Workshop - Building Equity into Everyday Practice: Using Health Equity Impact Assessments to Improve Programs and Policies
Do you want to improve access to your services and programs?
Health Equity Impact Assessment (HEIA), developed by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, is a decision support tool which practitioners can use to identify disparities among population groups and determine how to reduce them. Through a series of five steps, programs or policies are assessed to identify ways to maximize positive impacts and reduce negative impacts that potentially widen health inequities.
Wellesley Institute and Public Health Ontario are offering this workshop through the Public Health Training for Equitable Systems Change (PHESC) project. This intermediate level workshop intended for practitioners who have some experience with HEIA, such as completing an introductory course/workshop and/or conducting at least one HEIA. Through experiential and small group exercises, workshop participants will explore concepts related to health equity and the Ontario Public Health Standards and how these concepts relate to their work. Participants will explore various paths to navigating through common barriers and challenges in conducting HEIAs. Participants will return to their workplaces with a better sense of how to conduct HEIAs and incorporate the tool into their practice.
By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
- Understand key terms related to health equity in the Ontario Public Health Standards, including proportionate universalism, intersectionality, and racial equity
- Anticipate barriers and challenges in conducting HEIAs, and plan accordingly
- Apply the five steps of HEIA into daily work