Social determinants of health 

Economic and social conditions, such as housing, social status, social support and income, influence people’s well-being and health. This section includes submissions, reports and other resources addressing some of these key social determinants of health.

Key Links

• World Health Organization—Commission on the Social Determinants of Health
• Public Health Agency of Canada
• Ontario’s Local Health and Integration Networks

Resources

Housing

• The Homeless Hub is a web-based information centre containing research, policy and best practices information on homelessness and housing instability. It includes a searchable library of 30,000+ resources. The report Housing, Vulnerability, and Health, tracks the housing and health status of homeless and vulnerably-housed individuals in Canada. The study finds that “people who are vulnerably housed face the same severe health problems as people who are homeless.”
• Turning the Key (link to the PDF), an executive summary of a research report, provides a scan of the housing and community support needs for people living with mental illness in Canada. The project was carried out by researchers at CAMH and the Canadian Council on Social Development. The result is designed to facilitate planning and policy work in housing and related supports regionally, provincially/territorially and nationally.
• Raising the Roof aims to provide national leadership on homelessness and has a subsciption e-newsletter with news in the sector.
• City of Toronto Planning and Growth Management Committee (PDF)
  In May 2010, the CAMH public policy unit made a deputation to the City of Toronto’s Planning and Growth Management Committee. The deputation urged the committee to reject any land use restrictions that constitute discrimination against people who require supportive housing, including land use separation requirements.
• CAMH Submission on Bill 106 – The Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act (SCAN), November 2009
• Housing Discussion Paper, April 2002 (PDF)
  This paper highlights critical issues in housing for people with mental illness and suggests new approaches. The overall importance of housing is well established and is founded on a combination of research and consumer experience. CAMH asserts that consumers need safe, affordable places to live and the right level of support to make their tenure a success.
• The Wellesley Institute develops research and community-based policy addressing urban health and health disparities. Its report, Precarious Housing in Canada, demonstrates the link between the improvement of precarious housing and better population health
• The City of Toronto report, What Housing First Means to People (PDF), examines outcomes in homeless people who had been provided with supportive housing. It provides evidence that “homeless individuals housed directly from the street can maintain their housing with the appropriate supports in place, and also provides client perspectives on the housing process, the supports they receive, and changes in a variety of quality of life indicators."

Home care

• Mental Health Homecare: Response to the First Ministers Accord, March 2003 (PDF)
  CAMH strongly supports the inclusion of mental health homecare in both the Romanow report and the signed First Ministers Accord. This paper provides advice on how to apply the homecare concept in the mental health care context.

Ontario Disability Support Program ODSP & Employment

• The discussion paper Employment and Education for People with Mental Illness (PDF) outlines the importance of services facilitating employment and education as these are essential to recovery. It states that “the right combination of employment support services, disability income programs, human rights legislation, and education and economic incentives can make an enormous difference” in increasing employment opportunities for this population.
• What Stops us from Working? (PDF) ecommends policy changes to the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) to decrease the high unemployment rate among recipients. Implementing changes in four key areas would “enable ODSP recipients to find fulfilment, financial self-sufficiency, and better health outcomes through productive employment.”
• Zero Dollar Linda, an essay by the Metcalf Foundation, “explores the weaknesses in the design of North American social welfare institutions through the stories of two individuals.” Other publications at the Foundation investigate income and marginalization.
• The Sickness, Disability, and Work report (PDF) examines disability-related statistics in Canada with an eye toward policy implications. Other reports also produced by the OECD on disability and employment are available.
• Barriers to the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP): Experience of People with Mental Illness and Addictions, June 2003 (PDF)
  This report highlights the impact of ODSP barriers on the clients CAMH serves. It focuses on the importance of adequate income for the well-being and quality of life of those with a serious mental illness or addiction. It also examines the problems associated with the manner in which the income support programs are administered. Direct experiences of CAMH clients and staff have been included throughout this report.

For more CAMH public policy documents, please visit www.camh.net/Public_policy.