Changes to Housing and Income Policies Threaten Women's Health

Public policy changes with regards to housing and income can have serious effects on a person’s health. The most vulnerable to these effects include lone parent families. Lone parent families led by men are just as vulnerable to these policy changes as women. However, the majority of lone parent families in Canada are led by women. As a result, changes in housing and income are primarily a women’s issue.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Top Reasons for Unmet Healthcare Need in Canada

Women, individuals with low income, and home renters are more likely to have unmet healthcare needs in Canada.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Islands of isolation in a modern metropolis: Social structures and the geography of social exclusion in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

In response to a request from a local community health centre, an inquiry was undertaken into the service needs and day-to-day lives of residents in five social housing complexes in the inner suburbs of Etobicoke, Toronto. Unlike other low-income communities embedded within larger wealthier communities, these complexes have little in the way of health care, social service, or recreational facilities. Focus groups revealed that anticipated issues of difficulty in accessing primary health care services, limited access to support services, and lack of recreational opportunities for youth were intensified by gentrification of neighbourhoods, ongoing experiences of racism and discrimination, a dearth of occupational opportunities for youth and political invisibility of these residents. These experiences of social exclusion are especially troubling when contrasted with the opportunities for health and well-being offered to many others in one of Canada’s wealthiest urban communities.En réponse à une demande d’un centre de santé communautaire local, une enquête a été entreprise sur les besoins en services et la vie quotidienne de résidents de cinq complexes de logements sociaux dans la banlieue intérieure d’Etobicoke, à Toronto. Contrairement à d’autres communautés à faible revenu intégrées dans des communautés plus grandes et plus riches, ces complexes ont peu de soins de santé, services sociaux ou d’installations récréatives. Les groupes de discussion ont révélés que les problèmes anticipés de difficultés d’accès aux services de soin de santé primaires, d’accès limité aux services de soutien et de manque d’opportunités récréatives pour les jeunes étaient intensifiés par l’embourgeoisement des quartiers, les expériences continues de racisme et de discriminations, le maque d’opportunités professionnelles pour les jeunes et l’invisibilité politique de ces résidents. Ces expériences d’exclusion sociale sont particulièrement troublantes lorsqu’elles sont mises en contraste avec les opportunités de santés et de bien-être offertes à beaucoup d’autres dans l’une des communautés urbaines les plus riches au Canada

Individuals' History of Low Income Is a Key Determinant of Type 2 Diabetes

People who experience low income status are at a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.York’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Poverty Has a Devastating Impact on Canadians Living with Diabetes

Diabetes is more prevalent among the poor. Healthcare professionals, in addition to providing excellent care, must push to reduce poverty. This will optimize the management and prevention of diabetes.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Canadians Living with Diabetes and in Poverty Are at High Risk

Canadian individuals living in poverty and who also have T2DM are at high risk for adverse health outcomes. Social welfare does not provide sufficient assistance to allow them to successfully manage their disease. They have difficulty affording the diet required to avoid severe health problems that result from T2DM.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Type 2 Diabetes in Vulnerable Populations

Diabetes prevention and management needs more advocacy through a network of different health care partners working together. This can also help inform policy that meets the distinct needs of at risk populations for diabetes, such as low-income earners.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Housing & Income as Social Determinants of Women’s Health in Canadian Cities

Health policy is increasingly conceptualized as concerned with broader issues that influence health rather than simply focused on health care. One such concern is with the social determinants of health which are the conditions in which people live and work. Social determinants provide the context for understanding population health and women’s health in particular. Especially important to health are the social determinants of income and housing. This article examines how income and housing policies interact with gender to influence these social determinants of Canadian women’s health. It compares income and housing data for unattached men and women of working age (18 to 64 years), couples with children, and female and male lone-parents in the Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs). The study found that although the incomes of female lone-parents increased slightly in Montreal and Toronto, female lone-parents and unattached females without children continue to show higher rates of poverty than other groups. Female lone-parents are the most socially and economically disadvantaged. Women’s lower incomes provide the context in which health-related effects of housing and income policies can be understood

Towards a New Paradigm for Research on Urban Women’s Health

This paper considers the literature on the determinants of urban women’s health through a political economy perspective. This approach is concerned with how society organizes and distributes social and economic resources. These distributions of resources lead to qualitatively different environments that affect women’s health. While there is increasing concern about the quality of urban environments in Canada and their impact on the health of Canadians in general, and women in particular, there is little consideration of how urban environments—especially the social determinants of health— influence women’s health. Instead, a review of the women’s urban health research literature reveals a primary focus on the incidence and prevalence of a variety of disorders among women and issues of access to services and treatment. When urban environments are considered, inquiry is limited to identifying the locations in which women with a variety of afflictions are found. Studies rarely consider the political, economic, and social forces that create these disadvantaged environments, nor how these environments lead to poor health. This paper draws on the emerging social determinants of health literature to present new directions for women’s urban health research