Our publications

• The Canadian media's interest in health inequalities is relatively limited. A small number of large circulation media could not be included in the corpus studied; however, in all the media reviewed, a total of only 81 relevant articles or news items were found to have been published in 2008, which indicates that, collectively, the Canadian press devotes an average of 7 articles per month to this subject.
• This means that health inequalities do not receive much media…

By its very nature, screening is characterised by administering a test to presymptomatic or early symptomatic individuals who may benefit from a more effective intervention if it is performed before the usual time of diagnosis.

Today, the links between poverty and health are well-established (Phipps, 2003) and the resulting inequalities in health have proven to be persistent (Whitehead & Dahlgren, 2007). Indeed, the population groups with the worst health status are materially underprivileged and socially excluded (De Koninck et al., 2008), leading many analysts to single out poverty as one of the primary determinants of health.

Today, the links between poverty and health are well-established (Phipps, 2003) and the resulting inequalities in health have proven to be persistent (Whitehead & Dahlgren, 2007). Indeed, the population groups with the worst health status are materially underprivileged and socially excluded (De Koninck et al., 2008), leading many analysts to single out poverty as one of the primary determinants of health.

Public policies of various governmental sectors can influence, directly or indirectly, the health of the population. Whether they be policies related to transportation, environment, income, education, child-care, or social housing, these can all impact the determinants of health. As a consequence, decision makers are increasingly being called to adopt healthy public policies; that is, policies which have integrated a preoccupation with population health.

Public health actors are increasingly being called upon to base their decisions on the best available knowledge. Various knowledge translation strategies have therefore been proposed as a means of drawing together the world of research with that of decision making (Mitton et al., 2007).

The most common definition of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is the one set forth by the European Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1999 in what is known as the “Gothenburg consensus paper.” HIA is presented as “a combination of procedures, methods and tools by which a policy, program or project may be judged as to its potential effects on the health of a population, and the distribution of those effects within the population” (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 1999).

Since its creation in the late 1990s, the Québec index of material and social deprivation has been widely utilized in the field of public health for purposes that range from health monitoring and policy development to evaluation of services and resource allocation. More recently, a Canadian version of the index has been produced and used at that level.

Deliberative processes such as citizens’ juries, consensus conferences, or deliberative polls are increasingly used to engage citizens and stakeholders about challenging public health issues for the purposes of informing policymaking (Abelson, 2009; Scutchfield, Hall, & Ireson, 2006). Yet, there is a paucity of research evidence about the effectiveness of deliberative processes in real settings (Culyer & Lomas, 2006; Mendelberg, 2002).

The purpose of this fact sheet is to…

The built environment has an influence on lifestyle and body weight

Physical activity is promoted through:

• More walkable neighbourhoods
• The presence of sidewalks, walking paths, and bike paths
• A substantial presence of recreational and sports infrastructure including parks, pools, playgrounds, and sports clubs.

Healthy eating is promoted through: