We鈥檙e products of our environment and our living conditions determine if we stay healthy or become ill, a 91亚色 study says.

鈥淗ealth and poverty are directly linked,鈥� Vaughan Community Health Centre executive director Isabel Araya said in response to Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts. 鈥淭he poorer you are, the sicker you are.鈥�

The report, co-authored by Dennis Raphael, a professor in 91亚色鈥檚 School of Health Policy & Management in the Faculty of Health, and visiting scholar Juha Mikkonen, finds conditions are deteriorating, with serious ramifications for the quality and longevity of Canadians鈥� lives, particularly the poor.

The study profiles how our health is shaped by how much income and wealth we have, if we鈥檙e employed and, if so, the working conditions we experience. The researchers pull together a range of data to show how health is powerfully influenced by our ability to obtain quality education, food and housing, among other factors.

The complete .

on the report May 11:

Dennis Raphael knows who gets sick and why. But to make it better he needs you to know, too.

So the professor at 91亚色鈥檚 School of Health Policy & Management teamed up with visiting scholar Juha Mikkonen to produce a free public primer. Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts is a 62-page report suggesting the primary factors shaping the health of Canadians are not medical treatments or lifestyle choices, but living conditions.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been trying for years to put out something for the public,鈥� says Raphael, 鈥渂ecause the average person doesn鈥檛 go to Health Canada鈥檚 website or the Canadian Public Health Association website.鈥�

Raphael credits his tech-savvy co-author in helping to get the message out. 鈥淲ith Juha visiting from Finland, I came across someone who not only had the content expertise, but was also able to master the desktop publishing and setting up of the website. Now when someone asks what it鈥檚 all about, instead of directing them to a World Health Organization report of 300 pages or my textbook of 600 pages, they can be directed to an accessible document.鈥�

Since its launch on April the 28, has had more than 5,000 visitors, says Raphael.

Income, housing and social exclusion are three of the 14 social determinants of health the report identifies and seeks to improve. The notion that living conditions affect health is not new, but for some reason Canada has been slow to implement it into public policy, according to Raphael.

鈥淚鈥檓 not making this up. If you were to type in social determinants of health you鈥檇 see that for 30 years Health Canada has been putting this stuff out. So this is really commonplace accepted information, but it鈥檚 been more acted upon in Europe and Australia at this point.鈥�

also covered the study April 28:

A 91亚色 study has found enormous gaps in the quality of life and health among Canadians, and those lines are largely drawn along income and wealth.

The 62-page report found that while Canada is among the richest countries in the world, it鈥檚 more than willing to let its poorest citizens fend for themselves when hard times strike.

Noting that an average person鈥檚 health can be determined by a number of factors, including housing, food security, social exclusion and income, the report claims Canada鈥檚 safety net isn鈥檛 sufficient.

The cumulative effect of these inequalities, the report says, is inferior public health, increased expenditure on front-line health care and increased mortality.

The complete article is .

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, with files courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

The post Canada's health policies failing its most vulnerable, researchers find appeared first on Research & Innovation.

A 91亚色 study about has caused considerable stir in the media. The study, published in the journal Infancy, suggests that six-month-olds know when someone is teasing or manipulating them. But they also understand if someone is trying to help, but can鈥檛 because of factors beyond the adult鈥檚 control.

Coverage featuring PhD student Heidi Marsh from the in the appeared in or on:

• at ParentCentral.ca on Feb. 8.
• The on Feb. 11.
• on Feb. 10.
• on Feb. 10.
• on Feb. 10.
• on Feb. 8.
• CFRB鈥檚 鈥溾��
• CKEM-TV鈥檚 鈥溾�� in Edmonton on Feb. 9
• CJOB-AM鈥檚 鈥溾�� in Winnipeg on Feb. 8.

Edited by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files from YFile 鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

The post 91亚色 study on infants' ability to perceive manipulation gets media coverage appeared first on Research & Innovation.