Climate Change and Human Health
Background
Climate change is increasingly recognized as a significant threat facing society and has the potential to be one of the greatest threats to human health in the 21st Century1. While the damage is being done now, many of the health effects may arise only decades in the future2.
Possible impacts could include some or all of the following:
* Increased mortality, disease and injuries from heat waves and other extreme weather events;
* Continued change in the range of some infectious disease vectors (i.e. 260-320 million more cases of malaria predicted by 2080, with six billion more at risk for dengue fever);
* Effects on food yields- increased malnutrition;
* Increased flooding in some areas and increased droughts in others, along with other impacts on freshwater supply;
* Increases in foodborne and waterborne illnesses;
* Warming and rising sea levels adding to displacement and also impacting water supply through salination;
* Impaired functioning of ecosystems;
* Negative effects on air quality associated with ground level ozone, including increases in cardio-respiratory morbidity and mortality, asthma, and allergens;
* Displacement of vulnerable populations (especially in coastal areas)1; and
* Loss of livelihoods3.
Most of the impacts of climate change will result from amplifying the existing health hazards found in populations4. How susceptible a population is to the effects of climate change is dependent on their existing vulnerabilities (i.e. disease burden, resources etc.) as well as their adaptive capacity5. The World Health Organization has projected that countries that have, and will likely continue to suffer the greatest effects, are those who have contributed the smallest amount to the causes of climate change.6
While the vast majority of climate change deaths will occur in developing countries with systemic vulnerabilities, a recent Health Canada report has noted that Canada is likely to experience higher rates of warming in this century than most other countries in the world. Climate change scenarios predict an increased risk of extreme weather and other climate events for all regions of Canada, with the exception of extreme cold7. Canadians most vulnerable to climate change include seniors, children and infants, socially disadvantaged individuals, and those with pre-existing medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease8. Those living in cities could be especially vulnerable due to the impact of the heat island effect. However, given their greater access to emergency, health, social, and financial resources, they might also have the greatest adaptive capacity9.
The health consequences of climate change have the potential to be more severe in far northern regions. Populations in Canada's north including aboriginals have already begun to see differences in their hunting practices as a result of changing ice patterns10, and the melting of permanent snowpacks11. Changes in ice patterns have also led to increased injuries12. In some places in the North, climate changes have led to greater risks from avalanches, landslides and other hazards13. Further problems are related to the infrastructure in Northern Canada, with some communities already noticing degradation of structures due to the thawing of the permafrost14. Given that much of the Northern infrastructure is already in disrepair, this represents a considerable problem. Geographic isolation, and a lack of resources may further exacerbate the situation15.
What CMA has done?
Physicians have a critical role to play in advancing public understanding of the potential impact of climate change on health and promoting health protecting responses.
The CMA has been working on the issue of climate change and human health for a number of years. CMA was supportive of Canada's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, and urged the Government of Canada to commit to choosing a climate change strategy that satisfied Canada's international commitments while also maximizing the clean air co-benefits and smog-reduction potential of any greenhouse gas reduction initiatives.
In 2007, a number of resolutions were passed at General Council calling on government to properly plan for the health impacts of climate change and put in place measures to mitigate the impact of climate change on vulnerable populations in Canada's north. In that same year, CMA and the Canadian Nurses Association updated a joint position statement first entered into in 1994 calling for environmentally responsible activity in the health-care sector.
Most recently, the CMA has been an integral part of the drafting of the World Medical Association (WMA) policies on health and climate change. The WMA Declaration of Delhi on Health and Climate Change was adopted at its annual General Assembly in New Delhi, India in October 2009, The declaration calls for action in five main areas; advocacy to combat global warming; leadership-help people be healthy enough to adapt to climate change; education and capacity building; surveillance and research; and collaboration to prepare for climate emergencies. This policy is written to complement the WMA declaration.
What needs to be done?
Climate change may lead to significant impacts on human health. While it is unlikely that these outcomes can be avoided, there are some strategies that can be employed to help limit the negative consequences.
Education and Capacity Building
There is a need for greater public and health professional awareness and education about climate change in order to gain understanding of the health consequences and support for strategies to reduce green house gases and mitigate climate change effects.
CMA recommends:
1. A national public awareness program on the importance of the environment and global climate change to personal health;
2. Encouraging health sciences schools to enhance their provision of educational programs on environmental health; and fostering the development of continuing education modules on environmental health and environmental health practices.
Surveillance and Research
There are important gaps in our knowledge on the health impacts of climate change as well as the effectiveness of various mitigation and adaptation strategies. Surveillance and reporting functions need to be strengthened to allow for greater accuracy in modeling of future impacts.
CMA recommends:
3. That the federal government must address the gaps in research regarding climate change and health by undertaking studies to
- quantify and model the burden of disease that will be caused by global climate change
- identify the most vulnerable populations, the particular health impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations, and possible new protections for such populations;
- increase the collection and accuracy of health data, particularly for vulnerable and underserved populations;
- report diseases that emerge in conjunction with global climate change, and participate in field investigations, as with outbreaks of infectious diseases; and
- develop and expand surveillance systems to include diseases caused by global climate change.
Reducing the Burden of Disease to Mitigate Climate Change Impacts
How susceptible a population is to the effects of climate change is dependent on their existing vulnerabilities. Therefore, work needs to be done to reduce the burden of diseases and improve upon the social determinants of health for vulnerable populations in Canada and globally.
CMA recommends:
4. That the federal and provincial/territorial governments work together to improve the ability of the public to adapt to climate change and catastrophic weather events by
- Encouraging behaviours that improve overall health,
- Creating targeted programs designed to address specific exposures,
- Providing health promotion information and education on self-management of the symptoms of climate-associated illness,
- Ensuring physical infrastructure that allows for adaptation;
5. That the federal government develop concrete actions to reduce the health impact of climate-related emissions, in particular those initiatives which will also improve the general health of the population;
6. That the federal government support the Millennium Development Goals and support the principles outlined in the WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health report; and
Preparing for Climate Emergencies
To deal with the future burden of climate change related health issues there is a need to ensure adequate health capacity and infrastructure. Rebuilding of public health capacity globally is seen as the most important, cost-effective, and urgently needed response to climate change16. Domestically, there is a need to ensure adequate surge capacity within the health care system to be prepared for an increase in illness related to climate change effects. There is also a need to strengthen not only the health systems, but the infrastructure (i.e. housing) for vulnerable populations including Aboriginals and those in the North.
CMA recommends that the federal and provincial /territorial governments work together to:
7. Strengthen the public health system both domestically and internationally in order to improve the capacity of communities to adapt to climate change;
8. Ensure adequate surge capacity within Canada's health system to handle the increase in climate change related illness;
9. Ensure the health of vulnerable populations is adequate to handle climate change related situations;
10. Develop knowledge about the best ways to adapt to and mitigate the health effects of climate change;
11. Integrate health professionals into the emergency preparedness plans of government and public health authorities so that front-line providers are adequately informed and prepared to properly manage any health emergencies.
Advocacy to Combat Climate Change
Finally, there is a need to take action to reduce the damaging effects of climate change. The global community needs to come together to reduce the levels of green house gases being released in the atmosphere, and focus on safer more environmentally friendly energy sources. Investments in cuts to greenhouse gas emissions would greatly outweigh their costs, and could help to reduce the future burden of climate change related illness17.
CMA recommends:
12. That the government of Canada become a global leader in promoting equitable, carbon neutral economic, industrial, and social policies, and practices that fight global warming and adopt specific green house gas reduction targets as determined by the evolving science of climate change.
13. That health care professionals act within their professional settings to reduce the environmental impact of medical activities and to develop environmentally sustainable professional settings;
14. That all Canadians act to minimize individual impacts on the environment, and encourage others to do so, as well.
Conclusions
The CMA believes that Canada must prepare now for the potential health threat that climate change poses to its population. While many of these effects will take decades to materialize, certain populations, such as those in Canada's north, or those in low lying coastal areas, are already starting to experience the impact of climate change.
A focus on education and health promotion, as well as advocacy for improved public policy and primary health care resources will be a good start in dealing with this issue. Additionally, further research and data collection is necessary to improve our understanding of climate change and the effectiveness of adaptation and mitigation strategies.
Finally, the global community needs to act together to address the health and environmental impacts of climate change. By working together, in an international response, strategies can be implemented to mitigate any negative health effects of climate change.
Canada's physicians believe that: What is good for the environment is also good for human health. It is past time for those of us in the health sector in Canada to engage fully in the debate and discussions within our own house, as well as in the broader body politic to ensure that protecting human health is the bottom line of environmental and climate change strategies.
Bibliography
1 Currently a third of the world's population lives within 60 miles of the shoreline and 13 of 20 biggest world cities located on the coast- more than a billion people could be displaced (Costello et.al., 2009)
1 Costello, Anthony et.al. "Managing the health effects of climate change.' The Lancet Volume 373 May 16, 2009. pp.1693-1733.
2 World Health Organization, World Meteorological Organization & United Nations Environment Programme (2003) Climate Change and Human Health- Risks and Responses, Summary. Available at: http://www.who.int/globalchange/climate/en/ccSCREEN.pdf
3 Confalonieri et.al., (2007) Human Health. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Available at: http://www1.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg2/ar4-wg2-chapter8.pdf ; Epstein, Paul R. "Climate Change and Human Health." The New England Journal of Medicine 353 (14) October 6, 2005.; Friel, Sharon; Marmot, Michael; McMichael, Anthony J.; Kjellstrom, Tord & Denny Vagero. "Global health equity and climate stabilization: a common agenda." The Lancet Volume 372 November 8, 2008. pp.1677-1683.
