Wellesley Institute

Wellesley Institute works in research and policy to improve health and health equity in the GTA through action on the social determinants of health.

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Rebecca Cheff

Mapping the impacts of COVID-19 on hotel workers in the GTA

Rebecca Cheff, Stephanie Elliott, Adwoa Afful, Erica Opoku |

Photograph of a full hotel cleaner's cart in the empty hallway of a hotel.

The hotel and accommodations sector is one of the hardest-hit industries by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hotels have continued to provide frontline, labour-intensive services to the public throughout the pandemic while also experiencing historically low occupancy levels resulting in mass layoffs. This raises occupational health and safety concerns for workers still on the job as well […]

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Thriving at work: A health-based framework for decent work

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White and yellow helmet with construction water,gloves and radio that are placed on steel house fence.

This framework is grounded in an evidence review of academic and grey literature on what constitutes a healthy job. To supplement this evidence review, five focus groups were conducted with workers across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The focus groups were used to inform the development of a Thriving Work framework which highlights the conditions […]

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A new normal for health coverage

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Cube wooden toy blocks with medical and first aid kid icon. Concepts of illness treatment and health insurance.

Our current approach to medication, dental care, and extended health coverage is leaving low-income, working-age Canadians behind – in particular racialized, immigrant, and female workers who face significant barriers to good jobs with benefits. With government programs (of varying levels of adequacy) targeted primarily at seniors, children from low-income families, and adults receiving social assistance, […]

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Proof of vaccination in public settings: An equity lens

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Group of people clapping while listening to presentation at conference, coronavirus concept.

COVID-19 vaccinations reduce our risk of infection, hospitalization, and death. It is heartening that 85 per cent of Ontarians aged 12 and up (75 per cent of the population) have received their first dose. With rising case counts and the highly transmissible Delta variant gaining traction in Ontario, there is increased urgency to ensure as […]

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Thriving in the City for families

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Young interracial family with little children having breakfast.

Wellesley Institute’s Thriving in the City research works towards a reality where all residents in the Greater Toronto Area have the resources to achieve a healthy life. Thriving means having resources to meet their physical, social, and psychological health needs now and in the future. It includes having resources to meet health needs related to […]

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Encouraging vaccinations through equitable strategies

Jesse Rosenberg, Rebecca Cheff, Nahomi Amberber |

General practitioner vaccinating old patient in private clinic with copy space. Doctor giving injection to woman at hospital. Nurse holding syringe and using cotton before make Covid-19 or coronavirus vaccine.

A range of strategies have been suggested to increase vaccination rates – from free donuts and lotteries to employment requirements and vaccine certificates. Wellesley Institute has conducted a rapid review of effectiveness evidence and an analysis of unintended impacts on equity-seeking groups of eleven strategies to determine which strategies could meaningfully increase vaccination rates and […]

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Sick days: Sufficient, accessible, paid

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Warehouse worker blowing nose while working wearing safety vest

The COVID-19 virus is clever. Most people who spread COVID-19 do not know that they have it. They have no symptoms at all, they are early in their illness and have mild symptoms, or they are getting better and do not know their illness was COVID-19. If we want to stop the spread, we have […]

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Pharmacare: essential to our health and economy

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The COVID-19 crisis has resulted in unprecedented job and benefits loss for workers, and its full effect on the economy still remains to be seen. Pharmacare is crucial not only for health and equity in Canada but may also hold promise for economic health. As we slowly move into a post-pandemic economy, the implementation of […]

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Who Benefits? Gaps in Medication Coverage for Ontario Workers

Rebecca Cheff, Malaika Hill and James Iveniuk |

Access to prescription medication often depends on where and how you work, rather than your need. Using the data from the Canadian Community Health Survey, we examined the size of the benefit gap between part-time and full-time workers and explored how disparities are greater for some workers in Ontario. We found that those who work […]

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(Not) Playing Politics: Workers’ Rights Matter for Health

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The federal government has spoken out against the “politics of cruelty” of the Ontario government’s reduction of workers’ rights. For Canadians and Ontarians who are tired of bickering politicians, this might just feel like another political fistfight. However, moving beyond the distraction of pre-election politics, we shouldn’t forget that protecting basic workers’ rights is a […]

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Acknowledgement of Traditional Land

We wish to acknowledge this land on which the Wellesley Institute operates. For thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.

Revised by the Ceremonial Committee at the University of Toronto Office of Indigenous Initiatives in April 2021.