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. 2018 Sep 13:6:178-183.
doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2018.09.007. eCollection 2018 Dec.

"It's a tradition of naming injustice": An oral history of the social determinants of health - Canadian reflections, 1960s-present

Kelsey Lucyk  1
Affiliations

"It's a tradition of naming injustice": An oral history of the social determinants of health - Canadian reflections, 1960s-present

Kelsey Lucyk. SSM Popul Health. .

Erratum in

Abstract

The 'social determinants of health' (SDOH) approach in Canada is widely acknowledged as having emerged through contributions such as the 1974 Lalonde Report or 1986 Ottawa Charter. Drawing on original oral histories, I consider this history through the reflections of past and present leaders in Canadian public health. Through this rich information, I identified three phases in the recent history of the SDOH, from a social awareness (1960s-1970s, when participants underwent training and gained exposure to social and health inequities), to a loose collection of theoretical and empirical concepts (1970s-1990s, when the evidence base on health inequities and the mechanisms behind them began to solidify), to a distinct research approach (2000s-present, when high profile events led to acceptance of the SDOH approach) that encompassed the spirit of its previous iterations. This paper will be of interest to health researchers and professionals, decision-makers, and trainees as they contemplate their own role in this ongoing history.

Keywords: Health equity; Health promotion; Oral history; Population and public health; Social determinants of health.

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References

    1. Anonymous (2015). Interview with Participant 1. In K. Lucyk (Ed.). Unpublished.
    1. No author (2002). Strengthening the social determinants of health: The Toronto Charter for a healthy Canada. Toronto, ON.
    1. Atherton W.H. Child welfare and the city. The Public Health Journal. 1911;2(10):461–466.
    1. Bégin M. (2015). Interview with Hon. Monique Bégin. In K. Lucyk (Ed.) Unpublished.
    1. Butler-Jones D. Health Canada; Ottawa, ON: 2008. Chief Public Health Officer’s report on the state of public health in Canada, 2008: Addressing health inequalities.

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