Discussion paper is at http://www.edmspc.com/factsheets.aspx

Edmonton Social Planning Council
NEWS RELEASE
May 10, 2005
What keeps us healthy – the primary influence of social and economic
factors

The Edmonton Social Planning Council releases today a DISCUSSION PAPER on
the social
determinants of health. Creating Social and Health Equity: Adopting an
Alberta Social Determinants of
Health Framework is intended to contribute to the discussions on health
reform and innovation
being initiated by the Alberta government.

The paper summarizes the well-documented research and analysis into the
factors outside of
medicine and health care that contribute to our health and well-being –
“the causes behind the
causes of ill health” (World Health Organization).

A Statistics Canada report published just yesterday (May 9) is the latest
confirmation that socioeconomic
factors have considerably more influence on our health than do even
personal
behaviours such as smoking and physical inactivity. “Among middle-aged
adults aged 45 to 64,”
says the National Population Health Survey: Healthy Aging, “socio-economic
characteristics such as
the education level and household income were more important determinants
of healthy aging
than healthy behaviours.”

In our paper we discuss the implications of this perspective on government
policy, especially as
it relates to health reform. We develop a social determinants of health
framework that would
help shape government policy and priorities by placing more emphasis on the
socio-economic
realities of Albertans. We point to countries such as Sweden that have
adopted health strategies
with a goal of “creating social conditions which ensure good health for the
entire population.”
We propose that Alberta will need to take several steps to make this
possible including: 1)
increasing awareness among Albertans and key decision makers about the
social determinants of
health, 2) breaking down the barriers between sectors, government
ministries and jurisdictions
in order to integrate the broad scope of the determinants, and 3) adopting
legislation entitling
Albertans to basic social and economic rights based on the social
determinants.

Health and Wellness Minister Iris Evans, at the conclusion of the recent
International Health
Symposium, stated that “Alberta is well on its way to being Canada’s
innovation leader.” We
believe that any innovations in health care must include a social
determinants of health approach
or the province’s drive toward health care reform – “making our system the
best it can possibly
be” – will fail.

The DISCUSSION PAPER is now available on our website at: www.edmspc.com.