Public Health Association of British
Columbia “Action Towards Reducing Health Inequities” The Public Health Association of British Columbia is planning a
major conference to explore the role of public health practice in reducing
health inequities. This two day event will challenge participants to look beyond
the now abundant evidence that widespread inequities in health exist in British
Columbia (and elsewhere), to new and innovative forms of action aimed
at reducing these inequities. We encourage researchers, practitioners, students, policy-makers, and
community members to participate in this conference and to submit abstracts that
are congruent with the conference theme and that reflect collective,
collaborative efforts to address health inequities. The Ministry of Health’s Service Plan recognizes the need for action to
reduce the gap between the health of our Aboriginal populations and the average
British Columbian. This is an important first step. However, recent evidence,
such as that contained in the Health Officers Council of BC Discussion Paper,
’Health Inequities in British Columbia’, shows that in BC, as in
other jurisdictions, “health tends to be unevenly distributed among social
groups within the population on a gradient corresponding to socioeconomic
status”. This means that the inequities suffered by Aboriginal peoples are only
the most visible and extreme aspect of health inequity in BC. More hidden is the
deeply entrenched gradient in health as we move along the socio-economic ladder.
Nevertheless, this entrenchment is largely due to remediable social determinants
of health, and thus constitutes ‘inequity’ rather than simply an ‘inequality’ or
‘disparity’. Unfortunately, these inequities are only theoretically remediable; to
actually have positive change, we need effective public health action strategies
to help address the underlying determinants of health inequity. At the
conference we will investigate new approaches, collaborations and partnerships
aimed at action towards reducing health inequities. The conference format includes: Several sub-themes are offered to help align your abstracts Evaluation Criteria Due to limited space and the need for the most relevant and highest quality
program, the Conference Program Committee (CPC) has outlined several criteria by
which the quality and relevance of abstracts submitted will be judged. 1) Action – Although this
criterion is already explicit in the overall theme itself, we are aware of the
tendency of the public health community to slip back into a ‘description’ of
health inequities, even when intending to address the need for action. Abstracts
that not only emphasize, but also outline how they have, or intend to address
the concept of ‘action’ on health inequities will be judged as more
relevant. 2) Innovation – The challenge of
addressing health inequities requires innovation and inventiveness. While the
CPC will consider familiar interventions and approaches, it encourages new ideas
and new modes of action be presented in order to foster debate and dialogue
about the most promising ways forward. 3) Partnerships, Collaboration and
Intersectorality – While these three concepts are not synonymous,
they share a common thread that emphasizes participation and inclusiveness. We
are particularly interested in novel and successful attempts to involve
consumers, community members, multiple sectors, multiple levels of government,
community-university partnerships and other forms of collaboration aimed at
addressing health inequity. 4) Assets and Strengths – The CPC
encourages submission of abstracts related to a variety of public health
approaches to addressing health inequities; however, it is particularly
interested in approaches that explicitly focus on reservoirs of strength and
resilience, even in the most disadvantaged communities, as ‘assets’ for health.
This is particularly the case for our Aboriginal communities who often feel they
have been ‘pathologized’ by public health research and wish us to focus more on
how deeply embedded cultural and spiritual capacities are resources for
improving health and reducing health inequity. Guidelines Please indicate whether you are applying to present a workshop, oral or
poster presentation. ABSTRACT DEADLINE: May 15,
2009
Conference and Annual General Meeting
November 23
and 24, 2009
Plaza 500 Hotel, Vancouver, BC
Limit of 250 words. Submit your abstract
on-line at: www.phabc.org/modules.php?name=Contentabs