UBC health economist Bob Evans famously called arguments that Medicare is unsustainable or that we therefore need privatization zombies: meaning that these ideas are constantly refuted by all the evidence, yet they keep being raised again and again. Of course, that is because there are powerful interests driving these ideas. Economist Hugh Mackenzie and health […]
Driving Health Equity Into Action
I spoke at the Changing Face of Ontario conference organized by Across Boundaries, the Canadian Mental Health Association and other mental health organizations and networks. My workshop focused on developing comprehensive health equity strategies and priorities, putting them into practice through good planning and resource allocation, and building equity into ongoing service delivery and performance management. […]
Why Hospitals Need to Build Health Equity In
I was speaking to a hospital board member about the challenges of hospitals building health equity into their planning and service delivery. Some hospitals have shown significant leadership in prioritizing health equity and identifying ways their services can address health disparities and access barriers; others less so. I think there are five key arguments to […]
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Thinking/Designing Urban Spaces for Population Health
An interesting recent report from New Zealand highlights the importance of urban environments for population health. Healthy Places, Healthy Lives examines research evidence and sets out a number of case studies that illustrate ways to design cities, towns, neighbourhoods and streets to promote health.
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Measuring Social Well-Being Not Just GDP
A recent post from the European Public Health Alliance on Measuring Progress in a Changing Europe argues for moving well beyond GDP as the dominant measure of social progress. There is growing international recognition of the links between material and overall social well-being and that the equitable distribution of wealth and resources as well as […]
Driving Health Equity for Kids: From the Earliest Years to Transforming the System
Health inequalities faced by children are storing up a lifetime of problems. I recently spoke at a conference on Achieving Health Equity For Kids: Whatever It Takes organized by the Hospital for Sick Children. I set out a roadmap to drive the fundamental changes needed to reduce the health disparities kids face across the province […]
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Don’t Forget Equity in Health Funding Reform
We need to ensure that equity is built into the provincial government’s plans to restructure the way funding is allocated to hospitals (see Ontario proposes radical overhaul of hospital funding by Karen Howlett in March 7 Globe and Mail). Adjusting to reflect population health needs is a significant advance over simply adjusting historical budgets or allocating […]
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Letter to the Globe and Mail: What needs to be done about health-care costs
Tom Kent (Cure it, or lose it, bit by bit, March 1) has ½ of an excellent prescription for health reform. He rightly emphasizes the need for national coordinated leadership and for up-stream investment in health promotion and addressing the poverty, exclusion and other social factors that underlie health inequalities. He alludes to Tommy Douglas’ […]
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A Snapshot of LHIN Equity Priorities and Initiatives
Local Health Integration Networks are crucial mechanisms for building equity into planning and service delivery. In late 2009, as the LHINs were releasing their Integrated Health Service Plans, websites were reviewed to identify strategies, priorities, vision or mission statements that reference equity, and programs designed to address barriers or enhance health equity. This should be seen […]
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Early Child Development Knowledge Network
About the Network Web Site: Early Child Development Knowledge Network Organizational Hub: Human Early Learning Partnership, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Reports Early Child Development: A Powerful Equalizer Author(s): Lori G. Irwin, Arjumand Siddiqi and Clyde Hertzman Published: June 2007 Summary: This report synthesizes information on the importance of early child development […]