Hastings Prince Edward Public Health is taking steps to address racism in public health.
Social Determinants of Health Nurse Victoria Law says an Anti-Racism Working Group is a core priority with the first meeting of the group to be held in the first half of 2022.
Law says social determinants of health are the social, political and economic factors that impact the conditions in which people live, work and learn, and racism is one of them.
“We’re working to raise awareness in the community about how racism can have an effect on people’s health and use the platform that we have as a health agency to encourage both residents and other organizations in the community to, to work to advance these issues as well.”
Law says anti-Black racism can have a profound impact on health by the frequent stress it puts on the body which can trigger stress-coping behaviours which can lead to disease.
HPEPH began working on anti-racism strategies internally and to advance equity, diversity and inclusion in 2020.
Some of their efforts were stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic but Law says last year during COVID-19 vaccine clinics they began collecting socio-demographic data.
“It was completely voluntary but that information helped us to better understand who was accessing our clinics, who wasn’t. And then how we could help create better outreach to ensure we were reaching the most disadvantaged communities who may face more barriers to accessing our services.”
Law says at this time the data is only being used internally but may be shared in the future.
HPEPH staff members have also undergone training to develop the skills and capacity to build an inclusive workplace and a public health nurse currently chairs the Quinte Local Immigration Partnership (QLIP) Anti-Racism Working Group.