4Confalonieri et.al., (2007) Human Health. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Available at: http://www1.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg2/ar4-wg2-chapter8.pdf; World Health Organization (2009) Protecting Health From Climate Change: Global research priorities. Available at: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2009/9789241598187_eng.pdf
5 Health Canada (2001) Climate Change and Health & Well-being: A Policy Primer Available at: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/climat/policy_primer-abecedaire_en_matiere/index-eng.php
6 Campbell-Lendrum, Diarmid; Corvalan, Carlos & Maria Neira "Global climate change: implications for international public health policy." Bulletin of the World Health Organization. March 2007, 85 (3) pp.235-237
7 Seguin, Jacinthe & Peter Berry (2008) "Human Health in a Changing Climate: A Canadian Assessment of Vulnerabilities and Adaptive Capacity, Synthesis Report." Health Canada Available at: http://www.nbhub.org/hubfiles/pdf/HealthinChangingClimate_Synthesis_english_low.pdf
8 Health Canada (2002) Climate Change And Health & Well-Being: A Policy Primer for Canada's North. Available at: http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/H46-2-02-290E.pdf
9 Seguin, Jacinthe & Peter Berry (2008) "Human Health in a Changing Climate: A Canadian Assessment of Vulnerabilities and Adaptive Capacity, Synthesis Report." Health Canada Available at: http://www.nbhub.org/hubfiles/pdf/HealthinChangingClimate_Synthesis_english_low.pdf
10 Ibid
11 Health Canada (2002) Climate Change And Health & Well-Being: A Policy Primer for Canada's North. Available at: http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/H46-2-02-290E.pdf
12 Epstein, Paul R. "Climate Change and Human Health." The New England Journal of Medicine 353 (14) October 6, 2005.
13 Seguin, Jacinthe & Peter Berry (2008) "Human Health in a Changing Climate: A Canadian Assessment of Vulnerabilities and Adaptive Capacity, Synthesis Report." Health Canada Available at: http://www.nbhub.org/hubfiles/pdf/HealthinChangingClimate_Synthesis_english_low.pdf
14 Field, Christopher B. et.al. (2007) North America. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Available at: http://www1.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg2/ar4-wg2-chapter14.pdf
15 Health Canada (2002) Climate Change And Health & Well-Being: A Policy Primer for Canada's North. Available at: http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/H46-2-02-290E.pdf
16 World Health Organization, World Meteorological Organization & United Nations Environment Programme (2003) Climate Change and Human Health- Risks and Responses, Summary. Available at: http://www.who.int/globalchange/climate/en/ccSCREEN.pdf
17 Campbell-Lendrum, Diarmid; Corvalan, Carlos & Maria Neira "Global climate change: implications for international public health policy." Bulletin of the World Health Organization. March 2007, 85 (3) pp.235-237
Health equity is created when individuals have the opportunity to achieve their full health potential; equity is undermined when preventable and avoidable systematic conditions constrain life choices.1 These conditions are known as the social determinants of health. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines the social determinants of health as the circumstances in which people are born, develop, live and age.2 In 2002, researchers and policy experts at a York University conference identified the following list: income and income distribution; early life; education; housing; food security; employment and working conditions; unemployment and job security; social safety net; social inclusion/exclusion; and health services. 3
Research suggests that 15% of population health is determined by biology and genetics, 10% by physical environments, 25% by the actions of the health care system, with 50% being determined by our social and economic environment.4 Any actions to improve health and tackle health inequity must address the social determinants and their impact on daily life.5
THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH AND HEALTH STATUS
Social status is one of the strongest predictors of health at the population level. There is a social gradient of health such that those with higher social status experience greater health than those with lower social status. The social gradient is evident not only when comparing the most disadvantaged to the most advantaged; within each strata, even among those holding stable middle-class jobs, those at the lowest end fare less well than those at the higher end. The Whitehall study of civil servants in the United Kingdom found that lower ranking staff have a greater disease burden and shorter life expectancy than higher-ranking staff.6 Differences in medical care did not account for the differences in mortality.7 This gradient has been demonstrated for just about any health condition.8
Hundreds of research papers have confirmed that people in the lowest socio-economic groups carry the greatest burden of illness.9 In 2001, people in the neighbourhoods with the highest 20% income lived about three years longer than those in the poorest 20% neighbourhoods (four years for men; two years for women).10 Dietary deficiencies, common in food insecure households, can lead to an increased chance of chronic disease and greater difficulty in disease management. It is estimated that about 1.1 million households in Canada experience food insecurity, with the risk increasing in single-parent households and in families on social assistance.11
Studies suggest that adverse socio-economic conditions in childhood can be a greater predictor of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in adults than later life circumstances and behavioural choices.12 Effective early childhood development offers the best opportunity to reduce the social gradient and improve the social determinants of health,13 and offers the greatest return on investment.14
Low income contributes not only to material deprivation but social isolation as well. Without financial resources, it is more difficult for individuals to participate in cultural, educational and recreational activities or to benefit from tax incentives. Suicide rates in the lowest income neighbourhoods are almost twice as high as in the wealthiest neighbourhoods.15 This social isolation and its effects are most striking in Canada's homeless population. Being homeless is correlated with higher rates of physical and mental illness. In Canada, premature death is eight to 10 times higher among the homeless.16
The gradient in other social determinants can have an adverse impact as well. A study conducted in the Netherlands estimated that average morbidity and mortality in the overall population could be reduced 25-50% if men with lower levels of education had the same mortality and morbidity levels as those men with a university education.17 Employment status also follows this gradient, such that having a job is better than being unemployed. 18 Unemployment is correlated with increased blood pressure, self-reported ill health, drug abuse, and reductions in normal activity due to illness or injury.19 Unemployment is associated with increases in domestic violence, family breakups and crime. Finally, job security is relevant.20 Mortality rates are higher among temporary rather than permanent workers.21
Canada's Aboriginal people face the greatest health consequences as a result of the social determinants of health. Poverty, inadequate or substandard housing, unemployment, lack of access to health services, and low levels of education characterize a disproportionately large number of Aboriginal peoples.22 The crude mortality rate for First Nations is higher and life expectancy lower than the Canadian average.23 Aboriginal peoples experience higher rates of chronic disease, addictions, mental illness and childhood abuse.24 Aboriginal peoples have higher rates of suicide, with suicide being the leading cause of potential years of life lost in both the First Nations and Inuit populations.25
THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH AND CANADA'S HEALTH SYSTEM
These differences in health outcomes have an impact on the health care system. Most major diseases including heart disease and mental illness follow a social gradient with those in lowest socio-economic groups having the greatest burden of illness.26 Those within the lowest socio-economic status are 1.4 times more likely to have a chronic disease, and 1.9 times more likely to be hospitalized for care of that disease.27 Chronic diseases such as diabetes account for 67% of direct health care costs and 60% indirect costs.28
Research has shown that Canadians with low incomes are higher users of general practitioner, mental health, and hospital services.29 People in the lowest income group were almost twice as likely as those in the highest income group to visit the emergency department for treatment. 30 Part of this may be caused by differences in access to care. Low-income Canadians are more likely to report that they have not received needed health care in the past 12 months.31 Those in the lowest income groups are 50% less likely than those in the highest income group to see a specialist or get care in the evenings or on weekends, and 40% more likely to wait more than five days for a doctor's appointment.32
Barriers to health care access are not the only issue. Research in the U.K.33 and U.S.34 has found that compliance with medical treatment tends to be lower in disadvantaged groups, leading to pain, missed appointments, increased use of family practice services and increased emergency department visits, and corresponding increases in cost. In the U.S., non-adherence has been attributed to 100,000 deaths annually.35 Researchers have reported that those in the lowest income groups are three times less likely to fill prescriptions, and 60% less able to get needed tests because of cost.36
These differences have financial costs. In Manitoba for example, research conducted in 1994 showed that those in the lowest income decile used services totaling $216 million (12.2%). In the same year, those in the highest income decile consumed $97 million (5.5%) of expenditures. If expenditures for the bottom half of the population by income had been the same as the median, Manitoba would have saved $319 million or 23.1% of their health care budget. 37 According to a 2011 report, low-income residents in Saskatoon consume an additional $179 million in health care costs than middle income earners.38
To reduce the burden of illness and therefore system costs, Canada needs to improve the underlying social and economic determinants of health of Canadians. However, until these changes have time to improve the health status of the population, there will still be a large burden of illness correlated to these underlying deficiencies. As a result, the health system will need to be adequately resourced to address the consequences of the social determinants of health.
AREAS FOR ACTION
The WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health identified four categories through which actions on social determinants can be taken. These include:
* reducing social stratification by reducing inequalities in power, prestige, and income linked to socio-economic position;
* decreasing the exposure of individuals and populations to the health-damaging factors they may face;
* reducing the vulnerability of people to the health damaging conditions they face; and
* intervening through health care to reduce the consequences of ill health caused by the underlying determinants.39
All of these areas offer possibilities for action by the physician community. The following section provides suggestions for action by the medical profession through: CMA and national level initiatives; medical education; leadership and research; and clinical practice.
CMA and national level initiatives
Despite the strong relationship between the social determinants of health and health, little in the way of effective action has resulted. CMA and its partners can and should, advocate for research and push for informed healthy public policy, including health impact assessments for government policies. Additionally, targeted population health programs aimed at addressing the underlying determinants should be supported.
All Canadians need a better understanding of the health trends and the impacts of various social and economic indicators. Information about the differences in specific health indicators, collected over time,40 is essential to the task of describing underlying health trends and the impacts of social and economic interventions. Data within primary care practices could be assembled into (anonymous) community-wide health information databases, to address this need.
CMA recommends that:
1. The federal government recognize the relationship of the social determinants of health on the demands of the health care system and that it implement a requirement for all cabinet decision-making to include a Health Impact Assessment.
2. Options be examined for minimizing financial barriers to necessary medical care including pharmaceuticals and medical devices necessary for health.
3. Federal and provincial/territorial governments examine ways to improve the social and economic circumstances of all Canadians.
4. Efforts be made to educate the public about the effect of social determinants on individual and population health.
5. Appropriate data be collected and reported on annually. This data should be locally usable, nationally comparable and based on milestones across the life course.
