Health equity is the idea that all people should have fair opportunities to reach their full health potential. This does not mean that everyone should have equal health. Instead, health equity means creating opportunities for those facing barriers to reaching better levels of health. When everyone has the chance to live their healthiest life, we are all better off.

Some people in our community experience lower levels of health as compared to the general population. These differences are called health inequities when they are caused by unfair and avoidable social, political, and economic conditions. Addressing health inequities is good for local social and economic prosperity.

Children living in low income households are at higher risk to experience physical and mental health challenges. Because of this, they are often less ready to perform their best at school. Latest census data shows that 24% of children in Windsor and Essex County live in a low income household^{1, 2}.

People who work in the skilled trades and manufacturing are more likely to be exposed to second hand smoke. This puts this group at higher risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease³.

Between 2007-2017 rates of emergency room visits in Windsor and Essex County related to self-harm were 53.1% higher for women as compared to men⁴.

For more information, please contact us

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit works with the community to promote, protect, and improve health and well-being for all. Our programs and services are guided by community needs and aim to address factors and conditions that result in lower levels of health. To make positive changes, we work with community partners, politicians, health care providers, educators, and others to promote health equity in our community.

We are committed to ensuring that every person in our community has access to opportunities that lead to health and better quality of life.

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit has implemented a corporate Health Equity Strategy aimed at:

• Setting direction and supporting organizational strategic priorities around health equity.
• Promoting principles, practices, and policies outlined in the Ontario Public Health Standards.
• Outlining a shared understanding of equity focused approaches.
• Advancing opportunities to measure and share organizational successes.
• Simplifying decision-making by outlining specific areas for action.
• Supporting enhanced communication and collaboration.

The strategy was designed to evolve over time, enabling the WECHU to leverage organizational strengths, resources, and opportunities. The strategy is reviewed and updated each year to keep it relevant and useful. The annual review process includes action planning for the following year.

To request a copy of the Health Equity Strategy, please use one of the ways listed in the contact us section of our website.

Monitoring and reporting progress enhances the ability to detect meaningful changes over time, promotes continuous quality improvement, and increases opportunities for strategic and targeted action.

A measurement and reporting plan has been established for the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit’s Health Equity Strategy. It focuses on advancing objectives in our Strategic Plan.  

Strategic Plan Objective 4.4

Develop and implement protocols that ensure all programs are using health equity approaches.

Corporate Measure

% of programs that have adopted a health equity approach.

Progress

Currently 68% of our programs have adopted a health equity approach.

Everyone can help promote the health of our community by increasing opportunities for groups experiencing health inequities. Here are a few ways that you can help:

Please see the following resources to learn more about health equity and the factors that influence health:

Locally

• Let’s Start a Conversation About Health video
• Health Equity Toolkit and Practical Guide
• Pathway to Potential - Social Investment Windsor-Essex

Provincially

• Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Report
• Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Health Equity Guidelines
• Wellesley Institute

Nationally/Internationally

• Government of Canada
• National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• World Health Organization