Skip to main content
Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
editorial
. 2012 Nov 1;103(6):e425–e427. doi: 10.1007/BF03405631

Latest OECD Figures Confirm Canada as a Public Health Laggard

Dennis Raphael 1,
PMCID: PMC6975186  PMID: 23618021

Abstract

Despite the Canadian public health community’s commitments to promoting public policy that supports health, evidence indicates that Canada’s public health picture continues to decline. This may be due in part to the failure of public health agencies and local public health units to engage in public policy advocacy and public education about the social determinants of health. Examples of such activities by local public health units are now available and provide a model for such activity.

Key words: Public policy, public health, community development

Footnotes

Conflict of Interest: None to declare.

References

  • 1.National Coordinating Centre on the Determinants of Health, Integrating Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity Into Canadian Public Health Practice. Antigonish, NS: NCCDH, 2010.
  • 2.Public Health Agency of Canada, Canada’s Response to WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Ottawa, ON: PHAC, 2007.
  • 3.Canadian Public Health Association. Response of the Canadian Public Health Association to the Report of the World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. Ottawa: CPHA, 2008.
  • 4.Joint OPHA/ALPHA Working Group on the Social Determinants of Health, Activities to Address the Social Determinants of Health in Ontario Local Public Health Units. Toronto, ON: Joint OPHA/ALPHA Working Group on the Social Determinants of Health, 2010.
  • 5.Frankish CJ, Moulton GE, Quantz D, Carson AJ, Casebeer AL, Eyles JD, et al. Addressing the non-medical determinants of health: A survey of Canada’s health regions. Can J Public Health. 2007;981:41–47. doi: 10.1007/BF03405384. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 6.Center for Community HealthResearch. “A” Frame for Advocacy. 2008. [Google Scholar]
  • 7.Manzano A, Raphael D. CPHA and the social determinants of health: An analysis of policy documents and recommendations for future action. Can J Public Health. 2010;1015:399–404. doi: 10.1007/BF03404861. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 8.World Health Organization. Closing the Gap in a Generation: Health Equity through Action on the Social Determinants of Health. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO; 2008. [Google Scholar]
  • 9.Bryant T, Raphael D, Schrecker T, Labonte R. Canada: A land of missed opportunity for addressing the social determinants of health. Health Policy. 2011;1011:44–58. doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2010.08.022. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 10.Hancock T. Health promotion in Canada: 25 years of unfulfilled promise. Health Promot Int. 2011;26(Suppl2):ii263–ii267. doi: 10.1093/heapro/dar061. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 11.Manley J. Pre-budget Letter to The Honourable James M. Flaherty, Minister of Finance. Toronto: Canadian Council of Chief Executives; 2012. [Google Scholar]
  • 12.Reynolds N. The withering of the state. 2011. [Google Scholar]
  • 13.Reynolds N. The Globe and Mail. 2010. The disintegration of the welfare state. [Google Scholar]
  • 14.Esping-Andersen G. Towards the good society, once again? In: Esping-Andersen G, editor. Why We Need a New Welfare State. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; 2002. pp. 1–25. [Google Scholar]
  • 15.Bambra C. Health inequalities and welfare state regimes: Theoretical insights on a public health ‘puzzle’. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2011;65:740–45. doi: 10.1136/jech.2011.136333. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 16.Scarth T, editor. Hell and High Water: An Assessment of Paul Martin’s Record and Implications for the Future. Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives; 2004. [Google Scholar]
  • 17.Healy T. The Harper Record. Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives; 2008. [Google Scholar]
  • 18.Langille D. Follow the money: How business and politics shape our health. In: Raphael D, editor. Social Determinants of Health: Canadian Perspectives. Toronto: Canadian Scholars Press; 2009. pp. 305–17. [Google Scholar]
  • 19.Organisation for Economic Co-operationDevelopment. Health at a Glance: OECD Indicators, 2011 Edition. Paris, France: OECD; 2011. [Google Scholar]
  • 20.Organisation for Economic Co-operationDevelopment. Society at a Glance 2011, OECD Social Indicators. Paris: OECD; 2011. [Google Scholar]
  • 21.Innocenti Research Centre. The Children Left Behind: A League Table of Inequality in Child Well-being in the World’s Rich Countries. Florence, Italy: Innocenti Research Centre; 2010. [Google Scholar]
  • 22.Conference Board of Canada. A Report Card on Canada. Ottawa: Conference Board of Canada; 2011. [Google Scholar]
  • 23.Wilkinson RG, Pickett K. The Spirit Level - Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better. London, UK: Allen Lane; 2009. [Google Scholar]
  • 24.Raphael D. Poverty in childhood and adverse health outcomes in adulthood. Maturitas. 2011;69:22–26. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2011.02.011. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 25.Butler-Jones D. Report on the State of Public Health in Canada 2008: Addressing Health Inequalities. Ottawa: Public Health Agency of Canada; 2008. [Google Scholar]
  • 26.Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Overcoming Obstacles to Health. Princeton, NJ: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; 2008. [Google Scholar]
  • 27.Olsen GM. Labour market policy in the United States, Canada and Sweden: Addressing the issue of convergence. Soc Pol Admin. 2008;424:323–41. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9515.2008.00607.x. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  • 28.Hacker JS, Pierson P. Winner-take-all politics: Public policy, political organization, and the precipitous rise of top incomes in the United States. Politics & Society. 2010;382:152–204. doi: 10.1177/0032329210365042. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  • 29.Himelfarb A. Slowly, stealthily, the progressive state is being dismantled. CCPA Monitor. 2012;19(2):1,6. [Google Scholar]
  • 30.Saskatchewan Health. A Population Health Promotion Framework for Saskatchewan Regional Health Authorities. Regina, SK: Saskatchewan Health; 2002. [Google Scholar]
  • 31.King A. Health, Not Health Care - Changing the Conversation. Toronto: Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care; 2011. [Google Scholar]
  • 32.Kirkpatrick SI, McIntyre L. The Chief Public Health Officer’s report on health inequalities: What are the implications for public health practitioners and researchers? 2009;1002:93–95. doi: 10.1007/BF03405513. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 33.Raphael D. Getting serious about health: New directions for Canadian public health researchers and workers. Promot Educ. 2008;15:15–20. doi: 10.1177/1025382308095650. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 34.Canadian Public Health Association. Welcome to CPHA. Ottawa: CPHA; 2011. [Google Scholar]
  • 35.SudburyDistrict Health Unit. The most important things you can do for your health may not be as obvious as you think. Sudbury, ON: Sudbury and District Health Unit; 2011. [Google Scholar]
  • 36.Peterborough County-City Health Unit. Poverty and Health: Take Action for a Healthier Community. 2008. [Google Scholar]
  • 37.SudburyDistrict H Unit. Let’s Start a Conversation About Health... and Not Talk About Health Care at All. Sudbury: Sudbury and District Health Unit; 2011. [Google Scholar]
  • 38.Raphael D, Brassolotto J, Baldeo N. Public Health Unit Actions on the Social Determinants of Health. Toronto: School of Health Policy and Management, York University; 2012. [Google Scholar]
  • 39.Mikkonen J, Raphael D. Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts. Toronto: School of Health Policy and Management, York University; 2010. [Google Scholar]

Articles from Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique are provided here courtesy of Springer

RESOURCES