Addressing systemic barriers in access to care is one of the crucial challenges facing the Ontario health system. One such area is inequitable access to screening and preventative care, inequities that can have devastating outcomes. Some very promising collaborations are underway in Peel Region to improve access to cancer screening for South Asian populations. I […]
Advancing Health Equity In Tough Times
There is a serious chill within governments at all levels as the economy has declined and public finances have become constrained. This policy briefing sets out how to keep equity high on the agenda in the current fiscal climate.
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An Equity Toolkit for Public Health
There are some tremendous innovations underway across the public health field on addressing social determinants and health inequities in their communities. I believe public health is one of the most important mechanisms to drive health equity into action across the province and country. I had the pleasure of doing two half-day workshops with Windsor-Essex County […]
Basic advice when describing the Second Stage of Medicare
Talk like a movement Communicate excitement that organizations across Canada are rallying behind the Second Stage of Medicare as way to improve Canadians health and the health care system Be positive: communicate the Second Stage of Medicare is achievable Communicate the Second Stage of Medicare is already happening and point to examples from your own […]
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Beyond Health Care Reform: Tackling The Social Determinants Of Health Policy
What might be productive directions to incorporate social determinants of health into provincial policy and strategy? This paper outlines four preliminary possibilities.
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Beyond Health Care Reform: Tackling The Social Determinants Of Health Policy
This short paper by Bob Gardner (2006) proposes four directions for provincial government policy that would begin to address health inequities and the broad social determinants of health.
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Blueprint for Action on the Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity
I recently presented to a Portuguese-Canadian National Congress action meeting on health. They were discussing the Viva! Health Project, really interesting research on the health situation and challenges of the Portuguese communities. My role was to set the context for this discussion by outlining the social determinants of health that underlie health disparities. But I […]
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Blueprint for Health Equity
I am making a speech on a Blueprint for Health Equity at the Canadian Federation of Nurses Union conference in Moncton in August. I will highlight pervasive health disparities, detail key components of an integrated and comprehensive policy framework to enhance health equity, and set out some ideas on how to mobilize to win the […]
Breaking down the barriers to employment
This morning’s Toronto Star includes a front page story about how Ontario’s employment training programs shut out half of the province’s unemployed. The problem is that strict eligibility criteria mean that Employment Ontario’s job training supports are only available to people who are receiving employment insurance benefits, and this excludes a large number of unemployed […]
Broader Engagement in Local Planning Processes
Wellesley and many other community groups have been emphasizing that effective and meaningful community participation will be crucial to the success of the new LHINs and to the development of an innovative new provincial health strategy. One of the critical challenges will be ensuring that the full range of community voices and interests can be […]
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