Public Consultations and Surveys

Ottawa Public Health is committed to understanding and responding to community needs.   Residents, stakeholders and partners can be involved at various levels of work including planning, design and evaluation of programs and services.  

Engagement is an important part of public health; it helps to address and define current and emerging community issues and encourages  creative solutions.  OPH is working with the City of Ottawa to create a virtual engagement community where residents can engage with OPH regarding its various programs and services. Visit engage.ottawa.ca for more information.

Previous Engagement Opportunities

OTTAWA COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN - Comprehensive Mental Health and Substance Use Strategy - Focus on Opioids

Problematic substance use, poor mental health, and mental illness affects individuals across the lifespan, their families and the whole community. Collective community action is required to promote mental health and reduce the harms of substance use.

Ottawa Public Health (OPH) had consultations undertaken with external organizations, agencies, and people with living experience and expertise to inform the development of a comprehensive mental health and substance use strategy, with a focus on opioids. The findings, based on input from over 70 stakeholders, are summarized in the Comprehensive Mental Health and Substance Use – Focus on Opioids Strategy: Findings from Consultation report.

The Ottawa Summit was hosted in February 2019 with the goal to develop and discuss new approaches to prevent problematic substance use and promote mental health in Ottawa.

A Post-Summit Summary Report (2019) and a Post-Summit Executive Summary (2019) outline the discussions and the key takeaways from the 2019 Summit. The report was used as a foundation for the development of the OCAP.

As a result of these consultations and discussion, the Ottawa Community Action Plan on Mental Health and Substance Use with Focus on Opioids has been developed in partnership with OPH, The Royal, Community Addictions Peer Support Association (CAPSA) and the Canadian Center on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA).

Ottawa Community Action Plan

Following the 2019 Summit, diverse community and national partners have continued to lead on the actions outlined in the plan. The Ottawa Community Action Plan Highlights Report (2020) outlines some of the steps that have been taken by partners between the 2019 and 2020 Summits.

To continue to move the OCAP forward, the 2020 Virtual Summit was hosted by Ottawa Public Health (OPH), Community Addictions Peer Support Association (CAPSA), The Royal, Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) and the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA). This event brought together more than 160 attendees with varying perspectives and expertise to discuss issues and ideas for further action.

The discussions and the key takeaways from the 2020 Summit are outlined in the Post-Summit Summary Report (2020) and the Post-Summit Executive Summary (2020).

Peer Parenting Support Program

Peer support can have a positive impact on parents through social connections, learning opportunities and sharing ways of coping with daily stress and challenges of parenting. That’s what Ottawa Public Health is creating a new program to help connect expecting and new parents and caregivers with those already parenting to share their experiences and know-how

If you’re a parent, a caregiver, and are expecting or even just thinking of having or adopting a child, we would like to hear from you to help plan this program.