How do you drive equity into mental health? And mental health into equity? What tools can you use to make the process more comprehensible and user-friendly to overburdened policy-makers and practitioners? Bob Gardner and I facilitated a workshop with the Canadian Mental Health Association (Ontario) today to discuss “wicked” policy challenges in this area. The key messages? There are no magic bullets, but practical tools, such as the Health Equity Impact Assessment and Mental Well-Being Impact Assessment are good starting points in helping translate policy-talk into concrete action. Read the rest of this entry »
By: admin
On: Jan. 24, 2011
Mental Well-Being and Equity – Moving Policy into Action
By: admin
On: Dec. 15, 2010
A Healthier Canada comes from more than just healthcare
A new report released today by The Health Council of Canada calls on Canadian governments to broaden their approach to health beyond a single ministry, and instead work with all government departments to reduce health inequity. The report, entitled Stepping It Up: Moving the Focus from Health Care in Canada to a Healthier Canada, notes that things like income, employment, and social relationships have a far stronger effect on health than diet and exercise. Read the rest of this entry »
By: admin
On: Dec. 8, 2010
More resources on HEIA and HIA
Here are a few places providing more information about and examples of equity-focused health impact assessment: Read the rest of this entry »
By: admin
On: Dec. 1, 2010
Gender inequity is at the heart of the HIV/AIDS crisis
Last week, I attended a talk by the always-wonderful Stephen Lewis on the Give a Day initiative, a grassroots response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Give A Day challenges each Canadian to recognize World AIDS Day – today – by giving one day’s pay to the Stephen Lewis Foundation in their fight against what Lewis describes as the “worse pandemic ever in the world”. At a packed and riveted audience at Mount Sinai Hospital, Lewis told the audience what had motivated him to devote his career to this cause. It was, he said, the experience of witnessing one woman after another shrieking in anguish as their babies died through viral transmission. Lewis spoke about how gender inequality lies at the heart of the HIV/AIDS crisis, with as many as 75% of infections borne by girls and women, particularly those aged 15-24.
At the Wellesley Institute our work is focused on advancing population health, with a particular view to reducing health inequities (unfair and unjust differences between the health of different sub-populations). We have commissioned several research pieces on HIV/AIDS for different populations – immigrants and refugees, African communities, LGBT and two-spirited youth, and service providers. We were also the founding supporter in the Positive Spaces, Positive Places initiative (which made the link between good housing and good health) and played a key role in the formation of Tony Di Pede Affordable Housing Complex.
By: admin
On: Nov. 30, 2010
CHC’s provide innovative programs to drive health equity
Last night, a couple of us from Wellesley went to a celebration of Ontario’s Community Health Centres (CHCs). The event featured displays from some of the 73 CHCs across Ontario and a video that highlighted the CHCs’ innovative practices and work to reach diverse populations in Ontario. Some of these practices include mobile units that travel to remote communities in northwestern Ontario, linguistic and culturally appropriate services for Aboriginal and Francophone communities, and social enterprises like a community laundry co-op. Read the rest of this entry »
By: admin
On: Nov. 12, 2010
E-health’s potential for health promotion and equity
Today’s article in the Globe and Mail’s series on healthcare rightly stressed the crucial importance of electronic health strategies to progressive health reform. Unfortunately, this issue has been tainted by scandals around consultants and inefficient spending. But we shouldn’t let that distract us from e-health’s importance; a Wellesley policy briefing sets out the potential of e health within a comprehensive equity strategy. Read the rest of this entry »
By: admin
On: Nov. 11, 2010
Gaps in provincial healthcare: not just a matter of fees but a matter of coverage
Today’s article in the Globe and Mail series on Canadian healthcare highlights how a gap in fees among provinces has lead to reduced access to care for Quebec patients in other provinces. While certainly this speaks to a lack of portability of Medicare, a perhaps greater concern is the population in Canada of individuals with no medical insurance at all. In Ontario and two other provinces, permanent, landed immigrants must wait three months before becoming eligible for provincial health insurance plans, and often wait far longer to actually receive health cards. Read the rest of this entry »
By: admin
On: Nov. 8, 2010
UK group takes government to court over gender-biased budget
Wellesley does a great deal of work on building equity into policy and program development. One way to do this is through equity focused planning tools such as Health Equity Impact Assessment and gender-based analysis. In a recent example from the UK, a gender-based analysis of the coalition government’s emergency budget revealed that nearly three-quarters of the burden of budget cuts fall on women, while only a quarter affect men. Read the rest of this entry »
By: admin
On: Nov. 1, 2010
Wellesley Institute and UforChange give an emotional performance at Migration and the City conference
There was colour, music and tears at the joint presentation of UforChange, a youth arts project for immigrant and newcomer youth, which shared preliminary findings at the Migration and the Global City conference yesterday at Ryerson University. A graduate youth from East Africa spoke about how the project had changed her life, exposing her to the world of fashion and giving her enough confidence to speak in front of a conference audience. The presentation highlighted the project activities, including a dynamic video of the project’s showcase, and the evaluation findings to date. Several audience members hovered around afterwards to discuss the project in more detail and to find out how they could get involved.
By: admin
On: Sep. 16, 2010
More Than 50% of Canadians Living Precariously
A recent survey by the Canadian Payroll Association shows that 6 out of every 10 Canadians would struggle if they missed just one paycheque, with younger people (aged 18-34) and single parents being most vulnerable to hardship. We have also documented the precarious financial situation of specific populations (e.g., those who are on a low-income who often struggle with chronic debt and paying for basic needs), Read the rest of this entry »