Social Determinants of Health
According to a Health Canada study entitled The
Social Determinants of Health: An Overview of the Implications for
Policy and the Role of the Health Sector, “In terms of
health of populations, it is well known that disparities (i.e. the
size of the gap or inequality in social and economic status between
groups within a given population) greatly affect the health status
of the whole. The larger the gap, the lower the health status of
the overall population.”
To recognize housing as an influence on public health is vital
for nurses, especially at a time when we as a country embark on
what is perhaps one of the most important periods of policy development
regarding public health in Canada.
On March 23, 2004, Canada’s federal government released its
budget and announced the creation of the Canada Public Health Association,
comprised of a national network of centres across the country that
will act as locations for disease control and emergency response.
This is an exciting first step to better public health in our country,
and one that RNAO believes should raise awareness and help to tackle
the challenging correlation between health and the social, economic
and political determinants that influence it.
These external influences on lifestyle and health inevitably affect
the way nurses in all health-care sectors do their jobs.They affect
nurses’ ability to consider broad issues when promoting health
and preventing disease.
They also influence the political and advocacy agenda of RNAO.
So much of RNAO’s advocacy and educational work can be tied
to health promotion and building better public health. Keeping an
issue like homelessness on the political agenda ensures it remains
top-of-mind, and enables us to maintain a productive dialogue with
policy makers as well as pressure for solutions that lead to the
best health outcomes for Ontarians.
As immediate past-president Adelaine Falk-Rafael, so succinctly
put it in her column entitled Understanding what keeps us healthy
, “There is consensus within the global health promotion community
that at least 13 factors are pre-requisites to health: peace; shelter;
education; food; income; a stable ecosystem; sustainable resources;
social justice; equity; social security; social relations; empowerment
of women; and respect for human rights.”
We must continue to keep these health determinants at the forefront
of our discussions and debates at decision-making tables.
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