Medical education
Medical education is an effective means to provide physicians with the information and tools they require to understand the impact of social determinants on the health of their patients and deal with them accordingly.41 In 2001, Health Canada published a report in which they stated that the primary goal of medical education should be the preparation of graduates who know how to reduce the burden of illness and improve the health of the communities in which they practice.42 Among the report's recommendations was a call for greater integration of the social determinants in medical curricula.43 Although the CanMEDS framework has been a part of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada's accreditation process since 2005, challenges to the integration of these competencies remain.44
The report called for a greater emphasis on providing medical students with firsthand experiences in the community and with distinct populations (service learning),45 which addresses the difficulties in teaching the social aspects of medicine within a traditional classroom or hospital setting.46 Many such programs exist across the country.47 However, these programs are still limited and there is a need to increase the availability of longitudinal programs which allow students to build on the skills they develop throughout medical school.
Increasingly residency programs which focus on the social determinants of health are being offered.48 These programs are a means of providing physicians with the proper tools to communicate with patients from diverse backgrounds49 and reduce behaviours that marginalized patients have identified as barriers to health services.50 It also provides residents with physician role models who are active in the community. However, medical residents note a lack of opportunities to participate in advocacy during residency.51 Further, while experiential programs are effective in helping to reduce barriers between physicians and patients from disadvantaged backgrounds, greater recruitment of medical students from these marginalized populations should also be explored and encouraged.
Finally, physicians in practice need to be kept up to date on new literature and interventions regarding the social determinants. Innovations which help address health equity in practice should be shared with interested physicians. In particular, there is a need for accredited continuing medical education (CME) and a means to encourage uptake.52
CMA recommends that:
6. Greater integration of information on the social determinants and health inequity be provided in medical school to support the CanMEDS health advocate role
7. All medical schools and residency programs offer service learning programs, to provide students with an opportunity to work with diverse populations in inner city, rural and remote settings, and to improve their skills in managing the impact of the social determinants on their patients.
8. CME on the social determinants of health and the physician role in health equity be offered and incentivized for practising physicians.
Leadership and research
Within many communities in Canada, there are physicians who are working to address social determinants and health equity within the patient populations they serve. This is done in many cases through collaboration with partners within and outside of the health care system. Providing these local physician leaders with the tools they need to build these partnerships, and influence the policies and programs that affect their communities is a strategy that needs to be explored.
Evidence-based research about health equity, the clinical setting and the role of physicians is underdeveloped. Interested physicians may wish to participate in research about practice level innovations, as a means of contributing to the evidence base for 'health equity' interventions or simply to share best practices with interested colleagues. Further, physicians can provide the medical support to encourage the adoption of early childhood development practices for example, which support later adult health. In time, research will contribute to training, continuing medical education and potentially to clinical practice guidelines.
Physicians can provide leadership in health impact assessments and equity audits within the health care system as well. Data is essential to identify health equity challenges within a program, to propose and test measures that address the issues underlying the disparities. Formal audits and good measurement are essential to develop evidence-based policy improvements.53 Innovative programs such as those within the Saskatoon Health Region and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto are examples of using these tools to improve access and reduce inequities.
CMA recommends that:
9. Physicians who undertake leadership and advocacy roles should be protected from repercussions in the workplace, e.g., the loss of hospital privileges.
10. Physician leaders explore opportunities to strengthen the primary care public health interface within their communities by working with existing agencies and community resources.
11. Physician leaders work with their local health organizations and systems to conduct health equity impact assessments in order to identify challenges and find solutions to improve access and quality of care.
12. Physicians be encouraged to participate in or support research on best practices for the social determinants of health and health equity. Once identified, information sharing should be established in Canada and internationally.
Clinical practice
In consultation with identified health equity physician champions, a number of clinical interventions have been identified which are being undertaken by physicians across the country. These interventions could be undertaken in many practice settings given the right supports, and could be carried out by various members of the collaborative care team.1
First, a comprehensive social history is essential to understand how to provide care for each patient in the context of their life.54 There are a number of tools that can be used for such a consultation and more are in development.55 However, consolidation of the best ideas into a tool that is suitable for the majority of health care settings is needed. There is some concern that asking these questions is outside of the physician role. The CanMEDS health advocate role clearly sees these types of activities as part of the physician role.56 The 'Four Principles of Family Medicine' defined by the College of Family Physicians of Canada, affirms this role for physicians as well.57
Community knowledge was identified as a strategy for helping patients. Physicians who were aware of community programs and services were able to refer patients if/when social issues arose.58 Many communities and some health providers have developed community resource guides.59 For some physicians, developing a network of community resources was the best way to understand the supports available.
As a corollary, physicians noted their work in helping their patients become aware of and apply for the various social programs to which they are entitled. The programs vary by community and province/territory, and include disability, nutritional supports and many others. Most if not all of these programs require physicians to complete a form in order for the individual to qualify. Resources are available for some of these programs,60 but more centralized supports for physicians regardless of practice location or province/territory are needed.
Physicians advocate on behalf of their patients by writing letters confirming the medical limitations of various health conditions or the medical harm of certain exposures.61 For example, a letter confirming the role of mold in triggering asthma may lead to improvements in the community housing of an asthmatic. Additionally, letters might help patients get the health care services and referrals that they require. As identified leaders within the community, support from a physician may be a 'game-changer' for patients.
Finally, the design of the clinic, such as hours of operation or location, will influence the ability of people to reach care.62
CMA recommends that:
13. Tools be provided for physicians to assess their patients for social and economic causes of ill health and to determine the impact of these factors on treatment design.
14. Local databases of community services and programs (health and social) be developed and provided to physicians. Where possible, targeted guides should be developed for the health sector.
15. Collaborative team-based practice be supported and encouraged.
16. Resources or services be made available to physicians so that they can help their patients identify the provincial/territorial and federal programs for which they may qualify.
17. Physicians be cognizant of equity considerations when considering their practice design and patient resources.
18. All patients be treated equitably and have reasonable access to appropriate care, regardless of the funding model of their physician.
CONCLUSION
Socio-economic factors play a larger role in creating (or damaging) health than either biological factors or the health care system. Health equity is increasingly recognized as a necessary means by which we will make gains in the health status of all Canadians and retain a sustainable publicly funded health care system. Addressing inequalities in health is a pillar of CMA's Health Care Transformation initiative. Physicians as clinicians, learners, teachers, leaders and as a profession can take steps to address the problems on behalf of their patients.
REFERENCES
1 A full review of the consultations is provided in the companion paper The Physician and Health Equity: Opportunities in Practice.
1 Khalema, N. Ernest (2005) Who's Healthy? Who's Not? A Social Justice Perspective on Health Inequities. Available at: http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/chps/crosslinks_march05.cfm
2 World Health Organization (2008) Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health: Executive Summary. Available at: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2008/WHO_IER_CSDH_08.1_eng.pdf
3 Public Health Agency of Canada (N.D.) The Social Determinants of Health: An Overview of the Implications for Policy and the Role of the Health Sector. Available at: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ph-sp/oi-ar/pdf/01_overview_e.pdf
4 Keon, Wilbert J. & Lucie Pépin (2008) Population Health Policy: Issues and Options. Available at: http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/392/soci/rep/rep10apr08-e.pdf
5 Friel, Sharon (2009) Health equity in Australia: A policy framework based on action on the social determinants of obesity, alcohol and tobacco. The National Preventative Health Taskforce. Available at: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/preventativehealth/publishing.nsf/Content/0FBE203C1C547A82CA257529000231BF/$File/commpaper-hlth-equity-friel.pdf
6 Wilkinson, Richard & Michael Marmot eds. (2003) Social Determinants of Health: The Solid Facts: Second Edition. World Health Organization. Available at: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/98438/e81384.pdf
7 Khalema, N. Ernest (2005) Who's Healthy?...
8 Dunn, James R. (2002) The Health Determinants Partnership Making Connections Project: Are Widening Income Inequalities Making Canada Less Healthy? Available at: http://www.opha.on.ca/our_voice/collaborations/makeconnxn/HDP-proj-full.pdf
9 Ibid
10 Wilkins, Russ; Berthelot, Jean-Marie; and Ng E. [2002]. Trends in Mortality by Neighbourhood Income in Urban Canada from 1971 to 1996. Health Reports 13 [Supplement]: pp. 45-71
11 Mikkonen, Juha & Dennis Raphael (2010) Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts. Available at: http://www.thecanadianfacts.org/The_Canadian_Facts.pdf
12 Raphael, Dennis (2003) "Addressing The Social Determinants of Health In Canada: Bridging The Gap Between Research Findings and Public Policy." Policy Options. March 2003 pp.35-40.
13 World Health Organization (2008) Closing the gap in a generation...
14 Hay, David I. (2006) Economic Arguments for Action on the Social Determinants of Health. Canadian Policy Research Networks. Available at: http://www.cprn.org/documents/46128_en.pdf
15 Mikkonen, Juha & Dennis Raphael (2010) Social Determinants of Health...
16 Ibid.
17 Whitehead, Margaret & Goran Dahlgren (2006) Concepts and principles for tackling social inequities in health: Levelling up Part 1. World Health Organization Europe. Available at: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/74737/E89383.pdf
18 Wilkinson, Richard & Michael Marmot eds. (2003) "Social Determinants of Health...
19 Ferrie, Jane E. (1999) "Health consequences of job insecurity." In Labour Market Changes and Job Security: A Challenge for Social Welfare and Health Promotion. World Health Organization. Available at: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/98411/E66205.pdf
20 Marmot, Michael (2010) Fair Society Healthy Lives: The Marmot Review: Executive Summary. Available at: http://www.marmotreview.org/AssetLibrary/pdfs/Reports/FairSocietyHealthyLivesExecSummary.pdf
21 World Health Organization (2008) Closing the gap in a generation...
22 Aboriginal Healing Foundation, Frequently Asked Questions (Ottawa: Canadian Government Publishing Directorate, 2009) Available at: http://www.ahf.ca/faq
23Health Council of Canada, "The Health Status Of Canada's First Nations, Métis And Inuit Peoples", 2005, Available at:http://healthcouncilcanada.ca.c9.previewyoursite.com/docs/papers/2005/BkgrdHealthyCdnsENG.pdf
24 Mikkonen, Juha & Dennis Raphael (2010) Social Determinants of Health...
25Health Council of Canada, (2005)"The Health Status Of Canada's First Nations, Métis And Inuit Peoples...
