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.

Home Health Equity in the Greater Toronto Area

Health Equity in the Greater Toronto Area

Wellesley Institute works in research and policy to improve health and health equity in the Greater Toronto Area, through action on the social determinants of health. 

What is health equity?

Achieving health equity means ensuring that no one is left uncared for, and that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy good health. It’s when all people can reach their full health potential and are not disadvantaged from attaining it because of their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, socioeconomic status or other socially determined circumstance. 

Health inequities are health differences between population groups related to the social determinants of health that are unfair and avoidable. Individuals who have consistently been deprived of social determinants of health are significantly disadvantaged and face worse health outcomes than those who are able to access certain resources. 

What are social determinants of health?  

Our health is about more than doctors, drugs and hospitals. It is about where we work, live, play and age. It can be about our democratic processes, our education, access to childcare and more. Social determinants of health are different personal, social, economic, and environmental factors that influence individual and population health. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, these non-medical factors include: 

  • Income and social status 
  • Employment and working conditions 
  • Education and literacy 
  • Childhood experiences 
  • Housing and physical environments 
  • Social supports and coping skills 
  • Healthy behaviours 
  • Access to health services 
  • Biology and genetic endowment 
  • Gender 
  • Culture 
  • Race / Racism 
     

 

Health Equity Resources

Health Equity Impact Assessment
Health Equity Impact Assessment is a practical and effective planning tool that analyzes the potential impact of service, program or policy changes on health disparities and/or health disadvantaged populations.
Health Equity Strategies
Jurisdictions across the world have adopted strategies to enhance health equity. Some have developed approaches to promote health equity within their health systems while others have developed intersectoral approaches to tackle social determinants of health within and beyond the health sector.
Health Inequity Resources
The Wellesley Institute Library of Research on Health Inequities is an online library of the existing peer-reviewed and grey literature on health inequities in Ontario which has been conducted since 2005.

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.