Poverty Income Inequality And Health In Canada

The quality of life in a society is one of the most powerful determinants of health: poverty and unemployment, poor housing and lack of education, child poverty and problems in early childhood development all take their toll. Researchers are now discovering that it's not the richest countries that have the best health: it's the most egalitarian. Monica Townson warns that failure to address social and economic inequality will have a serious impact on the health of Canadians. Inequalities have been increasing over the past decade as rates of poverty, unemployment and homelessness have risen. The gap between rich and poor in Canada is widening and Townson maintains this has dangerous implications for our health. Health and Wealth looks at the effects of inequality in Canada and discusses the kinds of co-ordinated efforts that would be needed at all levels of government to achieve better health for all citizens.

Now in its third edition, this comprehensive text provides an in-depth examination of poverty and its impact on the health and quality of life of Canadians. Considering a broad range of topics, Dennis Raphael covers the central issues of defining and measuring poverty; situational and societal causes of poverty; health and social implications for individuals, communities, and society as a whole; and the means of reducing poverty’s incidence through public policy action. Poverty in Canada will foster greater insight into the repercussions of poverty throughout society, encouraging readers to reflect on provocative questions at the end of each chapter. Well updated to reflect current statistics and recent public policy changes, this new edition explores why specific groups of Canadians are over-represented amongst those living in poverty and provides a more developed analysis of the barriers to reducing poverty, including economic globalization and the increased power and influence of the corporate sector under neo liberalism. Emphasizing the lived experiences of poverty, this interdisciplinary volume is a valuable resource to those studying or working in health studies, social work, sociology, and equity studies.

In the current environment of deepening class and income inequality, it is essential to understand the socio-economic conditions that shape the health of individuals and communities. Now in its third edition, Dennis Raphael’s Social Determinants of Health offers a comprehensive discussion of the primary factors that influence the health of Canada’s population. This seminal text on the social determinants of health contains contributions from top academics and high-profile experts from across the country. Taking a public policy approach, the authors in this edited collection critically analyze the structural inequalities embedded in our society and the socio-economic factors that affect health, including income, education, employment, housing, food security, gender, and race. The thorough updates to this edition include a greater focus on the political mechanisms that explain the distribution of the social determinants of health and additional material on public policy, early childhood education in Canada, and the determinants of Indigenous peoples’ health. Rich in pedagogical tools including critical thinking questions and lists of recommended readings and online resources, this book will actively engage students and researchers alike.

Tackling Health Inequalities: Lessons from International Experiences provides a unique perspective on health inequalities in Canada and elsewhere. This exciting new volume brings together experiences from seven wealthy developed nations -- the United States, Australia, Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Finland, Norway, and Sweden -- to analyze their contrasting approaches to reducing avoidable health problems. Some nations are successfully responding to health inequalities, but Canada and the United States are not among them. Why is this, and what can we learn from other nations? Through a political economy lens, Tackling Health Inequalities considers how societal structures and institutions shape the distribution of economic, political, and social resources that affect health disparities amongst the population. The volume then goes on to examine how governing authorities come to either confront or ignore these health inequalities and the conditions that create them. Through these illustrations, it encourages governing authorities that are tackling health inequalities to continue their efforts and directs those that are not -- such as in Canada and elsewhere -- towards what must be done. This groundbreaking text shows the primary lessons from these international experiences: that citizens in Canada and elsewhere need to educate themselves about the importance of tackling health inequalities, and then build the political and social movements that will compel governmental authorities to take action. This volume will serve as a rich resource for professionals and general readers interested in health studies, nursing, social work, public policy, and political economy.

"Rising income inequality has been at the forefront of public debate in Canada in recent years, yet there is still much to be learned about the economic forces driving the distribution of earnings and income in this country and how they might evolve in coming years. With research showing that the tax-and-transfer system is less effective than in the past in counteracting growing income disparities, the need for policy-makers to understand the factors at play is all the more urgent. The Institute for Research on Public Policy, in collaboration with the Canadian Labour Market and Skills Researcher Network, has gathered some of the country’s leading experts to provide new evidence on the causes and effects of rising income inequality in Canada and to consider the role of policy. Their research and analysis constitutes a comprehensive review of Canadian inequality trends in recent decades, including changing earnings and income dynamics among middle--class and top earners, wage and job polarization across provinces, and persistent poverty among vulnerable groups. The authors also examine the changing role of education and unionization, as well as the complex interplay of redistributive policies and politics, in order to propose new directions for policy. Amid growing anxieties about the economic prospects of the middle class, Income Inequality: The Canadian Story will inform the public discourse on this issue of central concern for all Canadians."--Publisher's website.

Poverty and Policy in Canada provides a unique, interdisciplinary perspective on poverty and its importance to the health and quality of life of Canadians. This original volume considers a range of issues that will be of great interest to a variety of audiences - Social Work, Health Sciences, Sociology, Political Science, Policy Studies, Nursing, Education, Psychology, and the general public. Central issues include the definitions of poverty and means of measuring it in wealthy, industrialized nations such as Canada; the causes of poverty - both situational and societal; the health and social implications of poverty for individuals, communities, and society as a whole; and means of addressing the incidence of poverty and improving its effects. Particular emphasis has been placed on the lived experiences of poverty throughout the book. This new book has three, straightforward goals: to provide a range of approaches for understanding poverty and its effects to help readers understand the structural antecedents of poverty - that is, how society and its distribution of resources are the primary determinants of poverty to provide realistic solutions to poverty

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.