Making policy, implementing programmes: a case study of the new mandatory guidelines for public health in Ontario, Canada

This paper examines some implications of the recent introduction of new mandatory guidelines for public health in Ontario. The paper begins by outlining the nature of public health organization in the province. It then discusses the context of the change in policy at the international, national and provincial level. The paper's empirical focus is on the reaction by public health units to the information requirements in the guidelines, these being arguably basic to all other changes. A survey of public health units indicates that reaction to the requirements is mixed, with consensus on what should change becoming less apparent than at the policy-formulation stage. It is concluded that this may inhibit implementation. -Authors