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Learning from practice: Targeting within universalism

This series of short case descriptions, or practice examples, was created to demonstrate the application of targeting within universalism to achieve greater equity in Canadian public health service delivery.

As part of our “Let’s Talk” series, the NCCDH published a pamphlet that explores targeted, universal and blended approaches to public health interventions. In Let’s talk: Universal and targeted approaches to health equity a number of conceptual examples were given to help clarify the theory, but no real-world examples were provided.

The purpose of this series of real-world examples is to help public health staff better understand how targeted and universal approaches can be blended to achieve better population health outcomes. 

The three examples describe targeting within universalism at

Use this resource to

  • increase your understanding of the concept and application of targeting within universalism in public health practice
  • assess the strengths and challenges of using a targeting within universalism approach
  • investigate how others have blended universal and targeted services and initiatives to improve population health outcomes
  • reflect on how Canadian public health organizations incorporate research evidence, partnerships, and evaluations in implementing targeting within universalism programs

National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health. (2014). Learning from practice: Targeting within universalism. Antigonish, NS: National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health, St. Francis Xavier University.

Tags: Access to health services, Children & Youth, Environmental health, Evaluation, Indigenous health, Modify and orient interventions, Document, Case Study, Learning from Practice