AHS health topic specialists work provincially and locally to improve health across the lifespan. Explore this page to learn more about the information and resources we offer.
Talk to your local health promotion facilitator if you'd like to learn more about a specific health topic, or to connect with a health topic specialist in your area.
Addiction prevention and mental health promotion
Our provincial teams recognize that teachers and school staff are uniquely positioned to influence, mentor, and support students. We work to make conversations about substance use, preventing substance-related harms, and mental health promotion a routine part of life at school.
Our lesson plans and instructional tools are aligned with the Alberta Program of Studies. They help young people build knowledge, skills, and confidence to make healthy choices about substance use and gambling, and to reduce harms. We also provide trusted information about alcohol, cannabis, and opioids on our website, DrugSafe.ca.
We encourage and support positive mental health, and aim to bolster resilience in the face of life’s ups and downs. Many of our print resources, like posters, magnets, and booklets, are free and can be ordered online.
Key links - Addiction and substance use:
Key links - Mental health
Injury and suicide prevention
Our goal is to reduce the number and seriousness of injuries in Alberta. Injuries can be intentional, like those caused from abuse or suicide, or they can be unintentional, like those caused by falling or motor vehicle crashes. Either way, most injuries are predictable and preventable.
We offer interactive programs to get students thinking about how they can reduce the risk of injury for themselves and others they care about. We also develop tools for teachers on key topics, like suicide prevention, safe active school travel, sport injury prevention, playground safety, concussion, and school bus safety.
Programs:
Key links:
Nutrition
Our Registered Dietitians provide nutrition expertise across the lifespan to help all people in Alberta enjoy good health and prevent chronic disease. Our website, HealthyEatingStartsHere.ca, is a hub for nutrition information and resources across a variety of settings, including schools.
We develop quality instructional tools and resources for teachers and school staff, aligned with the Alberta Program of Studies. Our materials are designed to help students build food literacy skills, develop a healthy relationship with food, and appreciate and enjoy nutritious food and drink.
Our team also offers professional learning sessions for teachers and other school staff. Our goal is to help educators improve their school food environments through formal policies and less formal actions. A healthy food environment—making the healthy choice the easy choice—is critical for students and staff to achieve good health. We offer expert advice and guidance to school communities interested in developing or revising school nutrition policies, implementing them, and evaluating their effectiveness.
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Sexual health
Our clinical teams provide sexual and reproductive health services in communities across Alberta, and offer quality information on sexual health topics like birth control, consent, pregnancy, relationships, sexual and gender diversity, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Our health promotion team offers tools for educators through our teacher portal on TeachingSexualHealth.ca, an Alberta Education authorized resource. Our lesson plans and instructional tools are aligned with the Alberta Program of Studies and are available in both English and French for grade 4 - CALM. We also facilitate professional learning for teachers and school staff, and provide resources for parents and families. Our goal is to help all adults teach and talk confidently about sexual health.
Key links:
Sun safety
We help people in Alberta take action to prevent long-term effects of UV exposure, such as skin cancer, as well as short-term effects, like sunburn. We offer guidance about safe ways to enjoy the outdoors, with tips on shade, eye protection, sunscreen, clothing, and more. Many of our strategies can be applied in school settings.
Key links:
Tobacco and vaping
Our team offers innovative, evidence-based information and resources on smoking, vaping, and tobacco-related topics. Our materials support best practices in tobacco prevention.
We offer activities for younger students and digital resources aligned with Alberta curricula, including:
- The Academy for Tobacco Prevention (grades 4-6): Instructional resources about the harms of tobacco use and the benefits of never using tobacco.
- GeminAI Rising (grades 7-9): Virtual learning resources that build students’ skills to delay or avoid using vaping products, nicotine and like substances.
We may be available to provide professional learning for teachers and school staff. Our goal is to help all adults talk with youth about smoking and vaping in informed, supportive, and non-judgmental ways.
Key links:
- Tobacco and vaping resources for teachers
- Order free print resources (sign in with username tobaccopublic and password dwcal2012)
