Multilevel approach to managing a specific population or chronic disease requires a systematic collaboration on various levels. Social Ecological model is one way to look at the factors to consider when looking at managing a specific population or chronic disease. The following to resources provide context on this model and then we will look at understanding management of seasonal influenza within Canada.
Seasonal influenza is known to spread easily and transmit rapidly in crowded areas. What is most concerning is that influenza can cause severe illness or death especially in people at high risk. According to Government of Canada (2021a), “influenza is among the 10 leading causes of death in Canada. Each year in Canada, influenza causes an estimated 12,200 hospital stays and 3,500 deaths in high risk patients”. Therefore, it is important for health authorities to reinitiate prevention and control actions in the event of a pandemic to protect the public and especially those who are high risk (Garcia & Ramos, 2006). In a qualitative study completed by Faherty, L., Schwartz, H., Ahmed, F., Zheteyeva, Y., Uzicanin, Z., and Uscher-Pines, L. (2019), they found that transparent and clear communication was key to creating stakeholder buy in for isolation practices. These findings could help inform future solutions on creating increased awareness for the high risk patients.
Each year, there is a national surveillance to monitor the spread of influenza across Canada. This allows the Minister of Health and the Public Health Agency to put in place strategies to prevent further spread within communities. This Canadian surveillance system is called Flu Watch which “monitors the spread of influenza and influenza-like illnesses on an ongoing basis and collects data from a network of labs, hospitals, doctor's offices and provincial and territorial ministries of health” (Government of Canada, 2021a).
The National Advisory Committee for Immunization (NACI) is group of stakeholders who review current trends and provide recommendations to guide the management of reducing the spread of influenza. According to the Government of Canada (2021b):
“This committee reports to Vice-President of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, and works with staff of the Centre for Immunization and Respiratory Infectious Diseases of the Public Health Agency of Canada to provide ongoing and timely medical, scientific and public health advice”.
Of importance is to note this committees recommends that influenza vaccine should be offered as a priority to high risk groups for whom influenza vaccination is particularly recommended. Here is a detailed list they shared as to whom they have identified as high risk
The key to reducing the spread of seasonal influenza is to create Provincial Influenza Programs which target on education, promotion and accessibility to influenza vaccinations, personal protective measures and antiviral treatment. (Alberta Health, 2021). There needs to be an emphasis placed on ongoing education to patients and health care workers who are considered high risk. This education needs to be clear, transparent and the information needs to be up-to-date and easily accessible. The ongoing surveillance and implementation of influenza programs within health authorities will show us a gauge of how successful the education is at targeting high-risk patient.
References
Alberta Health. (2021). Influenza – the Flu. https://www.alberta.ca/influenza-t
he-flu.aspx
Faherty, L., Schwartz, H., Ahmed, F., Zheteyeva, Y., Uzicanin, Z., & Uscher-Pines, L. (2019).
School and preparedness officials' perspectives on social distancing practices to reduce
influenza transmission during a pandemic: Considerations to guide future work.
Preventative Medicine Reports, 14, 1-6. doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2019.100871.
Garcia, J., & Ramos, C. (2006). Influenza, an existing public health problem. Salud Publica
Mex, 48, 3, 244-267. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16813133.
Government of Canada. (2021a). Flu Watch report.
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/flu-influenza/influenza- surveillance/about-fluwatch.html
Government of Canada. (2021b). National Advisory Committee on Immunization. Retrieved
Infection Prevention and Control Canada (IPAC). (2021). Seasonal Influenza, Avian Influenza
and Pandemic Influenza. https://ipac-canada.org/influenza-qresources.php
WHO. (2021). Influenza Seasonal.
influenza-viruses
Comments