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The Role of the Health Sector in Addressing Poverty

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Abstract

Purpose: To explore Canadian health sector initiatives addressing poverty.

Methods: Information about 224 health sector initiatives addressing poverty was collected from Health Canada, provincial/territorial health ministries, and health regions.

Results: Health Canada, 12 provincial/territorial health ministries, and at least one third of health regions have been undertaking povertyrelated initiatives. Almost two thirds (64.7%) of initiatives focused on the consequences of poverty. Much less frequent were initiatives that aim to: raise awareness about poverty; prevent people from becoming poor; enhance skills and education of people in poverty; and alter social and economic conditions contributing to poverty.

Discussion and Conclusions: While strategies that focus on the consequences of poverty likely enhance the health of Canadians in poverty, these strategies do little to reduce poverty rates. Efforts to improve the health of both individual Canadians in poverty and society as a whole will be limited until the health sector uses more strategies that challenge fundamental structural conditions contributing to poverty.

Résumé

Objectif: Analyser les initiatives sur le thème de la pauvreté dans le secteur de la santé au Canada.

Méthode: Nous avons dénombré 224 initiatives de santé sur le thème de la pauvreté menées par Santé Canada, par les ministères provinciaux/ territoriaux de la Santé et par les régions sanitaires.

Résultats: Santé Canada, 12 ministères provinciaux/territoriaux de la Santé et au moins le tiers des régions sanitaires avaient pris des initiatives liées à la pauvreté. Près des deux tiers (64,7 %) de ces initiatives portaient sur les conséquences de la pauvreté. Nous avons relevé beaucoup moins d’initiatives de sensibilisation à la pauvreté, de prévention de la pauvreté, de mise en valeur des compétences et de la formation des démunis ou de modification des conditions sociales et économiques qui contribuent à la pauvreté.

Discussion et conclusions: Bien que les stratégies centrées sur les conséquences de la pauvreté améliorent sans doute la santé des Canadiens démunis, elles font très peu pour réduire les taux de pauvreté. Les efforts pour améliorer à la fois la santé des Canadiens défavorisés et celle de la société en général seront limités tant que le secteur de la santé n’utilisera pas des stratégies de transformation des conditions structurelles de base qui contribuent à la pauvreté.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Ecology, University of Alberta, 302 Human Ecology Building, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2N1, Canada

    Deanna L. Williamson PhD (Assistant Professor)

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  1. Deanna L. Williamson PhD
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Correspondence to Deanna L. Williamson PhD.

Additional information

This manuscript is an expanded version of a poster presentation at the 90th Canadian Public Health Association Conference, Winnipeg, MB, June 1999.

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Williamson, D.L. The Role of the Health Sector in Addressing Poverty. Can J Public Health 92, 178–183 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03404300

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