Equity-based Planning for Public Health Programs and Services (Motion #73-05)

Moved by: Gamble – Duhamel. Approved by the Sudbury & District Board of Health, October 20, 2005.

WHEREAS it is recognized that despite improvements across the province in health unit performance on the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s Mandatory Program Indicator Questionnaire, the tool does not adequately assess the “reach and intensity” of health unit programs and services; and

WHEREAS there is documented evidence of higher rates of risk behaviours and lower health status within sub-communities in the Sudbury & District Health Unit catchment area; and

WHEREAS local research has identified that barriers to public health programs and services continue to exist for sub-populations across our catchment area; and

WHEREAS research exists that identifies ‘best practice’ outreach strategies to address these barriers; and

WHEREAS the Mandatory Health Programs and Services Guidelines includes the overarching objective:  “to reduce educational, social and environmental barriers to accessing mandatory public health programs”; and

WHEREAS the Board of Health recently adopted the Determinants of Health Position Statement 2005, which states that “health inequities are reduced by focusing on vulnerable populations”;

WHEREAS improving equity in the accessibility of public health programs and services will contribute to equity in health status; and

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Board of Health support in principle the need for equity-based planning for health unit programs and services.

This item was last modified on August 16, 2016