Ecosystem approaches to health teaching resources

The CoPEH-Canada has generated a series of teaching and training resources over more than a decade. These resources began with the production of CoPEH-Canada Teaching Manual (2012) which was dedicated to Bruce Hunter. Our training resources have expanded to include a range of resources including: Modules (in pdf and online format), videos, Webalogue recordings, and other resources.

We will continue update these resources as new materials become available.

Modules: Background and Orientation 

Modules have been developed as stand-alone documents that provide a package of information about how to design and conduct a training activity on a particular topic or theme. Most modules include an overall description, purpose, specific learning activities and resources, and could be used as part of a longer training session, a pre-conference workshop or integrated into an upper level undergraduate or graduate course, such as the yearly intensive course that we offer. Some modules can be usefully viewed together as a package linked to other modules, and these modules are framed by overall introductory material, such as:

  • The original 2012 Teaching Manual(1, 2), which includes six modules (Health, Principles and Histories, Complexity, Social Networks, Gender and Sex, Participation and Research), and two overall teaching tools (Case Studies and Transversal Activities).

  • The full Teaching manual can be downloaded here

  • A second series of modules (Modules 7-11) were produced in the context of a larger project(3), exploring the interface of ecohealth and public health and are introduced by a Preface.

Content areas

Modules have been developed in a range of contexts, and are presented here in alphabetical order. 

  • Complexity (Module 3 in 2012 Teaching Manual: links to pdf, online, and Video capsule)

  • Ecosystem Approaches to Health – Principles and Histories (Module 2, in 2012 Teaching Manual: links to pdf, online, and Video capsule)

  • Gender and Sex (Module 5 in 2012 Teaching Manual: links to pdf, online, and video capsule)

  • Health – From Multiple Perspectives to an Ecosystem Approach (Module 1, in 2012 Teaching Manual: links to pdf, online, and video capsule)

  • ‘Upstream is a place’: A guide for a one-day, experiential, workshop exploring social and ecological contexts for health, with walking tours: links to pdf).

  • Participation and Research (Module 6 in 2012 Teaching Manual: links to pdf, online, and Video capsule)

  • Social Networks introduction (Module 4 in in 2012 Teaching Manual: links to pdf, online, and VIDEO capsule)

  • Social Networks 2: Working with partners for a healthy environment

  • Introduction to Watersheds and Ecohealth Training Module (developed by NESH) (1-4) 

Cross-cutting Teaching Tools

Cross-cutting teaching tools are relevant to using modules and specific content areas

  • Using and Developing an Ecosystem Approaches to Health Case Study in your Teaching Case studies (Module 7 from 2012 Teaching Manual: pdf)

  • Examples

  • Transversal Activities (Module 8 from 2012 Teaching Manual: pdf)

Webalogue series

The CoPEH-Canada Webalogue series offers a range of resources suitable to supporting teaching and training initiatives, and can be found at https://ecohealthkta.net/webalogues/. Examples of topics include:

  • Emerging and established approaches to environmental public health (May 15, 2018)

  • Successes and Challenges of EkoSanté: an intergenerational and international conversation (April 18, 2018)

  • Global in more ways than one: Climate Change and Health Professional Education (March 21, 2018)

Resources and Publications

McCullagh S, Hunter B, Houle K, Massey C, Waltner-Toews D, Lemire M, Saint- Charles J, Surette C, Webb J, Beck L, Parkes MW, Woollard R, Berbés-Blázquez M, Feagan, Halpenny C, Harper S, Oestreicher S, Morrison, K (Eds.) (2012). Ecosystem Approaches to Health Teaching Manual. Canadian Community of Practice in Ecosystem Approaches to Health. 

  • The entire CoPEH-Canada Ecosystem Approaches to Health Teaching Manual is available as a PDF in English, French and as an abridged version in Spanish. 

Parkes MW, Saint-Charles J, Cole DC, Gislason M, Hicks E, Le Bourdais C, et al. (2016) Strengthening collaborative capacity: experiences from a short, intensive field course on ecosystems, health and society. Higher Education Research & Development:1-16.