26 Dunn, James R. (2002) The Health Determinants Partnership...
27 CIHI/CPHI (2012) Disparities in Primary Health Care Experiences Among Canadians with Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions. http://secure.cihi.ca/cihiweb/products/PHC_Experiences_AiB2012_E.pdf
28 Munro, Daniel (2008) "Healthy People, Healthy Performance, Healthy Profits: The Case for Business Action on the Socio-Economic Determinants of Health." The Conference Board of Canada. Available at: http://www.conferenceboard.ca/Libraries/NETWORK_PUBLIC/dec2008_report_healthypeople.sflb
29 Williamson, Deanna L. et.al. (2006) "Low-income Canadians' experiences with health-related services: Implications for health care reform." Health Policy. 76(2006) pp. 106-121.
30 CIHI/CPHI (2012) Disparities in Primary Health Care Experiences Among Canadians...
31 Williamson, Deanna L. et.al. (2006) "Low-income Canadians'...
32 Mikkonen, Juha & Dennis Raphael (2010) Social Determinants of Health...
33 Neal, Richard D. et.al. (2001) "Missed appointments in general practice: retrospective data analysis from four practices." British Journal of General Practice. 51 pp.830-832.
34 Kennedy, Jae & Christopher Erb (2002) "Prescription Noncompliance due to Cost Among Adults with Disabilities in the United States." American Journal of Public Health. Vol.92 No.7 pp. 1120-1124.
35 Bibbins-Domingo, Kirsten & M. Robin DiMatteo. Chapter 8: Assessing and Promoting Medication Adherence. pp. 81-90 in King, Talmadge E, Jr. & Margaret B. Wheeler ed. (2007) Medical Management of Vulnerable and Underserved Patients...
36 Mikkonen, Juha & Dennis Raphael (2010) Social Determinants of Health...
37 Dunn, James R. (2002) The Health Determinants Partnership...
38 Saskatoon Poverty Reduction Partnership (2011) from poverty to possibility...and prosperity: A Preview to the Saskatoon Community Action Plan to Reduce Poverty. Available at: http://www.saskatoonpoverty2possibility.ca/pdf/SPRP%20Possibilities%20Doc_Nov%202011.pdf
39 World Health Organization (2005) Action On The Social Determinants Of Health: Learning From Previous Experiences. Available at: http://www.who.int/social_determinants/resources/action_sd.pdf
40 Braveman, Paula (2003) "Monitoring Equity in Health and Healthcare: A Conceptual Framework."Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition. Sep;21(3):181-192.
41 Royal College of Physicians (2010) How doctors can close the gap: Tackling the social determinants of health through culture change, advocacy and education. Available at: http://www.marmotreview.org/AssetLibrary/resources/new%20external%20reports/RCP-report-how-doctors-can-close-the-gap.pdf
42 Health Canada (2001) Social Accountability: A Vision for Canadian Medical Schools. Available at: http://www.medicine.usask.ca/leadership/social-accountability/pdfs%20and%20powerpoint/SA%20-%20A%20vision%20for%20Canadian%20Medical%20Schools%20-%20Health%20Canada.pdf
43 Ibid.
44 Dharamsi, Shafik; Ho, Anita; Spadafora, Salvatore; and Robert Woollard (2011) "The Physician as Health Advocate: Translating the Quest for Social Responsibility into Medical Education and Practice." Academic Medicine. Vol.86 No.9 pp.1108-1113.
45 Health Canada (2001) Social Accountability: A Vision for Canadian Medical Schools...
46 Meili, Ryan; Fuller, Daniel; & Jessica Lydiate. (2011) "Teaching social accountability by making the links: Qualitative evaluation of student experiences in a service-learning project." Medical Teacher. 33; 659-666.
47 Ford-Jones, Lee; Levin, Leo; Schneider, Rayfel; & Denis Daneman (2012) "A New Social Pediatrics Elective-A Tool for Moving to Life Course Developmental Health." The Journal of Pediatrics. V.160 Iss. 3 pp.357-358; Meili, Ryan; Ganem-Cuenca, Alejandra; Wing-sea Leung, Jannie; & Donna Zaleschuk (2011) "The CARE Model of Social Accountability: Promoting Cultural Change." Academic Medicine. Vol.86 No.9 pp.1114-1119.
48 Cuthbertson, Lana "U of A helps doctors understand way of life in the inner city." Edmonton Journal Dec 22, 2010. Available at: http://www2.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/cityplus/story.html?id=943d7dc3-927b-4429-878b-09b6e00595e1
49 Willems, S.; Maesschalck De, S.; Deveugele, M.; Derese, A. & J. De Maeseneer (2005) "Socio-economic status of the patient and doctor-patient communication: does it make a difference?" Patient Education and Counseling. 56 pp. 139-146.
50 Bloch, Gary; Rozmovits, Linda & Broden Giambone (2011) "Barriers to primary care responsiveness to poverty as a risk factor for health." BioMed Central Family Practice. Available at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2296-12-62.pdf; Schillinger, Dean; Villela, Theresa J. & George William Saba. Chapter 6: Creating a Context for Effective Intervention in the Clinical Care of Vulnerable Patients. pp.59-67. In King, Talmadge E, Jr. & Margaret B. Wheeler ed. (2007) Medical Management of Vulnerable and Underserved Patients.
51 Dharamsi, Shafik; Ho, Anita; Spadafora, Salvatore; and Robert Woollard (2011) "The Physician as Health Advocate...
52 UCL Institute of Health Equity (2012) The Role of the Health Workforce in Tackling Health Inequalities...
53 Meili, Ryan (2012) A Healthy Society: How A Focus On Health Can Revive Canadian Democracy. Saskatoon: Canada. Purich Publishing Limited. pp.36
54 UCL Institute of Health Equity (2012) The Role of the Health Workforce in Tackling Health Inequalities...
55 Bloch, Gary (2011) "Poverty: A clinical tool for primary care "Family & Community Medicine, University of Toronto. Available at: http://www.healthprovidersagainstpoverty.ca/system/files/Poverty%20A%20Clinical%20Tool%20for%20Primary%20Care%20%28version%20with%20References%29_0.pdf ; Bricic, Vanessa; Eberdt, Caroline & Janusz Kaczorowski (2011) "Development of a Tool to Identify Poverty in a Family Practice Setting: A Pilot Study." International Journal of Family Medicine. Available at: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijfm/2011/812182/ ; Based on form developed by: Drs. V. Dubey, R.Mathew & K. Iglar; Revised by Health Providers Against Poverty (2008) " Preventative Care Checklist Form: For average-risk, routine, female health assessments." Available at: http://www.healthprovidersagainstpoverty.ca/Resourcesforhealthcareproviders ; Based on form developed by: Drs. V. Dubey, R.Mathew & K. Iglar; Revised by Health Providers Against Poverty (2008) " Preventative Care Checklist Form: For average-risk, routine, male health assessments." Available at: http://www.healthprovidersagainstpoverty.ca/Resourcesforhealthcareproviders
56 Frank, Dr. Jason R. ed. (2005) "The CanMEDS 2005 Physician Competency Framework: Better standards. Better physicians. Better Care." Office of Education: The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Available at: http://rcpsc.medical.org/canmeds/CanMEDS2005/CanMEDS2005_e.pdf
57 Tannenbaum, David et.al. (2011) "Triple C Competency-based Curriculum: Report of the Working Group on Postgraduate Curriculum Review-Part 1
58 UCL Institute of Health Equity (2012) The Role of the Health Workforce in Tackling Health Inequalities...
59 Doyle-Trace L, Labuda S. Community Resources in Cote-des-Neiges. Montreal: St Mary's Hospital Family Medicine Centre, 2011. (This guide was developed by medical residents Lara Doyle-Trace and Suzan Labuda at McGill University.); Mobile Outreach Street Health (N.D.) Pocket MOSH: a little MOSH for your pocket: A Practitioners Guide to MOSH and the Community We Serve. Available at: http://www.cdha.nshealth.ca/mobile-outreach-street-health
60 Health Providers Against Poverty (N.D.) Tools and Resources. Available at: http://www.healthprovidersagainstpoverty.ca/Resourcesforhealthcareproviders
61 Meili, Ryan (2012) A Healthy Society: How A Focus...pp.61; UCL Institute of Health Equity (2012) The Role of the Health Workforce in Tackling Health Inequalities...
62 Rachlis, Michael (2008) Operationalizing Health Equity: How Ontario's Health Services Can Contribute to Reducing Health Disparities. Wellesley Institute. Available at: http://wellesleyinstitute.com/files/OperationalizingHealthEquity.pdf
Lessons from the frontlines: A report on Pandemic H1N1 from Canadian Medical Association, The College of Family Physicians of Canada, National Specialty Society for Community Medicine
One year ago, a novel influenza virus claimed its first victim in Mexico, and soon the world was plunged into its first influenza pandemic in 40 years. Although pandemic H1N1 (pH1N1) swept across the globe, we were fortunate this time as the virus was far less virulent than first feared. Now that pH1N1 has peaked and faded, it is time to look at what we learned and how it will help us plan for the next national public health emergency.
The College of Family Physicians of Canada, the National Specialty Society for Community Medicine and the Canadian Medical Association have joined together to present a picture of lessons learned from the front lines of the pandemic. Together we represent over 80,000 physicians, of whom almost 50,000 are family physicians, engaged in all aspects of Canada's health care and public health systems.
Canada's experience with SARS in 2003 was a "wake-up call"; much changed in its aftermath. The creation of the Public Health Agency of Canada led by a chief public health officer and the Pan-Canadian Public Health Network increased Canada's ability to respond to a public health emergency like pH1N1. The Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan for the Health Sector, as well as complementary provincial and territorial plans, provides a framework and approach to responding to a pandemic.
