training modules, continuing medical education, and workshops. Research on the effectiveness of dissemination, implementation, and evaluation strategies will be performed by the Task Force in collaboration with CIHR and other partners.

Contact Information