  • This quote-rich research article analyses three years (2008-2010) of student feedback on the CoPEH-Canada course. Findings highlight the importance of diversity (of background and language), relationships among students and the teaching team, and complexity in the teaching methods (reflecting the complexity of reality).

Cole, D. C., M. W. Parkes, J. Saint-Charles, M. Gislason, K. McKellar and J. Webb (2018). Evolution of Capacity Strengthening: insights from the Canadian Community of Practice in Ecosystem Approaches to Health. Transformative Dialogues: Teaching & Learning Journal 11(2). pdf

Funding and collaborative support

CoPEH-Canada received funding and collaborative support from the following groups to develop Training Resources

(1) International Development Research Centre (2008-2013) CoPEH-Canada

(2) Canadian Institutes for Health Research (2011-2012) Ecosystem Approaches to Health Pilot Manual

(3) Public Health Agency of Canada (2013-2015) Linking public health, ecosystems and equity through ecohealth training and capacity building.

(4) Network for Ecosystem Sustainability & Health

 

dedication

BRUCE HUNTER, AUGUST 3, 1950 – OCTOBER 19, 2011

For more than two decades Bruce Hunter championed a vision of the world that brought together the health of wildlife, farm animals, people, and the ecosystems on which we depend. It was not surprising, then, that Bruce was one of the pivotal founders of the Community of Practice for Ecosystem Approaches to Health in Canada (www.Copeh-Canada.org). While involved in all aspects of the community, his great passion was teaching. Without Bruce’s humane, intelligent, easy-going, practical, humorous, visionary, stubborn, dogged badgering, this training manual would not have come into being. We are all grateful, and miss him dearly.

Video Capsule

For a short introduction to Ecohealth you can have participants watch David Waltner-Toews' interview conducted at the EcoHealth 2014 conference. 

Video

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The development of this work was funded by the International Development Research Centre of Canada (IDRC), and the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR). We extend a special thanks to Andrés Sanchez, Senior Program Specialist, Ecosystems and Human Health (Ecohealth), IDRC and Dominique Charron, Program Leader, Ecohealth, IDRC for their support and enthusiasm throughout the project. 

The development of the teaching manual was a collaborative effort amongst several members of CoPEH‐Canada in conversation with individuals from other CoPEHs and knowledge networks. The overall design of the manual was significantly influenced by a series of workshops held between January 2011 and November 2012. During these workshops participants generated ideas, troubleshot approaches, provided feedback on the general aims and goals of the teaching manual, as well as worked together to contribute to the development of content for specific modules, and/or provide feedback on existing content. Since so many people have contributed to the development of this work in many different kinds of ways, below we describe some of the roles. 

Editors – The manual editors are those people who directly influenced decision‐making about the structure and content of modules, as well as content inclusion and exclusion by participating in teaching manual workshops, conference calls, and providing feedback and advice to the project facilitator.

Lead Author – This is the first name listed at the beginning of each module. The lead author is the person who coordinated the development of the module, wrote most of the draft, made decisions about key sections and components, and incorporated feedback and suggestions. 

Authors – These are listed at the beginning of each module, following the lead author. Authors worked as part of the module working group, wrote sections, developed activities and provided substantial contributions to the development of the draft.

Reviewers – These are listed at the beginning of each module, and are people who provided detailed feedback to the module leads on how to improve the module.

Contributors – These are listed below and are people who were part of conversations surrounding the teaching manual during some stage of its development. They reviewed modules and/or were part of a working group during one of the workshops to develop content and/or provide feedback and suggestions on the development of the module.

