Planning French-language health services: a case illustration of Niagara region.

Niagara's health plan for the '90s includes a French-language service component and is a joint effort of the Niagara District Health Council (NDHC) and l'association canadienne française de l'Ontario (ACFO), whose mandate includes the promotion of francophone objectives and perspectives in Ontario. The planning process undertaken contains traditional "hard" elements of planning such as the collection of data, data analysis and recommendations. It also contains the "soft" elements, which are discussed by a review of the major tasks: designing the project structure; designing the research method; formulating a network of health and related social services; and building consensus toward the final plan of action.

Setting community health goals: one District Health Councils experience.

The Niagara District Health Council has embarked on a strategic planning exercise to develop health goals, objectives and preliminary targets for action. This process was approached in three phases: establishment of a Health Goals Task Force and adoption of the five goals developed by the Premier's Council on Health Strategy; planning and implementation of a Health Goals Consultation Day to involve community members in the identification and priority ranking of objectives; and development of measurable and realistic preliminary targets through consultations with expert groups and individuals. This process is a practical planning tool applicable across sectors and communities.

Planning a regional palliative care services network.

Table 1 summarizes the role of task force members and staff for each of the main tasks of the process of planning. The number of meetings required for each stage of the process is estimated in the last column. Planning for a regional palliative care services network is a process involving "hard" and "soft" elements.