Determinants of Health – good resources showing how bad Canada is doing

There are innumerable resources on Determinants of Health.  One came up on a Twitter recently through Health Evidence.ca based on a 2010 report that is well worth reading SDOH The Canadian Facts 

The report by Juha Mikkonen and coauthored by a strong Canadian advocate for population health in Dennis Raphael looks at Canada’s positioning globally on a variety of indicators regarding Determinants.  There is a cutting and poignant introduction by another Canadian icon,  Monique Bégin,  whose sojourn as the federal Minister of Health produced the Canada Health Act among other noteworthy accomplishments.

The document does not reflect well on the Canadian track record and even less so on the US record.  Some key highlights comparing the two countries with the best of the rest of the 28 OECD countries

Gini coefficient –                                       Denmark 0.23    Canada 0.32      US  0.38

International education testing scores:        Luxembourg 1^st  Canada 4^th        US 10^th

Employment protection                             Turkey 1^st          Canada 26^th      US 28^th

Child Poverty                                           Denmark 3.5%   Canada  15%     US 22%

Public expenditures on children                 Iceland 1^st          US  20^th            Canada 27^th

Social assistance levels as % of median household income

                                                                 UK 1^st              Canada 22^nd      US 27^th

Percentage of GDP spent on health care     France 8.9%     Canada 7.0%      US  7.0%

Gender Gap in wages                                 Belgium 9%      US 19%              Canada 21%  

An interesting read, lots of good data and punctuated by the authors recommended policy solutions.   A definite addition to the national resources accumulating on Canada’s relative performance on addressing determinants of health.