One of the major challenges of community engagement processes such as the recent consultation undertaken by the Toronto Central LHIN is ensuring that the full diversity of voices and perspectives are heard. Access Alliance, a Toronto Community Health Centre focussing on the health needs of immigrant and refugee communities, was concerned that these communites had […]
Putting the social determinants of health into practice
There has been increasing discussion within Canadian public health circles on how the social determinants of health can be put into practice. The Sudbury and District Health Unit prepared a discussion paper in March 2006. Quebec is the most advanced jurisdiction in integrating traditional public health with comprehensive and integrated interventions on the social determinants […]
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Volunteering & Health
Recent English research on volunteering highlights the analytical value of drilling down into small-scale neighbourhood-based analyses to better understand the dynamics of poor communities. More and more research, including projects in which the Wellesley Institute is involved, focuses on how variations in community structure and connections, access to services and other social determinants in local […]
Canadian Nurses Association on the SDOH
Nurses’ professional associations have long done useful policy work on the social determinants of health. A recent paper from the Canadian Nurses Association highlights social justice as a crucial pre-condition of a healthy society. It sets out a useful Social Justice Gauge as a tool to evaluate policy directions and impact. See it here.
CNA: backgrounder on the social determinants of health
The Canadian Nurses Association has done a backgrounder on the social determinants of health for its members. The Association urges nurses to build understanding the social determinants into their assessments, and treatment and follow up plans; know what community resources are available to clients; if they work with disadvantaged communities, to help people with common […]
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Reforming Children’s Services
Demos, a leading progressive British think tank, has published an analysis of very ambitious plans to reform children’s services in the UK: The Leadership Imperative. Reforming Children’s’ Services From the Ground Up. It will be useful to those interested in the social determinants of health and the most effective provision of social services for two […]
Follow-up memo to the Standing Committee on Social Policy on Bill 36
On January 30 Wellesley presented a brief to the Standing Committee on Social Policy on Bill 36, the enacting legislation. We were also asked for some additional research on the impact of British-type split purchaser-provider funding models and sent a follow-up memo. You can read it here. *Bob Gardner, Director – Public Policy
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Recommendations for specific amendments to Bill 36 on LHINs
Rick Blickstead and I presented a brief to the Standing Committee on Social Policy of the Ontario Legislature January 30 on the LHINs (Local Health Integration Networks). We argued that the LHINs had significant potential to provide more integrated and community-driven health care planning and delivery. But this will only be possible if they: are […]
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First Workshop of the Season
Yesterday we had our first workshop in our conference room at the new location (45 Charles St. East). I’m pleased to report that it went great. It’s a great room for the kind of workshops we put on as it fosters interactivity. Hopefully you’ll see it sometime soon as the majority of our workshops will […]
Reaction to Conservative Task Force on Gun-related Violence
Yesterday, Stephen Harper announced the establishment of a Conservative Task Force focusing on gun-related crime in cities. The task force will tour Canada to meet with victims, agencies, law enforcement and local politicians. Earlier this year the Conservative party opposed a federal Budget proposing a renewed investment in social welfare. Yet, considerable research has shown […]
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