October 11 – Board of Health Summary
Written by Comms Team, October 16, 2023
Nurse-Family Partnership Presentation
Krista Ward, Manager, Child Health Services, delivered a presentation on the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP), a collaborative project of Peterborough Public Health and Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit (HKPRDHU). The NFP is an evidence-based, home visiting program for young, first-time mothers experiencing social or economic disadvantage. The program pairs mothers with a Public Health Nurse in the early stages of their pregnancy through to their child’s second birthday. Visits are spread over this two-year period, with 14 visits during pregnancy, 28 during infancy, and 28 during toddlerhood. The core goals of the NFP are to improve pregnancy outcomes, enhance child health and development, and increase parents’ economic self-sufficiency. Evidence has found that NFP significantly reduces risk of preterm deliveries, childhood language delays, behavioural and intellectual problems, and child abuse and neglect. The program is open to individuals 24 years of age or younger who reside in the PPH and HKPRDHU service areas and are expecting their first child. Eligible participants must also have limited support and resources and enroll in the program by the 28th week of their pregnancy. As of October, 4 participants have enrolled in the program since the program launched in September.
Health Care Worker Influenza Immunization 2022-2023
The Board of Health received a staff report from the Immunization Program detailing influenza vaccination coverage rates for local health care settings, including Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) and long-term care homes (LTCH). According to the report, there were 601 lab-confirmed influenza cases in the 2022-2023 surveillance season and 8 outbreaks. A significant decline in immunization rates was observed in 2022-2023 compared to the previous year. Specifically, in 2022-2023, 69.21% of PRHC staff and 64.8% of LTCH staff received influenza immunizations, compared to 69% and 89.3% the previous year. These declines may be attributable to immunization fatigue and low rates of influenza circulating in the region in 2021-2022, which may have influenced staff decisions to not pursue immunization. Low rates of immunization in the LTCH sector were exacerbated by health human resource challenges observed during the pandemic, including loss of staff during the influenza surveillance season.
Drug Poisoning Update
Jocelyn Qualtrough, Health Promoter and Carolyn Doris, Manager with the Family and Community Health team delivered an update on the local drug poisoning crisis. Qualtrough noted that Peterborough is experiencing harms at comparable levels to the province and Canada. Despite these challenges, Doris stated that while Peterborough has moved progressively and effectively to introduce new programs, services and supports in response to escalating drug-related harms, a systems-based approach led by all level of government is required to achieve meaningful reductions at the local level. This must in turn include a continuum of services and supports geared towards reducing and preventing the risk factors that contribute to substance use, such as childhood abuse and neglect, trauma, and other Social Determinants of Health.
Qualtrough also explained that inhalation drug use continues to outpace other modes of use in the community and remains a significant driver of drug-related deaths and harms in the region. According to a local survey of people who use drugs conducted in July 2023, 96% (n=62) of survey respondents said they would use the Consumption and Treatment Services site to inhale drugs, if this was available. The majority of respondents (58%) noted that they would use this service over 4 times per day, while 57% percent indicated that inhalation was their preferred method of consuming drugs, compared to only 15.7% who selected injection. This survey data supplements the finding of a previous analysis that found local demand for safer inhalation equipment in the PPH region was 6 times greater than the demand for injection equipment. Despite these findings and ongoing advocacy by PPH and others, the province continues to block expansion of the CTS program to support delivery of safer inhalation services. Additionally, the Ontario government announced in early October, the pausing of additional CTS approvals as a review of services is conducted.
Doris and Qualtrough concluded by drawing attention to the need for community safety for all local residents, emphasizing that criminalization of those most impacted by the Social Determinants of Health is not an appropriate response to the current situation. PPH has a pivotal role to play in providing leadership related to prevention, as well as ensuring effective collaboration and a systems-level response through the Peterborough Drug Strategy.