Grant: Operating Grant: Programmatic Grants to tackle health and health equity

Canada has long had a commitment to improving the health of all Canadians including those who face social and economic disadvantages. Improvements in the health of the population in the future will be achieved by action on the social determinants of health. For example, where you live or work and how much money you have can determine whether you will be healthy or sick. The way that society is organized means that people have different opportunities and access to resources for health during their lives. The commitment to improving overall health and addressing differences in health is described in many Canadian documents and has been endorsed by governments and leaders in public health. Although health is determined by more than health care services, the health sector and particularly public health have an important role to play in strengthening action on the social determinants. Currently, public health services in British Columbia are being reorganized and this is an important time for learning and enhancing the ability of public health services and practitioners to improve the effectiveness of public health services in responding to unfair differences in health particularly in the promotion of mental health and delivery of substance use services. An important aspect of this work is ensuring a strong public health system with public health providers that have the knowledge, skills, tools and resources to undertake this work.This research will contribute to increasing the effectiveness and contributions of public health for reducing unfair and inequitable differences in health. This research is a collaborative effort between public health and university researchers and will provide important learnings and improvements about the effectiveness of changes being implemented.