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Social Determinants of Health

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Subject:
From:
David Mercer <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Social Determinants of Health <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 16 Dec 2004 11:50:59 -0400
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Dennis,
Congratulations on the near-anniversary of SDOH. It has proven time and
again to be a valuable source of inspiration and discussion.
Just a quick note to let everyone know that I am working diligently to
try and make available the Nova Scotia Provincial Health Council
Determinants of Health report from early 2004. I am pushing hard to have
it hosted on the Dept. of Health and Office of Health Promotion websites
(particularly the latter) so the resource will continue to be
available.
Failing that, I may try to post it myself. Never mess with a stubborn
Sociologist who has pride in his work!
Any inquiries can be directed to me as the 'custodian' of the Council's
work since it was dissolved in April 2004.

Again, great work with SDOH, and Best of the Season to all.
David F. Mercer

David F. Mercer
Research and Statistical Officer III
Performance Measurement and Health Informatics
Nova Scotia Department of Health
Phone: (902) 424-2911
Email: [log in to unmask]

>>> [log in to unmask] 12/16/2004 11:32:38 AM >>>
The SDOH listserv commenced January 2004 and now, close to a year
later, we
now have 1076 subscribers. Outside of the occasional "out of office
message," I am happy with how it has worked out and I feel that I have
come
to know very many of you even though we have not met.

On the up side, the social determinants of health appears to have had
some
penetration into public policy discussions and public health documents
in
Canada and elsewhere.

On the down side, actual action on these concepts by policymakers in
Canada
and the public health community -- with a few exceptions  [take a bow
Waterloo Region and  Sudbury in Ontario, Interior Health in BC and
Chinook
Region in Alberta, Montreal in Quebec -- apologies for omissions,
please
educate me] remains strangely distanced from the implications of
addressing
upstream issues.

LAURELS [Canadian]
1. Public health units that are raising broader issues
2. Canadian Minister of Public Health  Carolyn Bennett for expressing
commitments to addressing the social determinants of health
3. Canadian Population Health Initiative producing important work
4. Statistics Canada providing important information on key issues
5. Health Canada staff supporting communities and researchers in
addressing
broader issues
6. Judy Gerstel of the Toronto Star for educating her readers
7. All the NGOS -- especially the United Ways of Canada, Social
Planning
Councils, and the Centre for Social Justice -- for raising issues of
poverty, marginalization, social justice and equity.
8. Campaign 2000 and other anti-poverty organizations for slogging
along
despite 15 years of inaction on child poverty
9. The Caledon Institute, Canadian Policy Research Networks, Federation
of
Canadian Municipalities, and the Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives
for consistently raising these issues
10.  The National Council of Welfare, Housing activists and the
Canadian
Association of Food Banks for their ongoing analysis and advocacy
11.  All the academics who realize that publishing an article in
Social
Science and Medicine by itself is not going to change anything if
policymakers and the public are unaware of its content.
12.  Cathy Crowe Michael Shapcott, and David Hulchanski and others for
spearheading action on housing and homelessness issues in Canada
13. Kim Raine, Valerie Tarasuk and Lynn McIntyre for raising issues of
food
security.
14. Jim Stanford of the Canadian Auto Workers and Andrew Jackson of
the
Canadian Labour Congress for demonstrating that not all economists are
evil.
15. The clergy of many churches in Canada for showing how
un-Christian,
un-Jewish, un-Islamic and un-godlike are societies that tolerate
oppression
and injustice.
16. All of you for trying.
17.  And everyone else whom I have neglected.

DARTS and ARROWS [Canadian]
1.  The Chronic Disease Alliance of Canada and the Federal Healthy
Living
Initiative for reducing risk to healthy eating, tobacco use, and
physical
activity  -- a sin of which which they are not alone.
2. The Globe and Mail -- and other media -- for consistently ignoring
the
emerging literature on the social determinants of health and
force-feeding
us -- on a daily basis -- the dangers of obesity, transfats, and
sloth.
3. The Ontario government for its stupid.ca website that further
marginalizes adolescents already at risk due to economic and social
marginalization
4. Medical Officers of Health who know about, but do not act to educate
the
puiblic and their staff,  about the social determinants of health,
5. Politicians who seem intent on managing "Ministries of Health
Prevention" rather than "Health Promotion"

And.........

Reading the Newspaper While Brewing the Tea

In the early hours I read in the paper of epoch-making projects
On the part of pope and sovereigns, bankers and oil barons
With my other eye I watch
The pot with the water for my tea
The way it clouds and starts to bubble and clears again
And overflowing the pot quenches the fire.

 Bertolt Brecht, 1942

Finally, please pass this on to someone who is a potential subscriber
to
the list.  Every message provides information about subscribing.

Happy New Year!

Dennis Raphael, PhD
Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Director
School of Health Policy and Management
Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies
York University
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
email: [log in to unmask]
website: http://www.atkinson.yorku.ca/draphael

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