PREPARED BY: Planning and Strategic Initiatives
DATE: 2025-05-15
SUBJECT: Q1 Board of Health Effectiveness Survey Summary
BACKGROUND/PURPOSE
The Ontario Public Health Standards (2021), under the Good Governance and Management Practices Domain, states: “the board of health shall have a self-evaluation process of its governance practices…”.
In addition to a yearly self-evaluation process, the WECHU has developed a quarterly self-assessment survey for Board of Health (BoH) members. The survey provides an opportunity for feedback on BoH operations and is used to inform quality improvement efforts.
DISCUSSION
There were 11 completed surveys received from BoH members related to Q1 effectiveness.
Responses related to BoH operations continue to be positive overall. Most responses were ‘Agree’ or ‘Strongly Agree’. There were 3 instances where ‘Neither agree or disagree’ was selected and 9 instances of ‘Don’t Know/Unsure’. In terms of overall perceived BoH effectiveness, responses are slightly lower from the previous survey and ranged from scores of 7 to 10 (compared to 8 to 10 in the previous survey) with an average score of 8.7 (previous survey average score was 9.2).
Suggestions for improvement included:
- Improve the marketing of WECHU services that are being provided.
- Increase our presence in the public domain.
- Increase the emphasis of neutralizing misinformation and disinformation.
- Suggestion to review what goes to consent agenda vs. regular agenda and provide sufficient time for questions.
- Stay focused on public health policy and not on social policy. Engaging in the political realm increases our vulnerability to misinformation and attack, e.g. anti-vaccine movement.
Additional comment:
- Overall impression that the board is functioning well.