In many ways, this planning paid off. Canada mobilized quickly in response to the pH1N1 threat. Morbidity and mortality were lower than feared, and 45% of the population was vaccinated. But this response can also be seen as a "dress rehearsal" for a more severe influenza pandemic or some other national public health emergency: a test of our plans and an opportunity to learn from experience, with the time to incorporate these lessons into our strategic planning.
Those on the front lines of response understand how health emergencies test our entire system - public health, acute and primary care and the community-based family physician. The success of our response depends on planning and practice, the effectiveness of public health and clinical countermeasures, our health human resources, the surge capacity within our health care and public health systems and our ability to reach the public. One of our greatest challenges in Canada is also to establish a coherent national and provincial/territorial strategy that can be implemented at a local level.
Although we believe that Canada's overall response to pH1N1 produced many success stories, there were circumstances that challenged us as health professionals. Both health care and public health need further strengthening, and their separate infrastructures and the interdependence between these structures need attention and bolstering. The following comments focus on two overarching areas that influenced our ability to respond to the pandemic: communications and health system integration.
Communications
Communication was a consistent source of concern. Channels of communication among the various levels of public health providers were stronger than those for primary care providers, especially family physicians. On 9 Aug. 2009, following the first wave of pH1N1, our leaders wrote to chief public health officer of Canada Dr. David Butler-Jones on behalf of our members to share their thoughts and recommendations on how to improve communications with physicians. Family physicians in particular, but also other front-line health care providers, needed communication that was tailored to the practice setting, resources that were easy to access, and clear messages written in a manner that allowed rapid implementation into clinical practice during health emergencies because the timing of clinical response was critical. We recommended that front-line clinical practitioners be involved in the development of guidelines and the strategies for their dissemination, so that the content could be linked directly to the clinical setting.
Family physicians are part of our first line of defence during infectious disease outbreaks. To ensure optimum patient care, they need clinical guidance quickly. Many physicians felt that the urgent need to provide consistent, clinically relevant information was not well recognized by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the Public Health Network and, in some cases, provincial, territorial, regional or local levels.
It took three months after recognition of the emerging pandemic to publish Interim Guidance for Ambulatory Care of Influenza-like Illness in the Context of H1N1. The current Public Health Network process of federal/provincial/territorial (FPT) consultation and consensus building seemed ill-suited to the acute national need for clinical information on issues such as the use and prescription of anti-viral medications. As provincial authorities and professional medical organizations moved to fill the void, different approaches and recommendations arose independent from one another. Better integration of primary care response by a national organization such as PHAC and the provincial/territorial health ministries could address the needs of clinical practitioners in concert with public health responses. This would also ensure that care directives are translated into user-friendly formats appropriate to clinical settings.
We were pleased to be able to work with PHAC in fall 2009 to produce Pandemic H1N1: Fast Facts for Front-line Clinicians. This resource was highly valued by many of our members, and the collaboration demonstrated how health organizations can work effectively with government to contribute their expertise to the development and distribution of appropriate, clinically relevant information. Nevertheless, our critics declared that it was too little, too late.
In situations where scientific evidence is rapidly changing, the processes used to distribute information to both front-line public health and clinical professionals must be designed to avoid confusion. Coordinated, unified communication strategies are needed at the national, provincial/territorial and local levels. Regardless of the official source, the information must be consistent.
During the pandemic, many physicians and public health workers complained that multiple levels of government provided similar, but not the same advice. The differences led to skepticism, and the inundation of messages led to overload. The bottom line is that clinically relevant and trustworthy information should be provided on a timely basis, even if levels of certainty are fluctuating.
Jurisdictions with effective communication to the primary care sector were characterized by cooperation and consultation between the medical community and the provincial, territorial and regional health authorities, both before and during the crisis.
We recommend:
1. That the Public Health Agency of Canada, with the provinces and territories, evaluate the effectiveness of pH1N1 communications between public health and physicians and other front-line primary health care providers, and use the finding of this evaluation to research options for future response to a public health crisis.
2. That federal, provincial/territorial public health authorities and health care professionals and their associations work together in the inter-pandemic period to develop a pan-Canadian communication strategy to be used during health emergencies.
3. The establishment of a pan-Canadian centre within the Public Health Agency of Canada - similar to the Centre for Effective Practice - to undertake timely knowledge translation of clinical management guidelines for clinicians during public health crises.
Surveillance and electronic communications
The national response to infectious disease would have been greatly facilitated if system-wide communicable disease surveillance had been in place to support the sharing of data between public health and the rest of the health care system, particularly at the regional and local levels of pandemic response. Clinicians' practices are highly influenced by illness patterns that develop regionally and locally within their practice populations; thus, surveillance data are useful in determining appropriate treatment. Real-time data were not available to most physicians and when data did become available, they were already several weeks old. Delayed clinical guidelines were not a suitable substitute for timely surveillance information.
Expansion of the use of electronic medical records (EMRs) in primary care, with bi-directional links to public health electronic health records (EHRs), could have facilitated surveillance and communications. Family practice clinics with EMRs were able to quickly identify high-risk patients, communicate with them to schedule vaccination appointments and collect the required data for public health. The varied levels of success of public pH1N1 vaccination clinics were further proof of the need to move to standard use of EMRs and EHRs in the health system.
Communications can be enhanced through the sharing of data between the public health and primary care systems. EMRs may help resolve the challenge of collecting data from primary care sites. Collaboration among the PHAC, the Canadian Medical Association and the Information Technology Association of Canada's Health Division led to development of a pilot project to demonstrate the use of primary care EMRs as real-time sentinel surveillance tools for public health action to supplement existing surveillance mechanisms. In addition, after a successful two-year pilot project, the College of Family Physicians of Canada is working with the PHAC, in association with the Canadian Institute for Health Information, to conduct surveillance for five chronic diseases using EMRs, local networks across Canada and a national central repository for standardized data. These studies represent the increasingly important role of electronic information in surveillance and the value of collaboration between public health and primary care.
We recommend:
4. That the federal and provincial/territorial governments provide EMR funding to enable clinical care and public health authorities to build interconnectedness and allow real-time information collection and analysis.
System issues
FPT responsibilities
The division of responsibility between federal and provincial/territorial authorities for health care and emergency response influences how we respond to public health emergencies. Provincial/territorial governments have a primary role to play in regulating health matters within their boundaries. At the same time, the federal government has responsibilities related to national public safety and health protection. There can be no disputing the legitimacy of federal involvement in public health matters of an interprovincial/territorial nature.
Under International Health Regulations, the federal government also has a responsibility to report and monitor public health emergencies of potential harm to other countries.
Since Canada's SARS experience, there has been much progress in building FPT cooperation and increasing consultation on public health matters. However, the division of responsibility has led us to a situation where public health and clinical guidance in each province and territory was similar, yet different. Although the Pandemic Influenza Committee and the Special FPT Advisory Committee on H1N1 Influenza strove for consensus at the national level, individual provinces and territories were under no obligation to implement the guidance agreed to at the FPT level. Consultative and collaborative processes at the FPT level created delays in decision-making and directly interfered with the capacity of front-line professionals to respond to the urgent health needs of their patients. This led to a sense of confusion in the media and a loss of trust among the public and health professionals regarding Canada's capacity to respond to pH1N1.
System capacity
Canada's health system lacks surge capacity and can be sorely tested during a public health emergency, such as the recent experience with pH1N1. The underdeveloped public health infrastructure also means that it is a challenge to handle more than one national crisis at a time. To mount a response to pH1N1, public health units pulled human resources from other programs and many critical ones were delayed, suspended or cancelled altogether.
During the first wave of pH1N1, Manitoba experienced a severe outbreak that stretched the resources of its critical care infrastructure to its limits. Front-line health care providers were inundated with telephone calls from the worried well and an increase in visits from those with flu symptoms. If pH1N1 had been the severe pandemic that was expected and for which Canada had been preparing, our health system would have been brought to its knees.
In 2008, the Canadian Coalition for Public Health in the 21st Century noted that Canada remains vulnerable to the risks presented by epidemics and pandemics. This vulnerability remains today, and a long-range plan to build our public health capacity and workforce and to address the lack of surge capacity in our health system must become a priority if we are to be prepared for the next emergency.
We recommend:
5. That the federal government increase infrastructure funding to provinces/territories to assist local health emergency preparedness planning and response, to reduce variation across the country and to integrate clinical care structures into public health structures at the local level.
6. That the Public Health Agency of Canada review the recommendations of the 2003 report of the National Advisory Committee on SARS and Public Health (Naylor report) in light of the pH1N1 experience and develop a national action plan to address the persistent gaps.
Public health/primary care partnership
Family physicians, in particular, understand that primary health care happens at the local level. In fact, so does all public health. During times of public health crisis, it is crucial for public health and primary care to work together, each respecting, supporting and bolstering the efforts of the other. Strengthening local public health and primary care structures and the interface between them would have resulted in improved, shared understanding of each sector's roles and responsibilities during the pH1N1 epidemic, better communications, improved data sharing and, most important, better served populations.
Public health measures are directed toward the mitigation of disease through surveillance, research and outbreak management activities, while physicians provide information, education and clinical treatment to their patients.
A commitment from both sectors at the local and provincial levels - and the professionals within each sector - to work together in the inter-pandemic period to build on processes that allow sharing of perspectives and information is essential. It is crucial that local public health authorities receive financial resources to increase their ability to collaborate effectively with family physicians, specialist physicians and other front-line providers. A number of the challenges faced by front-line public health workers and front-line physicians during the pH1N1 outbreak could have been lessened if there had been stronger links within the health system.
We recommend:
7. That the Public Health Agency of Canada develop a focus on improving the interrelationship between primary care and public health to support collaboration during public health crises.
Vaccination
A key measure to combat pandemic influenza is mass vaccination. On the whole, Canada mounted an effective campaign: 45% of Canadians were vaccinated, and the proportion was even higher in First Nations communities - a first in Canadian history. Canada was one of the first countries with sufficient vaccine for the population and, with one domestic vaccine supplier, Canada avoided the confusion of multiple formulations as seen in the United States. The outcome was positive, but many public health units were stretched as expectations exceeded the pre-existing constrained resources.