  • Silvia Alonso (CoPEH‐Canda Alumni 2010), Complexity Module Review
  • Martin Bunch (CoPEH‐Canada, NESH), June 2011 Workshop, Contributor to the Complexity Module
  • Ben Brisbois (CoPEH‐Canada Alumni 2008), June 2011 Workshop and Contributor to the Participation and Research Module and provided feedback on the Gender Module
  • Tim Gray (CoPEH‐Canda Alumni 2010), June 2011 Workshop and Contributor to the Participation and Research Module
  • Renee Jackson (CoPEH‐Canada Alumni 2010), June 2011 Workshop
  • Donna Mergler (CoPEH‐Canada, CoPEH‐LAC), November 2011 Workshop and Contributions to the Health Module
  • Vi Nguyen (CoPEH‐Canada Alumni 2009), June 2011 Workshop, Reviewed, Using and Developing a Case Study Review
  • Carlos Passos (CoPEH‐LAC), June 2011 and November 2011 Workshop
  • Emily Root (CoPEH‐Canada Alumni 2010), June 2011 Workshop, Contributed to the Participation and Research Module
  • Evan Schneider (Ecohealth Club, University of Guelph), January 2011 Workshop
  • Maude St‐Cyr Bouchard (CoPEH‐Canada), core organizer of the November 2011 Workshop and participant in the January 2011 and May 2011 Workshops
  • Cathy Vaillancourt (CoPEH‐Canada), Contributed to the Gender Module
  • Michelle Villeneuve (CoPEH‐Canada Alumni 2009), June 2011 Workshop and Contributor to the Complexity Module

The Guelph Node of CoPEH‐Canada (Hunter, Houle, Massey, McCullagh, Morrison, and Waltner‐Toews) initially proposed the project and applied for and administered the grants that enabled the teaching manual to be developed.
The content and materials in this teaching manual grew out of four years of collaborative teaching of a graduate short course in ecosystem approaches to health by the CoPEH‐Canada team from 2008 – 2011 as part of an IDRC funded project to inaugurate the Canadian Community of Practice in Ecosystem Approaches to Health. The initial teaching development team was:

Primary Researchers:

  • Bruce Hunter
    University of Guelph, Department of Pathobiology
  • Margot Parkes
    University of British Columbia, Department of Family Practice, Faculty of Medicine, College of Health Disciplines, Center for International Health in conjunction with the Global Health Research Program
  • Johanne Saint‐Charles
    Université du Québec à Montréal, Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la biologie, la santé, la société et l’environnement (CINBIOSE), Département de communication sociale et publique
  • Robert Woollard
    University of British Columbia, Department of Family Practice

Co‐Researchers:

  • Karen Houle
    University of Guelph, Department of Philosophy
  • Marc Lucottte
    Université du Québec à Montréal, Institut des sciences de l’environnement, Département des sciences de la terre et de l’atmosphère
  • Donna Mergler
    Université du Québec à Montréal, Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la biologie, la santé, la société et l'environnement (CINBIOSE)
  • Karen Morrison
    University of Guelph, Department of Population Medicine
  • Mélanie Lemire
    Centre de Recherche du Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec (CHUQ)
  • Jerry Spiegel
    University of British Columbia, College of Health Disciplines, Center for International Health in conjunction with the Global Health Research Program, Department of Health Care and Epidemiology
  • Céline Surette
    Université de Moncton, Département de chimie et biochimie
  • David Waltner‐Toews
    University of Guelph, Department of Population Medicine/ Center for Public Health and Zoonoses
  • Annalee Yassi
    University of British Columbia, College of Health Disciplines, Center for International Health in conjunction with the Global Health Research Program, Department of Health Care and Epidemiology

 

Suggested citation:
Where possible we suggest you cite the chapter authors directly. For example, if you are citing from the Health Module:
Webb J, Surette C, Lemire M, (2012) Health – From Multiple Perspectives to an Ecosystem Approach. In: McCullagh S ed. (2012). Ecosystem Approaches to Health Teaching Manual. Canadian Community of Practice in Ecosystem
Approaches to Health. Available: www.copeh-canada.org 

Whole Book:
McCullagh S, Hunter B, Houle K, Massey C, Waltner-Toews D, Lemire M, Saint-Charles J, Surette C, Webb J, Beck L, Parkes M, Woollard R, Berbés-Blázquez M, Feagan, Halpenny C, Harper S, Oestreicher S, Morrison, K (Eds.) (2012).
Ecosystem Approaches to Health Teaching Manual. Canadian Community of Practice in Ecosystem Approaches to Health. Available: www.copeh-canada.org 

 If you have experience with theaching ecosystem approaches to health, please share your thoughts with us. 

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