Hi All;
Such an important issue. The caring of the weak and vulnerable is makes us human and we are falling back on the continuum. I would like to offer a couple of ideas to this conversation.
One area to research area I have examined is the Knowledge Exchange and Uptake of information or evidence to make a decision. This is the topic of my master's thesis and I would more than happy to collaborate in developing a strategy to inform policy. I give a short version below.
The decision-making occurs in an interactional process that is influenced by the characteristics and conditions surrounding the individuals involved. There is the very important matter of the format of the information if we want to be considered as relevant. It is not an academic format. Optimally, it provides clear actionable recommendations with predictions of benefits, impacts, costs, and a usable tool as well as an evaluation built in or front-end loaded.
Furthermore, the relationship- built on trust & meeting needs of both partners- between the researcher and the decision maker will enhance the level of uptake (networking or smoozing to collaborate).
I could go on and on. At WHO it is described as the "Know-do" gap. CIHR describes it as "Knowledge Translation" ....CHSF considers Knowledge Exchange as primary area for academics to hone in order to have research used to make decisions. Evidence informed decision making where the evidence viewed as relevant has weight in the decision-making.
My thesis considers the point of having explicit rationales for decision-making that include the evidence that is accepted and rejected. It appears to fit the 'Accountable & Transparent' commitment that the current government has made to Canadians.
Great ideas turn into action through a methodical strategy with best practices and gaps addressed. A dissemination plan with front-end loaded evaluation is best.
Cheers
W Gail Richardson
-----Original Message-----
From: Social Determinants of Health [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lela Gary
Sent: May 11, 2006 1:03 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [SDOH] Stats Can Report -- Income and the Outcomes of Children!!
Hello,
That question: "Could we start publicizing?" brings me to the question
I asked Dennis regarding the goal/mandate of this list-serve.
I expressed my feelings that having a list-serve to inform and intellectualize
on reports is a fine academic exercise; but it does not go far enough to bring
about necessary changes to problems listed in these messages.
My proposal is to initiate an advocacy committee within SDOH, and formally
address government officials expressing concerns and proposing
recommendations and initiatives for improvement, based on research already
submitted by reports.
Please, realize that the voice of an organization has more power and influence
than an individual. If anyone of you separately asked for the resignation of
Canada's Chairing the next Kyoto International meeting, nobody would pay
attention, in fact your letter would be filed into oblivion by
government staff.
But when the Climate Action Network put that in writing, it was reported as
News on all TV stations and a good exposure of the lack of action by Canada on
this issue. We do need to develop civil auditing if any changes are to occur
before the problem worsens.
I would like to see that this group makes a serious commitment to bring about
changes and improvements to Health issues that are dependent on policy and
governance, by organizing such an advocacy committee. I will be happy to give
time and effort along with other interested parties.
What do you say?
Lela Gary
Quoting GRETA DOUCET <[log in to unmask]>:
> And you are very frustrated Dennis, I know. We have to keep
> hammering at it. Wonder if we could get this kind of stats report on
> every newspaper in Canada. Do you know how?
> A journalist once told me 'they are only interested in case
> histories with faces attached to them". (This is very demeaning to
> individuals, I know.). Could we start publicizing sad but real
> biographies and making sure they are in newspapers, and TV? They
> only tell us about miraculous stories, such as the girl on welfare
> who started the exercise program for new moms (CTV last night) -.
> What about Crystal Ocean's group case histories from WISE and similar
> ones from across Canada. How can we make sure these get told and are
> heard? If we can see people dying in Baghdad and Afghanistan, why
> can't the press tell us about people dying or suffering terribly in
> Canada because of sheer neglect and irresponsibility on our part?
> There must be way to get it done. Any journalists on our list serve?
> Greta
>
> Dennis Raphael <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> more EVIDENCE - however basically policymakers in Canada dont give a
> sh**.]
>
> http://www.statcan.ca/bsolc/english/bsolc?catno=11F0019M&CHROPG=1
>
> Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series
>
> Income and the Outcomes of Children
> by Shelley Phipps and Lynn Lethbridge
> May 2006
>
> Abstract
> This report re-investigates the connection between income and child
> well-being for a broad range of
> outcomes. The report attempts to address four research questions:
>
> The major results derived from the regression analysis are summarized
> below:
>
> 1. Higher income is almost always associated with better outcomes for
> children. This is true
> regardless of the measure of income employed, the assumed functional form
> of the
> relationship between income and child outcomes, the age of the child, or
> the type of child
> outcome being studied. It is also apparently true using either the NLSCY or
> the Youth in
> Transition Survey (YITS)/Programme for International Student Assessment
> (PISA) data.
>
> 2. The size of the association between income and child outcomes varies
> with developmental
> domain. Thus, for example, income has particularly strong associations with
> cognitive
> outcomes (e.g., Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) scores or math and
> reading
> scores) and behavioural outcomes (e.g., hours spent watching television).
> Physical health
> outcomes also have quite consistent positive associations with family
> income. Associations
> are generally smallest with ‘social/emotional’ outcomes (though
> hyperactivity is an
> exception to this ‘rule’). Again, descriptive evidence from the YITS/PISA
> are consistent
> with these findings.
>
> 3. A three-period average of family equivalent income consistently has the
> largest associations
> with child outcomes. This is true across almost all kinds of outcomes and
> all ages of
> children. It is also true for children living in married-couple or
> lone-mother families. Thus,
> in general, it appears advisable to use an income measure averaged over as
> many years as
> are available in the data
>
> 4. The functional form of the relationship between family income and child
> outcomes varies
> considerably across developmental domains. Estimating an inappropriate
> functional form
> may lead a researcher to the (false) impression that income does not
> matter, so that it is
> important to test a variety of alternatives.
>
> 5. It is almost never true that beyond the low-income threshold, income is
> unimportant for
> children’s outcomes. (Non-nested hypothesis tests reject ‘low-income’
> specifications in
> favour of continuous income specifications in almost every case.)
>
> 6. While over half of the outcomes studied here increase more quickly with
> income at lower
> than at higher income levels, it is almost always true that there is not a
> ceiling above which
> income no longer matters for child outcomes.
>
> 7. The relationship between incomes and outcomes appears to ‘flatten’ out
> toward the linear
> for older as compared to younger children. Thus, increases in income at
> very low-income
> levels are particularly important for the youngest children.
>
> 8. We find little evidence of differences in the size of the income/outcome
> associations for
> children of different ages. However, only a subset of outcomes are measured
> identically
> across age groups.
>
> 9. For middle-aged and for older children, changes in family income appear
> to be less
> important for child outcomes than levels of family income. However, income
> changes are
> more important for younger children, particularly if they happen earlier in
> life (i.e., between
> 1994 and 1996 rather than between 1996 and 1998). Income ‘ups and downs’
> are
> particularly important for child emotion scores, an outcome for which
> income levels appear
> to play a less important role.
>
> 10. Results using the Youth in Transition Survey show a positive
> correlation between
> socioeconomic status and child outcomes, in general. While income was not
> available in this
> survey at the time of analysis, direct comparisons by income are not
> possible. Therefore a
> proxy for income in a socioeconomic status (SES) index is used with
> outcomes which can
> be categorized into the same categorical domains as the NLSCY. It is
> interesting that the
> differences across SES quintiles are particularly large for outcomes in the
> cognitive and
> behavioural domains and somewhat smaller for social and emotional domains
> which fits
> with results obtained using the NLSCY.
>
> Keywords: labour market participation, family income, cognitive outcomes,
> children,
>
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