title: Advancing health equity to improve health: the time is now.
abstract: Health inequities, or avoidable inequalities in health between groups of people, are increasingly recognized and tackled to improve public health. Canada's interest in health inequities goes back over 40 years, with the landmark 1974 Lalonde report, and continues with the 2011 Rio Political Declaration on Social Determinants of Health, which affirmed a global political commitment to implementing a social determinants of health approach to reducing health inequities. Research in this area includes documenting and tracking health inequalities, exploring their multidimensional causes, and developing and evaluating ways to address them. Inequalities can be observed in who is vulnerable to infectious and chronic diseases, the impact of health promotion and disease prevention efforts, how disease progresses, and the outcomes of treatment. Many programs, policies and projects with potential impacts on health equity and determinants of health have been implemented across Canada. Recent theoretical and methodological advances in the areas of implementation science and population health intervention research have strengthened our capacity to develop effective interventions. With the launch of a new health equity series this month, the journals Canada Communicable Disease Report and Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada will continue to reflect and foster analysis of social determinants of health and focus on intervention studies that advance health equity.
authors.affiliation: Social Determinants and Science Integration Directorate, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.affiliation: Assistant Deputy Minister' s Office, Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Huston
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006078:Government Programs; D000069576:Health Equity / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D009313:National Health Programs; D011634:Public Health / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors