The first pan-Canadian effort to document key health inequalities in Canada
The Pan-Canadian Health Inequalities Reporting (HIR) initiative is the “first pan-Canadian effort to document key health inequalities in Canada and describe differences in health outcomes, living conditions, and the structural conditions that support health among various populations”. The initiative is anchored in the Government of Canada’s domestic and international commitments, including the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Rio Political Declaration on the Social Determinants of Health (2011), the United Nations (UN) Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2015), and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Calls to Action.
A collaborative undertaking of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the Pan-Canadian Public Health Network (PHN), Statistics Canada, and the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), the HIR includes two companion products: a web-based Health Inequalities Data Tool and the Key Health Inequalities in Canada - A National Report. The First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNIGC) is partner on the National Report. These resources measure, monitor and report on the widespread health inequities experienced by Canadians, including those influencing the health of First Nations, Inuit and Métis populations.
The Health Inequalities Data Tool is a searchable database that includes over 70 health indicators of health outcomes (mortality and life expectancy, morbidity, mental illness and suicide, self-assessed physical and mental health, and disease/health conditions), and the following social determinants of health, some of which provide data relevant to Indigenous health:
- health behaviors
- physical and social environments
- working conditions
- health care
- social protection
- social inequities
- early childhood development
The Key Health Inequalities in Canada report is an in-depth review of the magnitude of the most pressing health inequities across Canadian populations, and provides a narrative context for the Health Inequalities Data Tool. The report provides an overview of the determinants underlying health inequities for selected populations and covers 22 health outcomes and health determinants.
The HIR, and its key products, is significant in that it aims to inform policy, program, and future action to advance health equity, including that of Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Read the NCCIH document Supporting Indigenous Health Inequity Reporting in Canada: An Executive Summary on the Pan-Canadian Health Inequalities Reporting Initiative.