- Assess & report on a health inequities & effective strategies
- Modify & orient interventions & services
- Partner with other government & community organizations
- Lead, support & participate with others to influence policy
Since our consultant Brent Moloughney brought the four public health roles for health equity action to our attention, in 2010, we have been both promoting them as a framework (Let’s Talk Public health roles for health equity: an action framework and a 2013 CNNET webinar) and tracking how people in public health are using them. We’ve also used the roles to organize how we present our work on our website.
In interviews conducted for our 2014 Environmental Scan, we learned that many public health practitioners have found the roles helpful in framing and planning their work.
- Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit used the roles to guide the development of their health equity framework, and continues to use them to evaluate the scope of their work
- Halton Region Health Unit used the roles to make a successful case for a Health Equity Steering Committee, included them in the committee’s terms of reference, and use them as a meeting agenda template
- Middlesex-London Health Unit used the roles to design unit-wide professional development workshops
- Sudbury District Health Unit mapped the 10 promising practices that guide their Health Equity Action Plan with the four roles, and found great consistency and relevance
- Ontario’s SDOH nurses used them to evaluate past activities and develop future plans.
- alPHa/OPHA Health Equity Workgroup grounded their recent Health Equity Indicator Development work in the four roles
- Health and Wellness Nova Scotia used the four roles as a “touchstone” to guide their health equity planning, and they are in the province’s 2011-2016 public health standards
- York District Health Unit has been using the roles to develop their Health Equity Program
One of the challenges of health equity and social determinants work is that it is so broad; the roles framework helps public health teams look at the full range of their work and make strategic choices.
If you have a story about using the roles framework please contact me at kfish@stfx.ca.