Aboriginal babies more likely to die: study

Access to urban health care doesn't lower mortality rates

Last Updated: Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Canadian Press

An extensive study of infant mortality in Manitoba has shown that the death rate for aboriginal babies is more than twice the Canadian average and doesn't improve no matter how close their mothers live to sophisticated health-care facilities.

Although infant mortality among non-aboriginals declined with proximity to cities, the rate remained stubbornly high for First Nations women, says a new report published in the Journal of Rural Health.

"First Nations infants do not seem to have similarly benefited from the better health-care facilities in urban centres," the report says.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/06/17/man-infant-mortality-cp-manitoba.html#ixzz0rDbm9mHh
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Vancouver: Canada's hate-crime capital, says Stats Can

Complaints have almost doubled between 2007 and 2008

Vancouver now carries the dubious title of hate-crime and gay-bashing capital of Canada.

According to figures released by Statistics Canada on Monday, police-reported hate crimes in Vancouver almost doubled from 79 in 2007 to 143 in 2008 — including 34 hate attacks motivated by the victim's sexual orientation, by far the highest ratio of gay-bashing crimes among major Canadian cities.

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Canada+hate+crime+capital/3155257/story.html
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Aboriginals to tell commission residential school truths

The Canadian Press

WINNIPEG—The head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on residential schools says the stories of survivors will no longer be relegated to the sidelines of Canadian history.

Manitoba Justice Murray Sinclair says the commission will allow aboriginals to talk about what happened to them at the schools and their stories will finally get the attention they deserve.

Sinclair was speaking Wednesday at the opening of the commission's first public hearing in Winnipeg.

He said no one will be forced to speak of abuse suffered at the schools, but if survivors choose to come forward they will have the commission's full attention.

“To all those who wish to share their experience with us, I promise you this: if you have something to tell, we will hear you. You will not be questioned. You will not be asked to prove anything. You do not have to share anything that you do not wish to share.

“You will be provided with supports to assist you. You will be treated with respect. You will be treated with dignity.”

To read more, please visit:http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/824277--aboriginals-to-tell-commission-residential-school-truths?bn=1
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Public Forum: The Politics of Poverty and Public Health

The World Health Organization says health inequalities result from
“a toxic combination of poor social policies and programmes, unfair
economic arrangements, and bad politics.”

Canadians might well ask: “Why is it so hard to reduce poverty and close
the health equity gap in such a rich country?”

A panel of eminent political and public health leaders, as part of the
Canadian Public Health Association Centennial Conference, will reflect on
this challenge and debate the politics of the way forward.

Everyone welcome!

Monday, June 14, 2010
Sheraton Centre Toronto
Grand Ballroom, Lower Concourse
123 Queen Street West
7:00pm – 9:00pm

Speakers:

Carolyn Bennett, MP, St. Paul’s, Toronto

Andrea Horwath, MPP, Hamilton Centre

David McKeown, Medical Officer of Health, Toronto

Jessica Yee, Executive Director, Native Youth Sexual Health Network
Moderator

Paulette Senior, CEO, YWCA Canada
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Health Equity Survey

This Echo funded survey is part of a project called Making Gender-Based and Equity-Assisting Frameworks Accessible: Knowledge Translation Strategies for Ontario's Healthcare Professionals. It is anonymous. It will help the Project Team understand how Ontario’s health-care professionals use an equity lens in their work. It’s one way for you to influence development of knowledge translation strategies and tools to support health-care providers, planners, and policy-makers as well as expand equity as a key criterion when developing, implementing, and evaluating health programs and services. Please fill out the survey by June 30, 2010!

Access survey at:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=vQGpZ26FnfsaKoOA8qO%2fDXb8p2VSmNRVCgCasIqou4Y%3d&
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Survey: Women's Health in Ontario

Please encourage women you know to take a moment to fill out a 20 minute electronic survey about the health issues that are of most interest to them, especially in relation to personal experiences with health, services, information and treatment. The information gathered will help to increase our understanding and provide an overview of the health issues for women in Ontario. The survey is anonymous and seeks to hear from women across Ontario. We are encouraging women from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds to participate in the survey. We strongly encourage women who are often under-represented in women's health research, including but not limited to: Aboriginal women, immigrant and refugee women, rural women, lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans women and women with disabilities to fill out the survey and ensure the issues are represented.

This survey is part of a project called Health Research and Knowledge Translation: Including the Voices of Ontario Women. This project is being carried out by a partnership that includes the Ontario Women's Health Network, and is under the guidance of an Advisory Committee. The project is funded by Echo: Improving Women's Health in Ontario, an agency of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

Please pass on the survey link to women you work with, friends, family members and other women in the community. Fill out your survey today!!

The survey is available online until June 27 at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/womenhealth
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Health Impact Project: Advancing Smarter Policies for Healthier Communities

The Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts, is a national initiative designed to promote the use of health impact assessments (HIAs) as a decision-making tool for policymakers. HIAs use a flexible, data-driven approach that identifies the health consequences of new policies and develops practical strategies to enhance their health benefits and minimize adverse effects.

The Health Impact Project will promote the use of HIAs by:

• Creating a national center of excellence housed at Pew and providing the coordination and infrastructure needed to establish HIAs as a well-recognized field in the United States;

• Demonstrating the effectiveness of HIAs by funding a series of HIA demonstration projects in various sectors and throughout various regions of the country;

• Building a training and technical assistance network that will support a new group of HIA practitioners and engage and strengthen current HIA practice centers;

• Completing two major federal-level HIAs to address policies of great importance to health in the United States and validate the effectiveness and importance of this tool; and

• Researching and broadly disseminating a review of existing laws, regulations and policies that might support the use of HIAs and help practitioners find new opportunities to implement them.

For more information, please visit: http://www.healthimpactproject.org/
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