“How can residents and agencies be more effective partners in addressing needs and services within the Lawrence Heights and Neptune community?” This was the question that led to BePart, a collaborative project between residents and local agencies in Lawrence Heights and Neptune, two related social housing neighbourhoods in North Central Toronto. The project was guided […]
Association of Ontario Health Centres' 2010 Annual Conference – Health Equity: Pushing the Boundaries.
This conference took place June 10 and 11 in Niagara Falls. A web site has been set up with videos, photos, audio and slide presentations from the conference. Billed as a dynamic, action-oriented conference that will challenge the barriers that keep so many people from enjoying good health or accessing the services they need, many […]
Primary Care as A Key Driver of Health Equity
Evidence from around the world shows that enhancing access to high quality comprehensive primary care for disadvantaged people and communities is one of them most important directions for addressing health inequalities. Community health centres are a vital part of this direction in Canada and many other countries, and the recent AOHC conference on Health Equity: Pushing […]
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Health Equity Resources for LHINs: Thinking About/Acting on Equity
Definitions There are tremendous advantages if all LHINs were to work within a similar understanding of health equity – at best, a clear definition from the Province. The slides below contain a consensus definition of health equity that has proven practical and actionable. Equity and Population Health There are also links to further material on […]
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Health Equity Resources for LHINs: Building Equity-Focused Evaluation
In an era of limited resources and quality-driven reform, it is crucial to know how policies and service interventions are working. This is just as important to equity, and an important part of equity strategy must be evaluating what initiatives are most effective in reducing barriers and enhancing services for the most vulnerable. I presented […]
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Strengthen Ontario’s Provincial Policy Statement as one tool to meet the province’s housing needs
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is undertaking a review of the Provincial Policy Statement on land use and planning. A strengthened Provincial Policy Statement can be an important tool for communities across the province to ensure all Ontarians have access to a healthy and affordable home. Read the Wellesley Institute submission to the […]
Gender inequity is at the heart of the HIV/AIDS crisis
Last week, I attended a talk by the always-wonderful Stephen Lewis on the Give a Day initiative, a grassroots response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Give A Day challenges each Canadian to recognize World AIDS Day – today – by giving one day’s pay to the Stephen Lewis Foundation in their fight against what Lewis describes […]
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Mental Well-Being and Equity – Moving Policy into Action
How do you drive equity into mental health? And mental health into equity? What tools can you use to make the process more comprehensible and user-friendly to overburdened policy-makers and practitioners? Bob Gardner and I facilitated a workshop with the Canadian Mental Health Association (Ontario) today to discuss “wicked” policy challenges in this area. The […]
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Organizing For Action In A Complex, Dynamic World: Presentation Notes
In a complex and dynamic world, how do you organize compelling ideas into pragmatic action for change? The Wellesley Institute’s Michael Shapcott spoke to a graduate seminar at the University of Toronto on ‘wicked’ policy problems and models for effective strategies. Click here for his presentation.
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‘Scary’ income inequality on rise in Canada and other rich economies: New OECD report
Research from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released earlier this week indicates that income inequality continues to grow rapidly in Canada and in most of the world’s other rich economies.