The National Coordinating Centre for Determinants of Health (NCCDH) has released an environmental scan on the determinants of health and health equity in public health. The NCCDH is one of six Public Health Agency of Canada-funded centres and examines social and economic factors that influence Canadians’ health, with a recent focus on early child development.
The scan was requested by the NCCDH to inform future direction, priorities and activities using four information-gathering techniques: a literature scan; 31 key informant interviews; four group teleconferences; and an online survey.
Through this process, four key roles were identified for public health action on the determinants of health to reduce health inequities:
- Assess and report on population health, and describe the existence of health inequities and strategies for addressing them;
- Modify and orient public health interventions to reduce inequities including consideration of priority population needs;
- Engage in community and multi-sectoral collaboration to address population health needs through services and programs;
- Lead, participate in and support other stakeholders in policy analysis, development and advocacy to improve health determinants and address inequities.
The full report, “Integrating Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity into Canadian Public Health Practice: Environmental Scan 2010, April 2011,” is available on the NCCDH website at www.nccdh.ca.