Tensions and opportunities in the roles of senior public health officials in Canada: A qualitative study.

ABSTRACT: Although public health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic thrust senior public health officials into the spotlight, their day-to-day roles remain misunderstood and under-examined. In jurisdictions that follow the Westminster system of government such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, Chief Medical Officers of Health (CMOHs) are typically senior public servants who are simultaneously positioned as public health professionals with independent expertise, senior advisors to an elected government, and designated protectors of the public health interest. Using Canada's federal and provincial CMOHs as case studies of this role in Westminster governments, we analyzed in-depth key informant interview data to examine how CMOHs navigate the tensions among their duties to the governmen

SUBMITTER: Cassola A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9296232 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature