Reflections Midway Through MHST 631

Reflecting on my journey in MHST 631 thus far, I have enjoyed learning about many aspects of the course. The history of health promotion; in particular, the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion stands out as a key area of learning for me given its contribution in guiding health promotion efforts across the globe to this day. Learning about positionality and applying these learnings through the creation of my own personality statement was very meaningful to me. It helped me to understand my social identify along with inherent personal biases that I posses. I have enjoyed learning about the health issue I am studying - deaths resulting from unregulated drug use in private residents across northern British Columbia – given its societal relevance and relation to my day-to-day work as a manager of mental health and substance use services with a local health authority. Exploring the health issue through a health promotion lens continues to be a challenge for me. In particular, applying health promotion concepts to my area of interest. I will be working to expand on my ability to apply the population health promotion model to my topic in areas such as articulating health inequities that contribute to deaths resulting from unregulated drug use occurring in private residences, establishing the link between the health inequities, and establishing the most appropriate level of action to guide my proposed intervention.