By Bernie Pauly, RN, PHD on behalf of the Equity Lens in Public Health Research (ELPH) team
In British Columbia (BC), life expectancy varies with geographic region and socio-economic status. People with low incomes have significantly poorer health than people with high incomes. Aboriginal peoples have lower life expectancy and poorer health than the general population. To close these gaps, several Canadian reports have recommended strengthening the public health system and reducing health inequities as a key priority for public health.
So, when CIHR had a call for programmatic grants in health and health equity, our public health research team (originally the Core Public Health Functions Research Initiative), composed of more than 30 BC health authority leaders in public health and public health researchers, was poised and ready to respond. We were successful in receiving five years of research funding to examine the contribution of public health to reducing health inequities through the Equity Lens in Public Health Project or, as we fondly call it, ‘the ELPH Project.’
The Equity Lens in Public Health (ELPH) program of research is an integrated knowledge translation and exchange project in collaboration with BC’s Ministry of Health and health authority partners. The primary goal is to foster learning about the application of an equity lens in public health in a time of complex health system change with a view to reducing health inequities. We are particularly looking at the application of an equity lens in public health programs that reduce the harms of substance use and/or promote mental health, as our health
authority partners highlighted these as key areas where public health works to reduce health inequities.
In our research, we are generating knowledge about:
1. Factors that promote or restrict the uptake of health equity as a priority in BC health authorities;
2. How public health works with other sectors to promote health equity;
3. The availability and quality of health equity tools; and
4. Ethical concerns of public health practitioners and resources to support ethical practice in public health.
This research is unfolding alongside many changes in public health, thereby providing us with a unique opportunity to examine how the application of health equity changes over time. Through strong collaborative partnerships we have and are continuing to generate considerable learning and opportunities to enhance actions to reduce health inequities, prevent harms of substance use, and promote the mental health of Canadians, especially those impacted by social, economic and historical disadvantages.
From the 2015 Fall Communiqué — Public Health
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