[EQ] Health Equity Impact Assessment

Health Equity Impact Assessment

A primer / Haber, Rebecca. -- Toronto: Wellesley Institute (2010)

Available online PDF [6p.] at: http://bit.ly/knvM3q

 “……Health inequalities are pervasive in Ontario and around the globe. In Ontario, people with low incomes report their health to be poor or fair at a rate three times that of people with high income. People with higher incomes live longer with better quality of life than people with low incomes. The same gradients are found for particular conditions, and health outcomes can be worse for specific populations including aboriginals, recent immigrants, women, and remote communities.

While the roots of these health disparities lie in wider social determinants of health such as income inequality, precarious work, racism and social exclusion, inequitable access to quality early childhood development, inadequate housing, and other dimensions of social inequality and exclusion, the health system is also key.

Not only do disadvantaged populations end up sicker and in need of care, they also face inequitable access and differential quality of care. While the health system can mediate the impact of the social determinants of health, it can also further widen health disparities if inequitable access and quality are not addressed.

What is needed is a comprehensive strategy to tackle these disparities. This includes building equity into strategic priorities and performance management, aligning equity with existing drivers and priorities, and using available resource and policy levers to drive equity-focused initiatives.

This requires understanding specific barriers to equitable care and support, and the specific needs of health disadvantaged populations.

And this requires equity-focused planning using an array of effective and practical tools.
One promising tool is Health Equity Impact Assessment (HEIA)…..”

Twitter http://twitter.com/eqpaho

 *      *     *
This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMC Area]
Washington DC USA

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAHO/WHO Website
Equity List - Archives - Join/remove: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html
Twitter http://twitter.com/eqpaho

IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended
recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or
confidential information. If you are not the intended
recipient or a person responsible for delivering this
transmission to the intended recipient, you may not
disclose, copy or distribute this transmission or take
any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission
in error, please dispose of and delete this transmission.

Thank you.