Canada's Aboriginal Peoples and Health: The Perpetuation of Inequalities

Who are Aboriginal Canadians and what is their reality? How is the health inequality experienced by Aboriginal Canadians being addressed? Why do such health inequalities persist today? Canada has a publicly funded health-care system that many Canadians understandably are proud of. However, not all peoples have benefited equally. The health status of Canada's original peoples on virtually all indicators of health is below that of non-Aboriginal Canadians. They have higher mortality and morbidity rates and higher incidences of tuberculosis, alcoholism, and suicide than the rest of the population. They also are more likely to be unemployed, to live in poverty and substandard housing, and to have lower education attainment levels. This chapter explores possible explanations for these equities and situates the existing inequality in a broader social and historical context Aboriginal people's experiences of colonization, dispossession, and marginalization from the dominant economy. As well, the chapter explores the health implications of these processes. Although efforts have been made to improve the health status of Aboriginal peoples, many structural inequalities remain

Hospital and Community Pharmacists' Attitudes Towards Clinical Pharmacy

ABSTRACTThis longitudinal study compared the attitudes of the Class of 1983 at the University of Toronto toward clinical pharmacy seven years after graduation with those they expressed at the point of graduation in 1983. Over three quarters of the original class responded by indicating agreement or disagreement with statements (on a 5-point scale) about clinical pharmacy in 1983 and 1989. While there was little difference between those who became hospital pharmacists versus those who became community pharmacists at the point of graduation, seven years later, the hospital pharmacists were significantly more favourable than their colleagues toward drug consulting aspects of clinical pharmacy. The community pharmacists were significantly more favourable than their colleagues toward patient counselling aspects of clinical pharmacy. It is concluded that the work setting has influenced these different preferences for how the ideal of clinical pharmacy is interpreted. We offer a possible explanation for the consistently positive, if divergent, orientations towards the ideal of clinical pharmacy.RÉSUMÉCette étude longitudinale compare le point de vue des diplômés de 1983 de l’Université de Toronto sur la pharmacie clinique à l’obtention de leur diplôme et sept ans plus tard. Les trois quarts des membres originaux du groupe ont indiqué dans quelle mesure ils étaient d’accord ou non (échelle de 5 points) ave certaines déclarations sur la pharmacie clinique en 1983, puis en 1989. Bien qu’on note peu de différence entre ceux qui ont choisi la pharmacie hospitalière plutôt que la profession de pharmacien communautaire à l’obtention de leur diplôme, sept ans plus tard, les pharmaciens d’hôpitaux penchaient sensiblement plus vers l’aspect «consultation sur les médicaments» de la pharmacie clinique, tandis que leurs collègues des pharmacies communautaires favorisaient davantage l’aspect «conseils au patient». On en conclu que le milieu de travail exerce une influence sur les préférences quant à la manière dont l’idéal de la pharmacie clinique est interprété. Nous proposons une explication à des orientations positives aussi cohérentes, quoique divergentes, de l’idéal de la pharmacie clinique