Afte the Sunday article that introduced the concept of social determinants
of health, the "Medical Reporter" in the Star reported the following. You
may wish to contact her directly and try to straighten her out.
her e-mail is [log in to unmask]
North backs health care findings
January 24, 2000, Toronto Star
Inequities found in Ontario report are not surprising to
some mayors
By Tanya Talaga
Toronto Star Medical Reporter
A soon-to-be-released report pointing out health-care
inequities between the poorer regions of Northern Ontario
compared to the south is nothing new to the people who
live in
the north.
It's very true to say health care has a different standard in
the north than in the south,'' said Michael Power, the mayor of
Geraldton, a city of almost 2,800 people, 880 kilometres
north of
Toronto.
The Star has learned a new study reveals Ontario's north has
the sickest residents in the province, along with the
highest
death rates, compared to others in richer, southern
regions.
The Star also reported that the study has been held back by the
province, which has kept it sitting in boxes since the first
week
of November, due to certain revisions.
However, Kevin Finnerty, a health ministry spokesperson, said
this is simply not the case. ``The report, in fact, is not yet
complete,'' he said. ``The authors sent a letter to the
ministry on
Dec. 15 saying they are still completing work on the report.
Once that work is complete, it'll be released, and we expect that
to be next month.''
Yet Dr. Ian Johnson, primary author of the study, told The Star
that they handed in the final copy of the report last November.
The authors of the report have found that people in the
north
seem to have more chronic diseases. They examined regional
data in order to make conclusions as to what factors affect
health. Among them are air quality, water quality, income,
housing, nutrition, education, exercise, smoking, drinking
and
employment.
Power said a number of factors contribute to the varying
health
inequities.
``Our population is sparse. We are scattered. We tend to live in
small communities. That is not very attractive for specialists,
and it's been difficult to attract family doctors,'' said Power,
who
added people normally have about a six- to eight-week wait just
to see their family physician.
Thunder Bay Mayor Ken Boshcoff said officials have been
trying to meet with Ontario's Health Minister Elizabeth Witmer
since November, to show her some solutions the community
has come up with to improve care.
`We are feeling very
frustrated here'
``For things like heart disease and diabetes, there is no doubt
Northern Ontario has higher rates,'' he said.
``We have been trying for the past 2 1/2 months to meet with
the minister to talk about this stuff, and she has refused to
meet
with us.
``We are feeling very frustrated here,'' he said.
More than one year ago, the province gave the green light for a
new hospital in the area, but since then, Thunder Bay has heard
little else, he said.
The City of Thunder Bay, located 1,200 kilometres northwest of
Toronto, services a huge geographic area. For most
communities, when it comes to trauma, people have to be flown
there.
In Geraldton, the hospitals are 160 kilometres apart from each
other. Some people also don't have the financial resources to
leave the area regularly to seek help, Power said.
``The difficulties all northerners face is not everybody has the
resources and the cost of accessing is high.''
Visit our Web Site for information about our Seniors Participatory and
Community Quality of Life Projects! Free Reports Also.
http://www.utoronto.ca/qol http://www.utoronto.ca/seniors
********************************************************************
Long have I looked for the truth about the life of people together.
That life is crisscrossed, tangled, and difficult to understand.
I have worked hard to understand it and when I had done so
I told the truth as I found it.
- Bertolt Brecht
********************************************************************
Dennis Raphael, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Associate Director,
Masters of Health Science Program in Health Promotion
Department of Public Health Sciences
Graduate Department of Community Health
University of Toronto
McMurrich Building, Room 101
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA M5S 1A8
voice: (416) 978-7567
fax: (416) 978-2087
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
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