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[In order to design programs and interventions that improve Black populations' health outcomes, such as with cancer screening, providers need to collect race-based data to identify where gaps and systemic racism exist. Photo credit: National Cancer Institute]

February is Black History Month, and the Alliance will be looking back, ahead and celebrating Black Canadians' resilience and survival through slavery, colonization and racism while creating strong, vibrant communities. This week, we're bringing you some stories on why collecting race-based data in health care is an essential step to moving forward with health equity for Black populations in Ontario.

There have been a number of stories in recent months on the poor outcomes that result when gaps in health care, systemic racial bias, and racism prevent Black people from being able to access the services and programs they need to support health and wellbeing. But that's only part of the picture.

A movement among health providers over the last 12 years has yielded frameworks that providers are using to ask questions to build pictures of where race-based gaps, racism and racial bias exist in Ontario's health system. The “We Ask Because We Care” initiative is a project has resulted in socio-demographic data collection in 16 Toronto-area hospitals and Community Health Centres. As of November 2015, more than 261,000 patients had been approached for data collection. Here's an example of what that survey looks like in English.

Using data collected in culturally safe ways to make interventions, like this one by TAIBU CHC on cancer screening, shows the potential that collecting this data holds. It's also evident in this presentation by Women's Health in Women's Hands, talking about the ways that data informed interventions help to adapt mental health care services and programs for Black women. Still other initiatives, such as Pathways to Care, are engaged in collecting and using data to paint a picture for the first time of the gaps and barriers in services and programs for Black children, youth and families to support mental health and wellbeing.

In a recent essay, Kofi Hope, Senior Policy Advisor at the Wellesley Institute, makes the case for how the collection of data has worked in tandem with community advocacy and policy development to support culturally safe interventions for Black youth. "When we overcome the Canadian discomfort with talking directly about race, and see policy interventions specifically for Black communities as a core component to creating solutions, we can actually move the dial," Hope writes. He also outlines some of the next steps that must happen to address ongoing inequities and combat anti-Black racism across all sectors of our society.

Lastly, for staff at health care organizations looking to collect race-based data and looking for hands-on tools to begin to do health equity work, a group of Alliance members has created a Health Equity ToolKit and training modules, which are designed to offer practical frameworks for doing this work in a culturally safe way, through an anti-oppressive lens.

February is Black History Month, and the Alliance will be spending time over the next four weeks looking back, ahead and celebrating Black Canadians' resilience and survival through slavery, colonization and racism while creating strong, vibrant communities. We'll celebrate Black leadership in Ontario's health system, and some of the innovations communities have built to combat inequity and systemic racism. And we'll also look ahead to what still needs to be done, and what the future could hold.

Later this week, we'll start by taking a hard look at why collecting race-based data in health care is an essential step to moving forward with health equity for Black populations in Ontario.

We will follow that next week by looking back, including at the history of slavery and racism in Canada, but also at recent efforts to decolonize and combat systemic racism;

In week 3, we will put the spotlight on Black ways of knowing and being and innovations made by community leaders in Black health and wellbeing;

And in the final week of February, we'll spend some time looking ahead to the work that still needs to be done, and great work that deserves to be spread.

You'll want to keep an eye on the Alliance's Twitter account, where we will be sharing plenty of articles, stories and resources about Black health over the course of the month.

Here are a few reads and resources to get things started:

Diversity of the Black population in Canada: An overview is Statistics Canada's 2019 report on Black Canadians' demographics.

Learn and Participate: United Nations Decade for People of African Descent is an overview of the UN General Assembly's recognition of 2015-2024 as 10 years to focus on recognition, justice and development for Black populations worldwide.

The Broadbent Institute is continuing its series this year which gathers essays by Black policy leaders in Canada across a range of disciplines to provide ideas and direction for where the country needs to head to tackle anti-Black racism (scroll down from 2019 to see first 2020 entry on food security).

There's a Gaping Hole in Our Democracy is Canadian Senator Donald Oliver's call for more leadership at the highest levels of Canadian government decision-making, including the court system.

Eradicating Structural Racism for Black Canadians is a short essay highlighting some of the achievements of the last few years to advance initiatives in support of Black communities across the country.

Black Experiences in Health Care: Symposium Report (2017) - surfaced many of the issues Black people face in the health system, with calls to action for providers and decision-makers (new report coming later in 2020).

Today is International #HumanRightsDay. At the Alliance for Healthier Communities, we want to celebrate some of the ways our members are standing up for human rights such as health care, access to public and social services, education, and community involvement.                                                           

A good example is that access to healthy food is a human right. Ontario’s community primary health care centres support food security through community gardening, cooking programs, soup kitchens, and partnerships with their local food banks.

Health care is also a human right, and one that our centres prioritize by providing primary health care to uninsured/underinsured people, and making it easier to access interprofessional care through initiatives like Team Care, oral health care, and harm reduction services. Alliance members also help dismantle barriers to these services by providing settlement support, help with taxes and social security applications, and free legal clinics.

Social Prescribing takes primary health care a step further by breaking down barriers to participation in community life by allowing providers to “prescribe” volunteer and other engagement opportunities. Your next Rx might be for dance lessons, fishing, knitting, or bingo!

We encourage you to explore these and other ways that Alliance member centres truly bring the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to life for the people they serve, every day.

Are you looking to make a difference at home for this #GivingTuesdayCA? Searching for a local organization to donate your money, time or resources, where you know you'll be able to see the results in your own community?

PUT YOUR MONEY TO WORK IN YOUR COMMUNITY

You have landed in the right spot -- Community Health Centres, Aboriginal Health Access Centres, Community Family Health Teams and Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics across Ontario work every day to build the connections and deliver the services and programs to keep people healthy and well all year long. Alliance members' work helps to support programs and services for seniors, youth, LGBTQ, racialized and newcomer populations, parents, and all those who face barriers to their best possible wellbeing. And each and every one of these organizations is community-governed, which means your dollars and resources are directed to the areas that are deemed the highest priority by community members themselves.

LOOKING TO VOLUNTEER?

Got time to donate? Volunteer programs at Alliance member centres give community members like you who want to give back a wide choice of options -- all you need to do is visit the centre's website, or give them a call or visit to find out more.

HOW TO DO IT

If you're interested in donating in ANY way, we encourage you to find your local centre using our interactive map, and visit their organizational website. Simply find your community on the map, and click on the marker, or search for your community in the search bar. Then visit the site of the centre in your community and look for details on donating and volunteering, usually in the "Support Us" or "Get Involved" tabs on most websites.

SUPPORT PROVINCE-WIDE ADVOCACY AND RESEARCH FOR HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Also want to make a difference on the provincial level? Support advocacy efforts in areas such as income and food security, harm reduction, oral health and Universal Pharmacare. Help take innovative research projects like Social Prescribing and TeamCare to the next level. You can donate to the Alliance for Healthier Communities directly in the donation section of our website. We appreciate any donations -- every dollar will help advance our efforts to achieve the best possible health and wellbeing for everyone living in Ontario.

Thanks in advance for your help! And Happy Giving Tuesday!