Grant: Applied Public Health Chair - LOI

As researchers investigate policy interventions to promote health equity across the life course, it is timely to integrate generational analyses. Medical care and retirement income pressures are top of mind for government officials and health practitioners as the Baby Boom generation retires. At the same time, the sustainability of these programs is key for younger generations who also hope to have an opportunity to benefit. The Chair in Generational Equity and Health will build a cutting edge research and knowledge translation hub that focuses on federal and provincial policy interventions which shape the distribution of public resources between the needs of an aging population and early childhood as a determinant of lifelong health. This research will provide policy makers, practitioners, students and the general public with high quality, comprehensive generational analyses to inform priority setting in the health care system and for investments in the determinants of health. The social determinants now pose growing challenges for Generations X and Y. After adjusting for inflation, Canadians under age 45 start their families earning lower wages and paying higher housing prices than did their parents a generation ago. While there are interventions to mitigate these challenges, their implementation is impeded by dynamics that create an imbalance in public spending across generations. Presently, Canadians under 45 are less likely to vote at the same rate as older Canadians. So long as this age gap persists, all political parties are less likely to organize platforms in response to issues that primarily impact younger generations. In response, the research produced by the Chair in Generational Equity and Health will be used to scale up and evaluate an inter-sectoral population health intervention designed to reduce the age gap in political engagement - a gap that currently impedes Canada's ability to promote health equity over the life course.