Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de santé publique
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Can J Public Health · Dec 2018
Is 'health equity' bad for our health? A qualitative empirical ethics study of public health policy-makers' perspectives.
'Social justice' and 'health equity' are core values in public health. Yet, despite their normative character, the numerous normative accounts of social justice and equity are rarely acknowledged, meaning that these values are often unaccompanied by an explanation of what they require in practice. The objective of this study was to bridge this normative scholarship with information about how these 'core values' are integrated and interpreted by Canadian public health policy-makers. ⋯ These findings indicate that health equity dominates the discursive space wherein justice-based considerations are brought to bear on public health activities. As a result, 'uncomfortable' justice-based considerations of power imbalances and systematic disadvantage can be eschewed in practice in favour of attending to 'proximal' inequities. These findings reveal the problematic ways in which considerations of justice and equity are, and are not, being taken up in public health policy, which in turn may have negative implications for the public's health.
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Can J Public Health · Aug 2018
Opening Canada's first Health Canada-approved supervised consumption sites.
In response to the opioid overdose crisis, a Public Health Emergency was declared in British Columbia (BC) in April 2016. There were 1448 deaths in BC in 2017 (30.1 deaths per 100,000 individuals). ⋯ By assessing drug use practices, the evolving needs of people who use substances, and tailoring services to local context, we can potentially engage with individuals earlier in their substance use trajectory to improve the utility of services and prevent more overdoses and overdose deaths.
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Can J Public Health · Aug 2018
Utility gains from reductions in the modifiable burden of lung cancer attributable to residential radon in Canada.
The objective of this analysis is to estimate the modifiable burden of disease according to the annual number of lung cancer deaths prevented and the associated period gain in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) for the 2012 populations in Canada from reductions in residential radon exposures. ⋯ The magnitude of QALY gains in Canada estimated under the two radon mitigation scenarios is appreciable but varies considerably across provinces due to variability in indoor radon concentrations and smoking rates.
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Can J Public Health · Apr 2018
Climate change, colonialism, and women's well-being in Canada: what is to be done?
The impacts of accelerating climate change across Canada are unequally distributed between populations and regions. Emerging evidence shows climate change and resultant policies to be worsening gendered social and economic inequities between women and men, with women's participation largely absent in climate change research and decision-making. These dynamics are resulting in negative impacts for women's well-being, with Indigenous and historically marginalized women at increased risk of experiencing health inequities as a result of climate change. ⋯ Paralleling this lack of development, the entangled relationship between climate and colonialism tends to be subsumed under the term "Aboriginality" within health determinants discourse. This commentary on gender and climate change in Canada is framed within a radical intersectional approach as an alternative course of public health analysis and action aimed at addressing resulting health and power inequities. Following an overview of evidence regarding the gendered impacts of climate change on women's work, roles, agency, and well-being, several possible public health action areas on climate change and gender are highlighted as necessary components for resilient communities capable of meeting contemporary challenges.
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Can J Public Health · Feb 2018
Preventing alcohol-related cancer: what if everyone drank within the guidelines?
The purpose of this study was to estimate the proportion and number of cancer cases diagnosed in Ontario in 2012 that are attributable to alcohol consumption and to compare the impact of drinking within two sets of guidelines on alcohol-attributable cancer incidence. ⋯ Strategies to limit alcohol consumption to the levels recommended by drinking guidelines could potentially reduce the cancer burden in Ontario.