Grant: CIHR Café Scientifique Program

Progressive fiscal constraint in all arenas of health care over the past 10 years has resulted in an over-emphasis on efficiency. Health care delivery tends to be publicly monitored in narrow terms such as hospital bed utilization and surgical wait lists instead of (for example) family stress in home care, access to palliative care, and the availability of preventative health services. Such monitoring reflects how health care is treated as a commodity in our Canadian society, which has eroded accountability for the quality of health care delivery. Current research warns us that the impact of this erosion is especially pronounced for those who are disadvantaged because of attributes such as income, ethnic background, age, ability, housing status, and rural/remote locations. Further, the erosion has a serious impact on the well being and retention of health care providers. Yet there is currently little public discussion around the cumulative and multidimensional impact of the efficiency discourse about health care that has swept through Canada. The two Cafe Scientifiques proposed in this application are to foster wider public discourse in two different cities (Vancouver and Prince George) in two different health authorities in British Columbia (Vancouver Coastal and Northern Health) concerning what happens when health care is treated as a commodity, and what research-based solutions look promising. In each Café, after listening to three brief research-based presentations about current challenges and successes in health care delivery aimed at a lay audience, participants will engage in dialogue with researchers about what is happening in health care delivery and what the research tells us about possible solutions. As well, there will be dialogue about how to increase public awareness, including a discussion of the role of health care professionals, health authorities, universities, and the media in facilitating public engagement.