Canadian Health Network
Encyclopedia
The Canadian Health Network (CHN) was a national, bilingual health promotion service operated by the Public Health Agency of Canada
and major health organizations across Canada
. It was an on-line collaborative
service and includes health information providers such as national and provincial/territorial non-profit organizations, as well as universities, hospitals, libraries and community organizations. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
(CCOHS) is the workplace health affiliate.
CHN offered dependable, up-to-date information on health promotion
and disease
and injury prevention, to help individuals and communities make healthy choices that improve the quality of their life. It was known to be of the most comprehensive networks of its kind in the world. It was a called a 'network' since the information was amalgated from a variety of Canadian health organizations.
In November 2007, the Public Health Agency of Canada announced that effective March 31, 2008, the Canadian Health Network will lose its funding.
Anti-abortion advocates frequently targeted the CHN with angry mail; the CHN, through its affiliates, contained health information that covered all topics in a politically neutral fashion meaning that information on abortion but also information on adoption and maternal health information was equally available (online information did not counsel readers to pursue options, only descriptive and scientific information was provided). For this reason, it has been widely suspected that the Conservative government cancelled the program to appeal to its Christian-populist voter base.
Public Health Agency of Canada
The Public Health Agency of Canada is an agency of the Government of Canada that is responsible for public health, emergency preparedness, and response and infectious and chronic disease control and prevention...
and major health organizations across Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It was an on-line collaborative
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
service and includes health information providers such as national and provincial/territorial non-profit organizations, as well as universities, hospitals, libraries and community organizations. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety is a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Canada.CCOHS functions as the primary national agency in Canada for the advancement of safe and healthy workplaces and preventing work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths...
(CCOHS) is the workplace health affiliate.
CHN offered dependable, up-to-date information on health promotion
Health promotion
Health promotion has been defined by the World Health Organization's 2005 Bangkok Charter for Health Promotion in a Globalized World as "the process of enabling people to increase control over their health and its determinants, and thereby improve their health"...
and disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
and injury prevention, to help individuals and communities make healthy choices that improve the quality of their life. It was known to be of the most comprehensive networks of its kind in the world. It was a called a 'network' since the information was amalgated from a variety of Canadian health organizations.
In November 2007, the Public Health Agency of Canada announced that effective March 31, 2008, the Canadian Health Network will lose its funding.
Anti-abortion advocates frequently targeted the CHN with angry mail; the CHN, through its affiliates, contained health information that covered all topics in a politically neutral fashion meaning that information on abortion but also information on adoption and maternal health information was equally available (online information did not counsel readers to pursue options, only descriptive and scientific information was provided). For this reason, it has been widely suspected that the Conservative government cancelled the program to appeal to its Christian-populist voter base.