Glen Korstrom
Northern News Services

NNSL (Oct 29/99) - A tree is a good analogy on how to effectively promote change.

Or so says Rick Tremblay, the health promotion consultant at the Department of Health and Social Services.

The trunk is the theme for change, the roots are the underlying principles, the branches are the strategic directions and the leaves are the programs and activities.

"If you want to implement a health promotion strategy as it relates to tobacco for yourself, for your family or your community, the branches on the tree will help you do it," Tremblay said.

The branches he is talking about are seven strategic directions: communication, working together, training and skill development, public policy, re-orienting services, research and knowledge and community development.

"If you follow that model, you will present a comprehensive approach to the topic," said Tremblay.

Some projects involve several of the different branches.

For example, Tremblay said Sir John Franklin students were recently involved in making an anti-smoking video with a budget of $5,000.

The project not only involves the communication branch but also other branches such as working together because they worked with people at the Department of Health and Social Services and training and skill development because they were trained individually in making the video.

It was also an example of community development because it brought together and potentially strengthened the community of Sir John Franklin high school.

To explain what he means by the other branches of the tree, Tremblay said an example of the public policy branch would be for someone to go to city council and lobby for non-smoking bylaws.

The research and knowledge branch is found in surveys that the Department of Health and Social Services produces every five or six years.

The latest figures for all youth between 15 and 24 years old are from 1996.

Statistics then showed 64.3 per cent of all in this age group smoked.

That survey was carried out by the NWT bureau of statistics in conjunction with the department of Health and Social Services.

Tremblay's example of re-orienting services could be a health centre where a large room is only used after business hours for post-natal programs.

"The room could be used to host aerobics," he said.

"That would be an example of active living."