HEALTH POLICY 3400 MIDTERM EXAM
2025/2026 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
100% PASS
Policy: - ANS A broad statement of goals and objectives and means that create the means for
activity: explicit or implicit. (written vs not)
"...decisions taken by those with responsibility
for a given policy area."
also think of them as decisions - gov decides to pass a law (that decision reflects the policy)
o statements count, and actual decisions count as policy
o gov choosing not to respond to an issue could be their policy
mandate - ANS Mandate letter - what they want you to do in their term of office
That reflects the mandate of what issues are important to the gov
o Reflected in the policy
o Publicly available
o Tracker - track policies to see what ones are completed, modified or not being pursued
o See similar levels provincially
o Currently mandate letters are not available - Doug ford gov
Can't track accountability
1 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
,Public policy: - ANS Policy that has been made by the state of the government.
"...a course of action or inaction chosen by public authorities to address a given problem..."
"...anything a government chooses to do or not to do."
Can be both public and private (public like the gov, private like Microsoft)
Health Policy: - ANS "...courses of action (and inaction) that affect the set of institutions,
organizations, services and funding arrangements of the health and health care system."
• Policies that have to do with health
• Policies created by health agencies/organizations
• Can be both public and private (public like the gov, private like apple workers health benefits)
NOTE: policy - ANS Policy is big picture
Subset is public policy
Subset is health policy but other bit of it can be private
HP example: Who can give blood - HIV AIDS RISK - ANS • 1997 - can't give blood if you ever
had sex with a man
• 2013 - last 5 years
• 2016 - past year
• 2019 - 3 month encounter
• Mandate to address blood giving discrimination currently showing within the trend that it is
being addressed
• Good example of a health policy made by a public authority
Healthy public policy - ANS Public policies outside of the health sector
"characterized by an explicit concern for
2 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
,health and equity in all areas of policy and by
an accountability for health impact."
• Healthy public policy can be in transportation (align policy with health objectives)
o Doesn't seem like health policy that's why it is called healthy public policy
o Bc so many social factors surround health and overlap - can address within other policy
o Other sectors that relate to health but originate in other fields are called Healthy public policy
(vs health policy)
• ex. Sale of alcohol at festival
o How to do that in a way that's health related
o Is it thinking about health and its impacts or not
Want it to be convenient vs is the accessibility bad for health
Public policy vs healthy public policy
Policy vs. Program - ANS Policy: Broad statement of goals, objectives
and means that create the framework for
activity.
Program: Activity that organizes or delivers
a service or goods to achieve a policy's
objectives.
• Program is the activity
• Policy doesn't do anything directly just sets the agenda
• Program or multiple of them to achieve aims of broader policy
Policy: To reduce # of overdoses and
deaths caused by opioids (e.g., fentanyl)
3 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
, Program: Ontario Naloxone Program for
Pharmacies (free Naloxone kits)
Politics - ANS Politics: "the art or science concerned with
guiding or influencing governmental policy"
• Politics - how do I get in power to influence what we do
o Art and science of getting to setting agenda
• ex. Doug Ford: Cutting public health programs
o Politicians changing policy
• ex. Harper gov muzzling scientists - idea that there was a communications policy
o How federally funded scientists can talk to media?
Details have to be vetted
What you can say as a scientist in Canada
o Evidence doesn't say anything as politics shapes it
Policy vs. Politics - ANS "...understanding the politics of the policy
process is arguably as important as
understanding how medicine improves
health."
Policy vs. Law - ANS Policy vs Law
• Law can enact policy
• JT campaigned on idea of legalizing weed
• Policy of objective was legalization
• Only way to do it is to make law that legalizes is
• Muddies us when the policy is trying to be changed but not reflected in the law
4 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
2025/2026 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
100% PASS
Policy: - ANS A broad statement of goals and objectives and means that create the means for
activity: explicit or implicit. (written vs not)
"...decisions taken by those with responsibility
for a given policy area."
also think of them as decisions - gov decides to pass a law (that decision reflects the policy)
o statements count, and actual decisions count as policy
o gov choosing not to respond to an issue could be their policy
mandate - ANS Mandate letter - what they want you to do in their term of office
That reflects the mandate of what issues are important to the gov
o Reflected in the policy
o Publicly available
o Tracker - track policies to see what ones are completed, modified or not being pursued
o See similar levels provincially
o Currently mandate letters are not available - Doug ford gov
Can't track accountability
1 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
,Public policy: - ANS Policy that has been made by the state of the government.
"...a course of action or inaction chosen by public authorities to address a given problem..."
"...anything a government chooses to do or not to do."
Can be both public and private (public like the gov, private like Microsoft)
Health Policy: - ANS "...courses of action (and inaction) that affect the set of institutions,
organizations, services and funding arrangements of the health and health care system."
• Policies that have to do with health
• Policies created by health agencies/organizations
• Can be both public and private (public like the gov, private like apple workers health benefits)
NOTE: policy - ANS Policy is big picture
Subset is public policy
Subset is health policy but other bit of it can be private
HP example: Who can give blood - HIV AIDS RISK - ANS • 1997 - can't give blood if you ever
had sex with a man
• 2013 - last 5 years
• 2016 - past year
• 2019 - 3 month encounter
• Mandate to address blood giving discrimination currently showing within the trend that it is
being addressed
• Good example of a health policy made by a public authority
Healthy public policy - ANS Public policies outside of the health sector
"characterized by an explicit concern for
2 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
,health and equity in all areas of policy and by
an accountability for health impact."
• Healthy public policy can be in transportation (align policy with health objectives)
o Doesn't seem like health policy that's why it is called healthy public policy
o Bc so many social factors surround health and overlap - can address within other policy
o Other sectors that relate to health but originate in other fields are called Healthy public policy
(vs health policy)
• ex. Sale of alcohol at festival
o How to do that in a way that's health related
o Is it thinking about health and its impacts or not
Want it to be convenient vs is the accessibility bad for health
Public policy vs healthy public policy
Policy vs. Program - ANS Policy: Broad statement of goals, objectives
and means that create the framework for
activity.
Program: Activity that organizes or delivers
a service or goods to achieve a policy's
objectives.
• Program is the activity
• Policy doesn't do anything directly just sets the agenda
• Program or multiple of them to achieve aims of broader policy
Policy: To reduce # of overdoses and
deaths caused by opioids (e.g., fentanyl)
3 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
, Program: Ontario Naloxone Program for
Pharmacies (free Naloxone kits)
Politics - ANS Politics: "the art or science concerned with
guiding or influencing governmental policy"
• Politics - how do I get in power to influence what we do
o Art and science of getting to setting agenda
• ex. Doug Ford: Cutting public health programs
o Politicians changing policy
• ex. Harper gov muzzling scientists - idea that there was a communications policy
o How federally funded scientists can talk to media?
Details have to be vetted
What you can say as a scientist in Canada
o Evidence doesn't say anything as politics shapes it
Policy vs. Politics - ANS "...understanding the politics of the policy
process is arguably as important as
understanding how medicine improves
health."
Policy vs. Law - ANS Policy vs Law
• Law can enact policy
• JT campaigned on idea of legalizing weed
• Policy of objective was legalization
• Only way to do it is to make law that legalizes is
• Muddies us when the policy is trying to be changed but not reflected in the law
4 @COPYRIGHT 2025/2026 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