Although we recognize that the provinces and territories have quite different approaches to the delivery of their routine immunization programs, there is agreement that the pandemic immunization process did not adequately engage physicians in planning and delivery. A number of difficulties, such as the impact of bulk packaging, manufacturing delays that affected the agreed "sequencing" of patients and the logistics of inventory management, led to friction between front-line public health practitioners and family physicians. These could have been avoided with strengthened interdependence and mutual understanding before this crisis.
The great variation in mass vaccination programs between provinces/territories, and even between local public health units, led to public confusion. Recognition of the diversity of primary care settings in which physicians work and bilateral planning in advance of the event is essential, because it is simply not feasible to tailor responses to myriad settings in the heat of the moment. Television broadcasts of long lines of people waiting to be vaccinated contributed to a loss of confidence in the system at a time when public confidence was sorely needed to encourage vaccination. Nationally promulgated clinical practice guidelines had great potential to create consistent clinical responses across the country. Instead, the variation and lack of coordination in providing important clinical information during this crisis eroded the public's confidence in the federal, provincial and territorial response.
Ensuring future consistency in clinical approaches will require examination of ethical principles for the allocation of resources, such as anti-virals, vaccines and hospital treatment. Public engagement in the discussion of ethical principles is essential and, as much as possible, the consultative process should be transparent and undertaken in advance.
We recommend:
8. That the Public Health Network seek advanced pan-Canadian commitment to a harmonized and singular national response to clinical practice guidelines, including mass vaccination programs, during times of potential public health crisis.
Conclusion
In 2003, in its submission to the National Advisory Committee on SARS, the Canadian Medical Association noted that the uptake of new information is influenced by many qualitative factors, and that research is needed to determine how best to communicate with individual physicians and other health care providers in emergency situations. Communication processes should be based on sound research and build on existing communication networks and relationships. The College of Family Physicians of Canada has recommended that information networks be strengthened to promote the sharing of the most relevant information among family physicians, other primary care providers and public health at the local level.
We believe that PHAC is well positioned to undertake research on how health professionals can best receive information and to catalogue existing communication networks to build them into a well-coordinated national emergency response communication system. We must work together to translate pandemic information into practical messages relevant to front-line providers and employ trusted channels to deliver key messages to our patients and the public. Broad consensus is developing that our experience with the pH1N1 outbreak has shown that one of our greatest needs in preparing for the next public health emergency is for a national communications strategy that involves all levels of government, targets all sectors of our health system and uses the channels with which these targets are most familiar.
An effective response to infectious disease outbreaks depends on effective surveillance, data collection and sharing and tracking of clinical interventions. The absence of a national communicable disease/immunization monitoring system is an ongoing problem. In 2003, the report of the National Advisory Committee on SARS and Public Health recommended that "the [Public Health] Agency [of Canada] should facilitate the long term development of a comprehensive and national public health surveillance system that will collect, analyze, and disseminate laboratory and health care facility data on infectious diseases... to relevant stakeholders." In 2010, Canada still does not have a comprehensive national surveillance and epidemiological system.
A pan-Canadian electronic health information system is urgently needed and must become a priority during the inter-pandemic phase, with adequate federal funding and provincial/territorial collaboration. Greater adoption of the EMR in primary care and better public health EHRs with the ability to link systems will augment existing surveillance capacity and should be considered essential to a pan-Canadian system.
Many of the challenges front-line health practitioners faced during the pH1N1 were also challenges during the SARS outbreak in 2003. The Naylor report proposed a number of measures to improve Canada's readiness and strengthen public health. Although a great deal of work and effort has gone into building links with and between provinces/territories and the federal government within the public health and the health emergency management system, little has trickled down to the front lines. This is not to devalue the much-improved spirit of FPT cooperation and the important achievements that have been made. Rather it is to suggest that, as the roof is no longer leaking, it is time to focus attention on the foundation - the response at the local level.
Embedding primary care expertise in public health planning within the PHAC and at provincial/territorial and local levels will help circumvent problems and improve the effectiveness of our health system to respond to public health emergencies. A dialogue between primary care and the emergency management structures will help the response team understand and value the capabilities within primary care and build them into their planning and response systems.
At the end of the day, we need to nurture collaborative relations between public health and primary care. Our shared objective is protecting the health of Canadians, recognizing that, in reality, neither system can be successful in isolation. It is essential that we trust each other's professionalism and expertise and work together to ensure that a strong foundation is in place to protect Canadians from future health threats.
We have the will and expertise. We need the resources and a firm commitment to move forward. We have had two "wake-up calls" - SARS and pH1N1. Let's not wait for a third to find that we are not yet prepared.
Recommendations
1. That the Public Health Agency of Canada, with the provinces and territories, evaluate the effectiveness of pH1N1 communications between public health and physicians and other front-line primary health care providers, and use the finding of this evaluation to research options for future response to a public health crisis.
2. That federal, provincial/territorial public health authorities and health care professionals and their associations work together in the inter-pandemic period to develop a pan-Canadian communication strategy to be used during health emergencies.
3. The establishment of a pan-Canadian centre within the Public Health Agency of Canada - similar to the Centre for Effective Practice - to undertake timely knowledge translation of clinical management guidelines for clinicians during public health crises.
4. That the federal and provincial/territorial governments provide EMR funding to enable clinical care and public health authorities to build interconnectedness and allow real-time information collection and analysis.
5. That the federal government increase infrastructure funding to provinces/territories to assist local health emergency preparedness planning and response, to reduce variation across the country and to integrate clinical care structures into public health structures at the local level.
6. That the Public Health Agency of Canada review the recommendations of the 2003 report of the National Advisory Committee on SARS and Public Health (Naylor report) in light of the pH1N1 experience and develop a national action plan to address the persistent gaps.
7. That the Public Health Agency of Canada develop a focus on improving the interrelationship between primary care and public health to support collaboration during public health crises.
8. That the Public Health Network seek advanced pan-Canadian commitment to a harmonized and singular national response to clinical practice guidelines, including mass vaccination programs, during times of potential public health crisis.
Restricting marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to children and youth in Canada: A Canadian health care and scientific organization policy consensus statement
Restricting Marketing of Unhealthy Foods and Beverages to Children and Youth in Canada: A Canadian Health Care and Scientific Organization Policy Consensus Statement
POLICY GOAL
Federal government to immediately
begin a legislative process to restrict all
marketing targeted to children under the
age of 13 of foods and beverages high in
saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, free
sugars or sodium and that in the interim
the food industry immediately ceases
marketing of such food to children.
PURPOSE OF STATEMENT
This policy consensus statement was developed to
reflect the growing body of evidence linking the
promotion and consumption of diets high in
saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, free sugars or
sodium1 to cardiovascular and chronic disease
(hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus,
obesity, cancer, and heart disease and stroke)—
leading preventable risk factors and causes of death
and disability within Canada and worldwide. (1-3)
(1) For the remainder of the document, reference to foods
high in saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, free sugars or
sodium will be framed as foods high in fats, sugars or
sodium.
The current generation of Canadian children is
expected to live shorter, less healthy lives as a
result of unhealthy eating. (4) Canadians’
overconsumption of fat, sodium and sugar, rising
rates of childhood obesity, growing numbers of
people with cancer, heart disease and stroke, and
the combined strain they exert on the health care
system and quality of life for Canadians necessitates
immediate action for Canadian governments and
policy-makers. Restricting the marketing of
unhealthy foods and beverages directed at children
is gaining increasing international attention as a
cost-effective, population-based intervention to
reduce the prevalence and the burden of chronic
and cardiovascular diseases through reducing
children’s exposure to, and consumption of,
disease-causing foods. (2,5,6)
In May 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO
released a set of recommendations on the
marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to
children (5) and called on governments worldwide
to reduce the exposure of children to advertising
messages that promote foods high in saturated fats,
trans-fatty acids, free sugars or sodium and to
reduce the use of powerful marketing techniques. In
June 2012, the follow-up document, A Framework
for Implementing the Set of Recommendations on
the Marketing of Foods and Non-Alcoholic
Beverages to Children, (7) was released.
The policy aim should be to reduce the impact
on children of marketing of foods high in
saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, free sugars,
or sodium.
WHO (2010): Recommendation 1
What this policy consensus statement offers is the
perspective of many major national health care
professional and scientific organizations to guide
Canadian governments and non-government
organizations on actions that need to be taken to
protect the health of our future generations, in part
by restricting the adverse influence of marketing of
foods high in fat, sugar or sodium to Canadian
children and youth.
SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE AND RATIONALE
-Young children lack the cognitive ability to
understand the persuasive intent of marketing
or assess commercial claims critically. (8) in
1989 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that
“advertisers should not be able to capitalize
upon children’s credulity” and “advertising
directed at young children is per se
manipulative”.(5)
-The marketing and advertising of information or
products known to be injurious to children’s
health and wellbeing is unethical and infringes
on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
which stipulates that, “In all actions concerning
children … the best interests of the child shall
be a primary consideration.” (9)
- Unhealthy food advertising during children’s
television programs in Canada is higher than in
many countries, with children being exposed to
advertisements for unhealthy foods and
beverages up to 6 times per hour. (10)
- Unhealthy food and beverage advertising
influences children’s food preferences,
purchase requests and consumption patterns
and has been shown to be a probable cause of
childhood overweight and obesity by the WHO.
(1,8,11)
- The vast majority of Canadians (82%) want
government intervention to place limits on
advertising unhealthy foods and beverages to
children. (12)
- The regulation of food marketing to children is
an effective and cost-saving population-based
intervention to improve health and prevent
disease. (13,14)
- Several bills have been introduced into the
House of Commons to amend the Competition
Act and the Food and Drug Act to restrict
commercial advertising, including food, to
children under 13 years of age. None have yet
been passed. (15)
- Canada’s current approach to restricting
advertising to children is not effective and is not
in line with the 2010 WHO recommendations on
the marketing of foods and beverages to
children, nor is it keeping pace with the direction
of policies being adopted internationally, which
ban or restrict unhealthy food and beverage
marketing targeted to children. (16,17)
LEGISLATIVE RULING
The Supreme Court of Canada concluded
that “advertising directed at young
children is per se manipulative”
Irwin Toy Ltd. v. Québec (AG), 1989
FOOD MARKETING TO CHILDREN: A TIMELY
OPPORTUNITY FOR CANADA
Childhood obesity and chronic disease prevention
are collective priorities for action of federal,
provincial and territorial (F/P/T) governments.
