Gender-based analysis, women’s health surveillance and women’s health indicators – Working together to promote equity in health in Canada

Summary

Objectives:

This paper examines some of the ways gender-based analysis can be applied to health surveillance systems and to the development of gender-sensitive health indicators.

Methods:

Several initiatives in Canada are described to show how gender-sensitive mechanisms for tracking and monitoring health trends at the population level can be used to identify and begin to address health disparities and promote equity in health.

Results:

Research, policy, and practice in Canada and internationally continue to reveal the interactive and dynamic nature of health determinants.

Conclusions:

Mapping the pathways by which social inequalities and inequities become embodied across the lifespan remains a central challenge in the design of innovative and effective surveillance systems, health indicators, and policy interventions to improve population health.