Canadian Contributions
      Canadians have also been active in theorizing the relationship

between conditions of everyday life and health. In 1974 the federal

government's report, A New Perspective on the Health of Canadians (the

Lalonde report), saw health and illness as being determined by human

biology, environment, lifestyle, and health care organization. The document

was important in that it identified determinants of health other than the

health care system.

      Another Canadian government document was Achieving Health for All: A

Framework for Health Promotion (the Epp report, 1986).  It identified that

the prime goal of reducing inequities between income groups could be

accomplished by influencing policies that have a direct bearing on health:

The list of policy areas is long and includes, among others, income

security, employment, education, housing, business, agriculture,

transportation, justice and technology. The Health Canada document, Taking

Action on Population Health: A Position Paper For Health Promotion and

Programs Branch Staff (1999), states



      There is strong evidence indicating that factors outside the health

      care system significantly affect health.  These "determinants of

      health" include income and social status, social support networks,

      education, employment and working conditions, physical environments,

      social environments, biology and genetic endowment, personal health

      practices and coping skills, healthy child development, health

      services, gender and culture.



      Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) documents tell a similar

story. In 1986, its Action Statement for Health Promotion in Canada

identified advocating for healthy public policies as the single best

strategy to affect the determinants of health. Priority areas mentioned

include reducing inequalities in income and wealth, and strengthening

communities through local alliances to change unhealthy living conditions.

In 2000, the CPHA endorsed an action plan that recognized the profound

influence of poverty on health and identified ways to reduce its incidence.

Other CPHA reports document the health effects of unemployment, income

insecurity, and homelessness.

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