Determining our Health Determinants

Canada is known to be the 16th healthiest country in the world according to Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index in 2019 (Bloomberg, 2019). There are many health determinants that could account for Canada’s ranking. Aside from the genetic influences of health, Canada has 12 main health determinants:

• Income and social status

• Employment and working conditions

• Education and literacy

• Childhood experiences

• Physical environments

• Social supports and coping skills

• Healthy behaviours

• Access to health services

• Biology and genetic endowment

• Gender

• Culture

• Race / Racism

These health determinants help to specify issues resulting in health inequality. Living in a country with a good healthy status, it is important we as a whole maintain and work to better our health. Public policies set out by the government can help to regulate the quality of social determinants and their impact on the public. “Policy issues influence the provision of adequate income, family-friendly labor policies, active employment policies involving training and support, provision of social safety nets, and the degree to which health and social services and other resources are available to citizens” (Raphael, 2006). As Canada is aware of the implications of social health determinants has on its citizens, many federal level documents supporting health promotion and concepts exist. A known policy is the Canadian Health Act. The CHA helps “to facilitate reasonable access to health services without financial or other barriers" (Canada, 2018). Policies that increase minimum wage and providing additional help to those unable to work are in effect and address the wealth inequality in Canada. Education is another example of a social determinant identified by Canada. The Canadian government implements tuition fees and bursaries to give individuals of lower income families the opportunity of post-secondary education. Other policies supported by the Canadian government include “stronger legislation on anti-discrimination policies and equal opportunity hiring, a national childcare strategy, strategies to increase the affordability of nutritious food, increased spending on a housing strategy, policies that reduce barriers for refugees and immigrants to practice their professions, and recognizing Aboriginal government authority over a wider range of Aboriginal affairs” (Gore & Kothari, 2012).

This image I found by Public Health Ontario that portrays health determinants specifically to Ontario.

References

Canada, H. (2018, December 27). Government of Canada. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-care-system/canada-health-care-system-medicare/canada-health-act.html

Gore, D., & Kothari, A. (2012, August 14). Social determinants of health in Canada: are healthy living initiatives there yet? A policy analysis. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3492195/

Mikkonen, J., & Raphael, D. (2010). Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts. Toronto: York University School of Health Policy and Management.

Raphael, D. (2006). Social Determinants of Health: Present Status, Unanswered Questions, and Future Directions. International Journal of Health Services, 36(4), 651–677. doi: 10.2190/3mw4-1ek3-dgrq-2crf

(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-24/spain-tops-italy-as-world-s-healthiest-nation-while-u-s-slips