(3,5,18,19)
Strategy 2.3b of the 2011 Federal, Provincial and
Territorial Framework for Action to Promote Healthy
Weights stipulates “looking at ways to decrease the
marketing of foods and beverages high in fat, sugar
and/or sodium to children. “(5, p. 31)
The 2010 Sodium Reduction Strategy for Canada
has also identified the need to “continue to explore
options to reduce the exposure of children to
marketing for foods that are high in sodium" as a
key activity for F/P/T governments to consider. (19,
p. 31)
In their 2010 set of recommendations, the WHO
stipulated that governments are best positioned to
lead and ensure effective policy development,
implementation and evaluation. (6)
To date, there has been no substantive movement
by the federal government to develop coordinated
national-level policies that change the way
unhealthy foods and beverages are produced,
marketed and sold. Current federal, provincial and
industry-led self-regulatory codes are inconsistent
in their scope and remain ineffective in their ability
to sufficiently reduce children’s exposure to
unhealthy food marketing, nor have they been
adequately updated to address the influx of new
marketing mediums to which children and youth in
Canada are increasingly subjected.
Quebec implemented regulations in 1980 restricting
all commercial advertising. (20) Although the ban
has received international recognition and is viewed
as world leading, several limitations remain, in part
due exposure of Quebec children to marketing from
outside Quebec, weak enforcement of the
regulations and narrow application of its provisions.
Accordingly, the undersigned are calling on the
federal government to provide strong leadership
and establish a legislative process for the
development of regulations that restrict all
commercial marketing of foods and beverages high
in saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, free sugars or
sodium to children.
Strong federal government action and commitment
are required to change the trajectory of chronic
diseases in Canada and institute lasting changes in
public health. Specifically:
Efforts must be made to ensure that
children…are protected against the impact
of marketing [of foods with a high content
of fat, sugar and sodium] and given the
opportunity to grow and develop in an
enabling food environment — one that
fosters and encourages healthy dietary
choices and promotes the maintenance of
healthy weight. (7, p. 6)
Such efforts to protect the health of children must
go beyond the realm of federal responsibility and
involve engagement, dialogue, leadership and
advocacy by all relevant stakeholders, including all
elected officials, the food and marketing sector,
public health, health care professional and scientific
organizations, and most importantly civil society.
The undersigned support the development of
policies that are regulatory in nature to create
national and/or regional uniformity in
implementation and compliance by industry.
“Realizing the responsibility of governments
both to protect the health of children and to
set definitions in policy according to public
health goals and challenges — as well as to
ensure policy is legally enforced — statutory
regulation has the greatest potential to achieve
the intended or desired policy impact.”
WHO (2012), p. 33
POLICY/LEGISLATIVE SPECIFICATIONS
The following outline key definitions and
components of an effective and comprehensive
policy on unhealthy food and beverage marketing
to children and should be used to guide national
policy scope and impact.
- Age of Child: In the context of broadcast
regulations, the definition of “age of child”
typically ranges from under 13 years to under
16 years. In Canada, Quebec’s Consumer
Protection Act (20) applies to children under
13 years of age. Consistent with existing
legislation, this report recommends that policies
restricting marketing of unhealthy foods and
beverages be directed to children less than
13 years of age at a minimum.
While the science on the impact of marketing on
children over 13 is less extensive, emerging
research reveals that older children still require
protection and may be more vulnerable to newer
forms of marketing (i.e., digital media ), in which
food and beverage companies are playing an
increasingly prominent role. (21-23) Strong
consideration should be given to extending the
age of restricting the marketing of unhealthy
food and beverage to age 16.
- Unhealthy Food and Beverages: In the absence
of a national standardized definition for “healthy”
or “unhealthy” foods, this document defines
unhealthy foods broadly as foods with a high
content of saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, free
sugars or sodium, as per the WHO
recommendations. (5) It is recommended that a
robust and comprehensive definition be
developed by an interdisciplinary stakeholder
working group.
- Focus on Marketing: Marketing is more than
advertising and involves:
…any form of commercial communication or
message that is designed to, or has the
effect of, increasing the recognition, appeal
and/ or consumption of particular products
and services. It comprises anything that acts
to advertise or otherwise promote a product
or service. (6, p. 9)
This definition goes beyond the current legal
definition of advertisement outlined in the Food
and Drug Act as “any representation by any
means whatever for the purpose of promoting
directly or indirectly the sale or disposal of any
food, drug, cosmetic or device.” (24)
- Marketing Techniques, Communication Channels
and Locations: Legislation restricting unhealthy
food marketing needs to be sufficiently
comprehensive to address the broad scope of
marketing and advertising techniques that have a
particularly powerful effect on children and
youth. This includes, but is not limited to, the
following:
. Television
. Internet
. Radio
. Magazines
. Direct electronic marketing (email, SMS)
. Mobile phones
. Video and adver-games
. Characters, brand mascots and/or celebrities,
including those that are advertiser-generated
. Product placement
. Cross-promotions
. Point-of-purchase displays
. Cinemas and theatres
. Competitions and premiums (free toys)
. Children’s institutions, services, events and
activities (schools, event sponsorship)
. “Viral and buzz marketing” (25,26)
. Directed to Children: The criteria used by the
Quebec Consumer Protection Act (20) to
determine whether an advertisement is “directed
at children” offers a starting point in developing
national legislation regarding child-directed
media. The loopholes in the Quebec Consumer
Protection Act criteria, namely allowing
advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages
directed at adults during children’s programming,
will necessitate the development of an
alternative approach or set of criteria that
reflects the range of media to which children are
exposed and when they are exposed, in addition
to the proportion of the audience that is made up
of children.
Quebec Consumer Protection Act
Article 249
To determine whether or not an
advertisement is directed at persons under
thirteen years of age, account must be taken
of the context of its presentation, and in
particular of:
a)the nature and intended purpose of the
goods advertised;
b)the manner of presenting such
advertisement;
c)the time and place it is shown.
ACTION RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Federal Government Leadership
1.1 Immediately and publicly operationalize the
WHO set of recommendations on the marketing
of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to
children.
In working toward the implementation of the
WHO recommendations, the federal
government is strongly urged to accelerate
implementation of the WHO Framework for
Implementing the Set of Recommendations on
the Marketing of Foods and Beverages to
Children. To this end, the Government of
Canada is urged to:
1.2 Convene a Federal, Provincial and Territorial
Working Group on Food Marketing to Children
to develop, implement and monitor policies to
restrict unhealthy food and beverage marketing
to children. As stipulated within the WHO
Implementation Framework:
The government-led working group should
ultimately reach consensus on the priorities
for intervention, identify the available policy
measures and decide how they best can be
implemented. (7, p.13)
1.3 In developing policies, it is recommended that
the working group:
- Develop standardized criteria and an
operational definition to distinguish and
classify “unhealthy” foods. Definitions
should be developed using objective,
evidence-based methods and should be
developed and approved independent of
commercial interests.
- Develop a set of definitions/specifications
that will guide policy scope and
implementation. Consistent with the WHO
recommendations, the working group is
encouraged to apply the policy
specifications identified above.
- Set measurable outcomes, targets and
timelines for achievement of targets for
industry and broadcasters to restrict
unhealthy food marketing to children in all
forms and settings. It is recommended that
policies be implemented as soon as possible
and within a 3-year time frame.
- Establish mechanisms for close monitoring
and enforcement through defined rewards
and/or penalties by an independent
regulatory agency that has the power and
infrastructure to evaluate questionable
advertisements and enforce penalties for
non-compliance.(2)
(2) Such an infrastructure could be supported
though the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), similar
to the authority of the US Federal Trade
Commission (FTC), the Canadian Food
Inspection Agency or the Food and Drug Act via
the development of an advertising investigation
arm.
The nature and extent of penalties imposed should be sufficiently
stringent to deter violations. Enforcement
mechanisms should be explicit, and infringing
companies should be exposed publicly.
- Develop evaluation mechanisms to assess
process, impact and outcomes of food
marketing restriction policies. Components
should include scheduled reviews (5 years or
as agreed upon) to update policies and/or
strategies. To showcase accountability,
evaluation findings should be publicly
disseminated.
1.4 Provide adequate funding to support the
successful implementation and monitoring of
the food marketing restriction policies.
1.5 Collaborate with the Canadian Institutes of
Health Research and other granting councils to
fund research to generate baseline data and
address gaps related to the impact of marketing
in all media on children and how to most
effectively restrict advertising unhealthy foods
to children. (27)
1.6 Fund and commission a Canadian economic
modeling study to assess the cost-effectiveness
and the relative strength of the effect of
marketing in comparison to other influences on
children’s diets and diet-related health
outcomes. Similar studies have been
undertaken elsewhere and highlight cost–
benefit savings from restricting unhealthy food
marketing. (13,14)
1.7 Call on industry to immediately stop marketing
foods to children that are high in fats, sugar or
sodium.
2. Provincial, Territorial and Municipal
Governments
2.1 Wherever possible, incorporate strategies to
reduce the impact of unhealthy food and
beverage marketing to children into provincial
and local (public) health or related strategic
action plans, and consider all settings that are
frequented by children.
2.2 Pass and/or amend policies and legislation
restricting unhealthy food and beverage
marketing to children that go beyond
limitations stipulated in federal legislation and
regulations and industry voluntary codes.
2.3 Until federal legislation is in place, strike a P/T
Steering Committee on Unhealthy Food
Marketing to Children to establish
interprovincial consistency related to key
definitions and criteria and mechanisms for
enforcement, as proposed above.
