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. 2022 Oct;113(5):749-754.
doi: 10.17269/s41997-022-00630-y. Epub 2022 Apr 18.

Social, political, commercial, and corporate determinants of rural health equity in Canada: an integrated framework

Betsy Leimbigler  1 , Eric Ping Hung Li  2 , Kathy L Rush  2 , Cherisse Lynn Seaton  2
Affiliations

Social, political, commercial, and corporate determinants of rural health equity in Canada: an integrated framework

Betsy Leimbigler et al. Can J Public Health. 2022 Oct.

Abstract
in English, French

People in rural and remote areas often experience greater vulnerability and higher health-related risks as a result of complex issues that include limited access to affordable health services and programs. During disruptive events, rural populations face unique barriers and challenges due to their remoteness and limited access to resources, including digital technologies. While social determinants of health have been highlighted as a tool to understand how health is impacted by various social factors, it is crucial to create a holistic framework to fully understand rural health equity. In this commentary, we propose an integrated framework that connects the social determinants of health (SDOH), the political determinants of health (PDOH), the commercial determinants of health (ComDOH), and the corporate determinants of health (CorpDOH) to address health inequity in rural and remote communities in Canada. The goal of this commentary is to situate these four determinants of health as key to inform policy-makers and practitioners for future development of rural health equity policies and programs in Canada.

RéSUMé: Les personnes vivant dans les régions rurales et éloignées sont souvent plus vulnérables et présentent des risques plus élevés pour la santé en raison de plusieurs défis incluant l’accès limité aux services et programmes de santé abordables. Lors des événements perturbateurs, les populations rurales font face à des obstacles et défis uniques en raison de leur éloignement et de leur accès limité aux technologies digitales. Alors que les déterminants sociaux de la santé sont un outil pour comprendre l’effet de divers facteurs sociaux sur la santé, il est crucial de créer un cadre holistique pour bien comprendre l’équité en santé rurale. Dans ce commentaire, nous proposons un cadre intégré qui relie les déterminants sociaux de la santé (SDOH), les déterminants politiques de la santé (PDOH), les déterminants commerciaux de la santé (ComDOH) et les déterminants de la santé des entreprises/corporatifs (CorpDOH) pour lutter contre les inégalités en santé dans les régions rurales et éloignées au Canada. Le but de ce commentaire est de situer les déterminants sociaux, politiques, commerciaux et corporatifs de la santé comme étant essentiels aux responsables de la formulation des politiques publiques ainsi qu’aux clinicien(ne)s dans l’avenir des politiques et programmes d’équité en santé rurale au Canada.

Keywords: Determinants of health; Integrated framework; Rural health equity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Integrated determinants of health framework for rural health equity
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Where are the ecological determinants of health?
    Buse CG, Hancock T, Allison S, Astle B, Cole D, Fumerton R, Gislason M, Takaro T, Howard C, Kling R, Maruti S, McLaren L, Newhouse E, Parkes MW, Pollock S, Rainham D, Webb J, Woollard R. Buse CG, et al. Can J Public Health. 2023 Feb;114(1):152-153. doi: 10.17269/s41997-022-00720-x. Epub 2022 Nov 18. Can J Public Health. 2023. PMID: 36400906 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

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