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Thirteen public interventions in Canada that have contributed to a reduction in health inequalities

This report from the National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy examines 13 programs or policies that have had some success in reducing health inequalities in Canada. The report is a summary of a longer document prepared by the Centre de recherche Léa-Roback sur les inégalités de santé de Montréal.

All of the selected governmental interventions had an explicit goal to act on the social determinants of health to address health inequities, and they had been evaluated using current medical evidence-based standards. “The 13 programs … demonstrate that efforts made to reduce health inequalities are not simply expenses, but indeed represent investments from which the whole of society benefits. The evaluated programs presented here convincingly show that social determinants, ill health, and health inequalities are linked in inextricable and complex ways.” (p. 2)

The 13 cases are summarized under two broad categories: 1) revenue support programs and 2) reducing exposure to health damaging conditions and behaviours. The programs and policies were implemented at the local, provincial/territorial and national level.

Examples of interventions include

• An income supplement program in British Columbia and New Brunswick

• Recreational and skill-development for children living in social housing in Ottawa

• Recreational, skill development and social supports for single mothers on social assistance in Ontario

The report notes that very few policy/program initiatives have been systematically studied, particularly over a long period of time. This is not surprising given that the evaluations must take place in dynamic social contexts, where it is challenging to isolate variables that can be measured over time.

Use this resource to

• Identify Canadian policies and programs that have been shown to reduce health inequities

• Review research designs that include high caliber evaluations

• Find evidence for the cost effectiveness of policy/program interventions designed to improve the health of people living in difficult socio-economic conditions

 

Citation

Tags: Access to health services, Children & Youth, Evaluation, Healthy public policy, Methods & tools, Assess and report, Modify and orient interventions, Participate in policy development, Other National Collaborating Centre, Document, Report / Document