Striving for social justice through action on health equity
Source: https://cumming.ucalgary.ca/about/cumming-school-medicine/our-priorities/striving-social-justice-through-action-health-equity Parent: https://cumming.ucalgary.ca/
As a community, we are committed to social justice. Our work will drive progress on the social and environmental determinants of health.
Objectives
- Improve health outcomes for all
- Develop Anti-racism, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) initiatives to create sense of belonging for all
- Commitment to improvement in Black health, innovation and recognition of Black excellence
Principles
- Lead anti-racism and anti-oppression
- Innovate and implement EDIA strategies
- Improve rural access to care
- Understand the effect of climate change on health
Strategies
1. Consolidate health equity strategies through Health Equity Hub in O’Brien Institute for Public Health
- Translate research in health equity, social and environmental determinants of health to change social and health policy
- Study how to embed anti-racism, anti-oppression and EDIA in outward-facing CSM initiatives
- Sustain and expand health and UCalgary relationships and respond to community priorities
- Build capacity to recruit, support and retain learners and faculty working in social and environmental determinants of health
- Develop relationships with decision and policy makers and politicians to implement evidence-based changes
- Implement and evaluate a learning health system approach to improve the quality and safety of health care for new immigrants
2. Develop an EDIA action plan accountable to a Strategic EDIA Council
- Identify and support leads in Indigenous health, Black health, immigrant and refugee health, disability and health, 2SLGBTQIA+ health, women’s health and other equity deserving groups
- Create and support an EDIA research and scholarship team
- Establish grants and awards for researchers working in EDIA
- Provide support for EDIA curricular review and development across all CSM learning programs
- Initiate a reconciliation process that centers people and community
3. Implement commitments of the Scarborough Charter
- Develop and evaluate a program that addresses racism and discrimination in Canada’s health systems, using a participatory approach that involves racialized and marginalized communities, health system partners, and other partners
- Compare the health status, health behaviours, health service use, costs and outcomes of racialized and non-racialized populations in Alberta. Use this data together with community priorities to devise interventions that address aspects of the quintuple aim.
- Address black health inequities through black population-based research
4. Create and enhance programs to address stress, mental health, opioids and addiction
- Further implement and evaluate the impact of Integrated PATH (iPATH)
- Implement and evaluate quality and safety improvements for opioid prescribing in primary care in Alberta, using data from Alberta Health Services, clinical decision support tools, and feedback mechanisms
- Identify the barriers and opportunities to enhance naloxone distribution in primary care
5. Expand research and education into the impact of climate change on health
- Climate preparedness and adaptation in clinical delivery and training
- Environmentally sustainable health care and education
- Align with the World Health Organization Sustainable Development Goals (2015) and UCalgary Office of Sustainability