Social Determinants Of Health In Canada

The Issue of the Rich-Poor Gap and How It Effects Health in Canada

Trinelle Brown

University of Ontario Institute of Technology

100618168

HLSC1811U Social Determinants of Health - Section 004

March 17th, 2017

Introduction This paper will discuss certain social determinants of health and how they affect the health of Canadians. Social determinants of health (SDH) are financial and social conditions that impact the health of people and communities. This paper will also examine the article “Rich-Poor Gap is making Canadians sick” by Rob Rainer and Linda Silas, which discusses the difference of income among Canadians and how it affects their health. This article addresses all the SDH, but the one focused on the

The problem that reaches public attention is how income affects the health of Canadians. People living with low incomes are less healthy and have more medical conditions and symptoms of illness than people living with higher incomes (Williamson et al., 2006). There is an unequal distribution of SDH in Canada, which is mostly influenced by the part of the public with more power (Williamson et al., 2006). A survey was done about the public opinion about income-related health inequalities in Ontario. Almost 73% of Ontarians agreed with the general idea that all people are not equally healthy in Ontario because of the income gap (Shankardass, Lofters, Kirst, & Quinonez, 2012). In another survey based off the subject of income and health equity, almost 53% of participants agreed that the rich are much healthier than the poor. 64.1% agreed that the poor are less likely to live into old age than the rich, and 56.5% agreed that rich people have been getting healthier relative to poor people recently (Shankardass et al., 2012). In democracies such as Canada, the opinion of the public can greatly affect the political outcome on social and health related issues (Shankardass et al., 2012). While the outcomes of health care reform are relevant to all Canadians, government and public choices affecting the cost, delivery, and access to health care services have specifically significant

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