Poverty kills. That’s the key message in What Makes us Sick, a report released today by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) based on what Canadians said during a series of town hall meetings and an online consultation held earlier this year. The national dialogue with Canadians asked them about their experiences with the social determinants of health – the factors that cause people to suffer poor health in the first place. “Many factors outside the health care system affect a person’s health, from inadequate housing to a lack of healthy food to sub-optimal early childhood experiences,” said Dr. Anna Reid, past CMA president. “What Canadians told us is that poverty is the recurring theme that underpins most of these social determinants of health.” The CMA report included recommendations for action, again, based on what Canadians said. However, Dr. Reid stressed that the report does not lay blame. “We aren’t pointing fingers,” she said. “We listened to Canadians and what we heard was that they want sincere, legitimate and real action. As a country we can do better in tackling issues around poverty, housing, early childhood development, food security and culture that can hinder a person’s chances to be healthy. There is no one sector responsible for making this happen. It has to be a joint effort, involving health care providers, governments, patients and Canadians from all backgrounds.”
