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Research Interest Groups (RIGs)

Exploring Policy Pathways for Improved and More Equitable Health and Health Care RIG

Sustainability, quality, accessibility – is it possible to obtain a balance of all three in any health care system?

There are gaps in the current coverage of care available to Canadians, particularly in the areas of pharmaceutical coverage, long-term care coverage, and mental health care coverage. These gaps do not fall under physician services or hospital services in the clean manner that would automatically qualify them under provincial health insurance schemes. The aging population in Canada and around the world has led to unsustainable growth in the costs of health care as well as projections for increasing costs. To date, few countries have been able to keep the growth in health care costs below that of revenues, which may lead to long term consequences of raising additional revenue, running greater deficits, moving spending to the private sector, or crowding out other publicly provided services.

This RIG seeks to address how to improve equity in access to services not covered under the Canada Health Act, how to improve the financial stability of the public health care system, and will explore the relationship between socioeconomic status, income security and population health. The RIG seeks to understand how we can reduce the gaps in access and achieve a high standard of care for all, as well as the implications of government choices on health care delivery, economic growth, equality of access, and sustainability.

If you are interested in getting involved with the Exploring Policy Pathways for Improved and More Equitable Health and Health Care RIG, please contact Dr. Mark Stabile, RIG Director, at mark.stabile@utoronto.ca and he will be happy to provide you with more information.

An Exploring Policy Pathways for Improved and More Equitable Health and Health Care RIG page will be launched shortly. Please check back.

Environmental Health Justice RIG

Environmental health justice involves both a critique of traditional top-down oriented science and an examination of the politics of environmental health decision-making.  More specifically, environmental health justice can be defined as the process for enabling marginalized populations to improve health and environmental systems in ways that both redress past and present discrimination, to improve access to environmental benefits, as well as to promote equity in access to information and decision making that optimizes the conditions of their health and well being (Steger, 2007).

The goal of this RIG is to assess (measure), understand (explain, account for), and address the relationship between social inequality and environmental health. We add the term ‘health’ to environmental justice to emphasize the important, but underscrutinized role for public health in addressing environmental variables as a key determinant of population health. 

If you are interested in getting involved with the Environmental Health Justice RIG, please contact RIG co-leads Dr. Blake Poland, at blake.poland@utoronto.ca or Dr. Cheryl Teelucksingh at teeluck@ryerson.ca and they will be happy to provide you with more information.

Environmental Health Justice Project Teams

Urban Youth & the Determinants of Sexual Health RIG

This research interest group is interested in HIV/AIDS prevention, sexual health and harm reduction; Intersectional approaches to equity and the social determinants of adolescent sexual health; Exploring the impact of sexual diversity on health; Improving youth access to sexual health services and education; Participatory methodologies that promote youth involvement, leadership and community development and Leveraging youth media for sexual health promotion.

If you are interested in getting involved with the Urban Youth & the Determinants of Sexual Health RIG, please contact Dr. Sarah Flicker, RIG Director, at flicker@yorku.ca and she will be happy to provide you with more information.

Urban Youth Project Teams


Socio-ecological Strategies for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management RIG

Canadian policymakers have identified a need for supportive social infrastructures and safe, healthy communities that may prevent the development of chronic diseases and also improve the quality of life of individuals with chronic disease.  This RIG seeks to clarify how to promote environments that support healthy living, how to develop strong links among community action groups and the academic community; and how to improve population-level outcomes by addressing the social determinants of health. Our five research themes are as follows: The built environment; ethnicity and chronic disease management and prevention; health literacy; knowledge dissemination and translation; and new roles and interprofessional/ intersectoral models of practice that will meet population health needs.

If you are interested in getting involved with the Socio-ecological Strategies for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management RIG, please contact either Dr. Wendy Young, RIG Co- Director, at youngw@mun.ca or Dr. Enza Gucciardi, at egucciar@ryerson.ca, RIG Co-Director and they will be happy to provide you with more information.

Healthy Living Project Teams


Neighbourhoods and Health RIG

A promising approach for developing intervention policy and programs to lessen health risks and promote well-being for people living in Canada's urban areas is to focus more closely on understanding what it is about everyday environments that matter to health. Within urban environments, local settings such as neighbourhoods are increasingly seen as important arenas for health research.

The "Neighbourhoods and Health" Research Interest Group (RIG) is an affiliation of researchers working on projects and proposal development to examine the role of local environments in shaping the health of individuals and communities.  A diverse range of projects are currently undergoing development. This RIG is currently under redevelopment - check back for our new focus!

Neighbourhood RIG Project Teams


Food and Health RIG

This RIG is currently not meeting or active as a CUHI research interest group, but continues to support the Food for Talk seminar series.

This research interest group is interested in how food policy and programs shapes the health of urban residents.  Topics of interest to RIG members have included: community gardening, urban food security, environmental contamination, pesticide use, social mobilization around food, and the relationships between food systems and urban sustainability.

Research, community and policy partners have included the University of Toronto, Ryerson University, FoodShare, and Toronto Public Health.  This RIG has had strong links with grassroots community and policy organizations that extended to other urban areas in Canada.  Membership of this RIG has been diverse and has included representatives of community gardens, farmers and small businesses involved in local alternative agriculture programs (e.g., CSA farms, food co-ops), anti-hunger advocates, public health practitioners, representatives of all levels of government, and community groups at the local neighbourhood level with interests in food issues.

Food RIG Project Teams


Urban Physical Environments and Health RIG

This RIG is currently not accepting new proposals, but continues to support previously funded projects.

The goal of this RIG is to provide knowledge that will feed into policies aimed at improving health outcomes related to the quality of the physical environment.  Our approach is multidisciplinary, with representation of researchers from physical, health and applied science disciplines, along with policy makers from municipal to federal levels of government, and community representatives.  This RIG is best suited for research proposals with the common theme of characterizing the urban physical environment and drawing connections with potential health impacts. 

This RIG builds on policy-directed research completed or underway by several researchers.  Topics of interest include: contaminant concentrations; investigating the link between exposure to air pollutants and cardiovascular outcomes; exposure of urban fishers to contaminants and development of measures to mitigate risk; and climate change futures in southern Ontario

This RIG is currently under redevelopment – check back for our new focus!

Physical Environments RIG Project Teams


Other Funded Projects

  1. Bridging the Gap: Good Governance for Local Environmental & Health Decision Making
  2. Social Research and Public Policy: Emerging Frameworks for Community Engagement and Policy Response 

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