Saskatoon has led the way amongst Canadian Regional Health Authorities (roughly the equivalents of Ontario LHINs) in acting against systemic and pervasive health inequities. They began from solid research on the contours of local health inequities, developed comprehensive strategies and action plans to address the roots of these inequities, and built local collaborations and effective […]
Can a basket of supports help to avoid poor health for people on social assistance?
My last blog about reforming social assistance in Ontario talked about building the vision of a health-enabling social assistance system. This was the cornerstone of our submission to the Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario, for which we partnered with health leaders in Toronto. The basic problem is that poor people in […]
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Building a Social Assistance System that Enables Good Health for All: Start from a Powerful Vision
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been blogging about the submission to the Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario that the Wellesley Institute wrote as part of a collaboration of health leaders. So far, I’ve blogged about the submission itself and about how the social assistance system causes poor health. This […]
How the Social Assistance System Causes Poor Health
Income and health are inextricably linked. It is well documented that people with low income more likely to have poor health, whether measured by self-reported health, mental health, prevalence of chronic conditions, or many other indicators. In Ontario: Over three times as many people in the lowest income group report their health to be only […]
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Reviewing Social Assistance in Ontario
In 2010, the province the established Commission for the Review of Social Assistance in Ontario, led by Commissioners Francis Lankin and Munir A. Sheikh. The Commission’s Terms of Reference are to: Establish an appropriate benefit structure that reduces barriers and supports people’s transition into, and attachment within, the labour market Place reasonable expectations on, and […]
Measuring Equity – Lessons and Tools
Last week the Wellesley Institute shared a booth at the Health Achieve conference with MAgIC (Measuring and Managing Access Gaps in Care). MAgIC is a research collaboration focused on developing ways to measure inequities in access to the health care system, with a particular focus on gender. MAgIC was developed under a grant funded by […]
Wellesley Institute Forum on Health Equity
with special guest Cory Neudorf Tackling Health Inequities: Lessons Learned from A Leading Health Region Cory Neudorf, Chief Medical Health Officer for Saskatoon Health Region, will be making a special lecture and leading a discussion on addressing health inequities at a local community level. Saskatoon has led the way in Canada in sophisticated research […]
Living In Auspicious Times: health as a human right
World Conference on Social Determinants of Health Rio de Janeiro, October 19-21, 2011 World Health Organization (WHO) Margot Lettner “We live in very auspicious times for participation. It sails the winds of history.” Among the many papers I picked up at the Rio Conference is one authored by Bernardo Kliksberg, Honorary Professor, University of Buenos […]
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A Diagnosis for Equity: A Dialogue on Mental Health, Addiction, Chronic Disease and Sexual Health in South Asian Communities
St. James Town Initiative’s Nasim Haque delivered a presentation at the conference, A Diagnosis for Equity: A Dialogue on Mental Health, Addiction, Chronic Disease and Sexual Health in South Asian Communities, organized by the Council of Agencies Servicing South Asians (CASSA). The conference was held at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health on October 24, […]
Addressing Systemic Access Barriers: the Potential of Peer Health Ambassadors and other Community-Based Innovation
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 […]