2.4 Collaborate with local health authorities, non-
governmental organizations and other
stakeholders to develop and implement
education and awareness programs on the
harmful impacts of marketing, including but not
limited to unhealthy food and beverage
advertising.
2.5 Call on industry to immediately stop marketing
foods to children that are high in fats, sugar or
sodium.
3. Non-governmental Organizations
(NGOs), Health Care Organizations,
Health Care Professionals
3.1 Publicly endorse this position statement and
advocate to all Canadian governments to
restrict marketing of unhealthy foods to
children and youth in Canada.
3.2 Collaborate with governments at all levels to
facilitate implementation and enforcement of
federal/provincial/municipal regulations or
policies.
3.3 Wherever possible, incorporate and address
the need for restrictions on unhealthy food
and beverage marketing to children into
position papers, strategic plans, conferences,
programs and other communication mediums.
3.4 Support, fund and/or commission research to
address identified research gaps, including the
changing contexts and modes of marketing
and their implications on the nutritional status,
health and well-being of children and youth
3.5 Call on industry to immediately stop the
marketing of foods high in fat, sugar or
sodium.
4. Marketing and Commercial Industry
4.1 Immediately cease marketing foods high in fats,
sugar or sodium.
4.2 Amend the Canadian Children’s Food and
Beverage Advertising Initiative (CAI) nutrition
criteria used to re-define “better-for-you
products” to be consistent with currently
available international standards that are
healthier and with Canadian nutrient profiling
standards, once developed.
BACKGROUND AND EVIDENCE BASE
Non-communicable diseases (diabetes, stroke,
heart attack, cancer, chronic respiratory disease)
are a leading cause of death worldwide and are
linked by several common risk factors including high
blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, obesity,
unhealthy diets and physical inactivity. (1,2,3 28)
The WHO has predicted that premature death from
chronic disease will increase by 17% over the next
decade if the roots of the problem are not
addressed. (2)
Diet-related chronic disease risk stems from long-
term dietary patterns which start in childhood
(8,28). Canadian statistics reveal children, consume
too much fat, sodium and sugars (foods that cause
chronic disease) and eat too little fiber, fruits and
vegetables (foods that prevent chronic disease). (3)
There is evidence that (television) advertising of
foods high in fat, sugar or sodium is associated with
childhood overweight and obesity. (6,11) Children
and youth in Canada are exposed to a barrage of
marketing and promotion of unhealthy foods and
beverages through a variety of channels and
techniques – tactics which undermine and
contradict government, health care professional
and scientific recommendations for healthy eating.
(10,26)
Available research indicates that food marketing to
children influences their food preferences, beliefs,
purchase requests and food consumption patterns.
(8,29) A US study showed that children who were
exposed to food and beverage advertisements
consumed 45% more snacks than their unexposed
counterparts. (30) Similarly, preschoolers who were
exposed to commercials for vegetables (broccoli
and carrots) had a significantly higher preference
for these vegetables after multiple exposures (n=4)
compared to the control group. (31)
Economic modeling studies have shown that
restricting children’s exposure to food and beverage
advertising is a cost effective population based
approach to childhood obesity prevention, with the
largest overall gain in disability adjusted life years.
(13,14). Canada has yet to conduct a comparable
analysis.
Marketing and Ethics
Foods and beverages high in fats, sugars or sodium
is one of many health compromising products
marketed to children. It has been argued that policy
approaches ought to extend beyond marketing of
unhealthy foods and beverages to one that restricts
marketing of all products to children, as practiced in
Quebec (7,26,32). Article 36 of the Convention on
the Rights of the Child, to which Canada is a
signatory, states that, “children should be protected
from any activity that takes advantage of them or
could harm their welfare and development.” (9)
Restricting marketing of all products has been
argued to be the most comprehensive policy option
in that it aims to protect children from any
commercial interest and is grounded in the
argument that children have the right to a
commercial-free childhood (7, 25,26,32). The focus
on restricting unhealthy food and beverage
marketing was based in consultations with national
health organizations whose mandates, at the time
of writing, were more aligned with a focus on
unhealthy foods and beverages.
This policy statement is not opposed to, and does
not preclude further policy enhancements to
protect children from all commercial marketing, and
therefore encourages further advocacy in this area.
In order to inform the debate and help underpin
future policy direction, further research is needed.
Canada’s Food and Beverage Marketing
Environment
Television remains a primary medium for children’s
exposure to advertising, with Canadian children
aged 2–11 watching an average of 18 hours of
television per week. (26) In the past two decades,
the food marketing and promotion environment has
expanded to include Internet marketing, product
placement in television programs, films and DVDs,
computer and video games, peer-to-peer or viral
marketing, supermarket sales promotions, cross-
promotions between films and television programs,
use of licensed characters and spokes-characters,
celebrity endorsements, advertising in children’s
magazines, outdoor advertising, print marketing,
sponsorship of school and sporting activities,
advertising on mobile phones, and branding on toys
and clothing. (25,26)
A systematic review of 41 international studies
looking at the content analysis of children’s food
commercials found that the majority advertised
unhealthy foods, namely pre-sugared cereals, soft
drinks, confectionary and savoury snacks and fast
food restaurants. (33) In an analysis of food
advertising on children’s television channels across
11 countries, Canada (Alberta sample) had the
second-highest rate of food and beverage
advertising (7 advertisements per hour), 80% of
which were for unhealthy foods and beverages
defined as “high in undesirable nutrients and/or
energy.” (10)
Illustrating the influence of food packaging in
supermarkets, two Canadian studies found that for
six food product categories 75% of the products
were directed solely at children through use of
colour, cartoon mascots, pointed appeals to parents
and/or cross-merchandising claims, games or
activities. Of the 63% of products with nutrition
claims, 89% were classified as being “of poor
nutritional quality” due to high levels of sugar, fat,
or sodium when judged against US-based nutrition
criteria. Less than 1% of food messages specifically
targeted to children were for fruits and vegetables.
(34,35)
Food is also unhealthily marketed in schools. A
recent study of 4,936 Canadian students from
grades 7 to 10 found that 62% reported the
presence of snack-vending machines in their
schools, and that this presence was associated with
students’ frequency of consuming vended goods.
(36) In another Canadian analysis, 28% of
elementary schools reported the presence of some
form of advertising in the school and 19% had an
exclusive marketing arrangement with Coke or
Pepsi. (37) Given children’s vulnerability, a key
tenant of the WHO recommendations on marketing
to children is that “settings where children gather
should be free from all forms of marketing of foods
high in saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, and free
sugars or sodium.” (6, p.9) and need to be included
in development of food marketing policies directed
at children.
The Canadian public wants government oversight in
restricting unhealthy food marketing to children. A
nation-wide survey of over 1200 Canadian adults
found 82% want limits placed on unhealthy food
and beverage advertising to children; 53% support
restricting all marketing of high-fat, high-sugar or
high-sodium foods aimed directly at children and
youth. (12)
Canada’s Commercial Advertising Environment
Internationally, 26 countries have made explicit
statements on food marketing to children and 20
have, or are in the process of, developing policies in
the form of statutory measures, official guidelines
or approved forms of self-regulation. (38) The
differences in the nature and degree of these
restrictions is considerable, with significant
variation regarding definition of child, products
covered, communication and marketing strategies
permitted and expectations regarding
implementation, monitoring and evaluation. (38,39)
With the exception of Quebec, Canada’s advertising
policy environment is restricted to self-regulated
rather than legislative measures with little
monitoring and oversight in terms of measuring the
impact of regulations on the intensity and
frequency of advertising unhealthy foods and
beverages to children. (39)
Federal Restrictions
Nationally, the Food and Drug Act and the
Competition Act provide overarching rules on
commercial advertising and (loosely) prohibit selling
or advertising in a manner that is considered false,
misleading or deceptive to consumers. These laws,
however, contain no provisions dealing specifically
with unhealthy food advertising or marketing to
children and youth. (26) The Consumer Package
and Labeling Act outlines federal requirements
concerning the packaging, labeling, sale,
importation and advertising of prepackaged non-
food consumer products. Packaging and labels,
however, are not included under the scope of
advertising and therefore not subject to the
administration and enforcement of the Act and
regulations. (26)
Such loopholes have prompted the introduction of
three private member's bills into the House of
Commons to amend both the Competition Act and
the Food and Drugs Act. Tabled in 2007, 2009 and
2012, respectively, none of the bills have, to date,
advanced past the First Reading. (15)
Industry Restrictions
The Canadian Code of Advertising Standards (Code)
and the Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children
(BCAC) together cover Canadian broadcast and non-
broadcast advertising. (23) While both have explicit
provisions/clauses to cover advertising directed to
children (12 years and younger), neither address or
explicitly cover unhealthy food and beverage
advertising. Further excluded are other heavily
used and persuasive forms of marketing directed to
children, including in-store promotions, packaging,
logos, and advertising in schools or at events, as
well as foreign media. (40)
Formed in 2008, the Canadian Children’s Food and
Beverage Advertising Initiative (CAI) defines
marketing standards and criteria to identify the
products that are appropriate or not to advertise to
children under 12 years old. Under this initiative,
participating food companies (N=19) are
encouraged to direct 100% of their advertising to
children under 12 to “better-for-you” products. (41)
In 2010, the scope of CAI was expanded to include
other media forms, namely video games, child-
directed DVDs and mobile media.
Despite reportedly high compliance by CAI
participants, (41) several fundamental loopholes
undermine its level of protection and effectiveness,
namely:
- Participation is voluntary, exempting non-
participators such as President’s Choice,
Wendy’s and A&W, from committing to CAI core
principles.
- Companies are allowed to create their own
nutrient criteria for defining “better-for-you” or
“healthier dietary choice” products. (32) A 2010
analysis revealed that up to 62% of these
products would not be acceptable to promote to
children by other countries’ advertising nutrition
standards. (16)
- Companies are able to adopt their own
definition of what constitutes “directed at
children” under 12 years. (32) Participants'
definitions of child audience composition
percentage range from 25% to 50%, significantly
more lenient than current Quebec legislation
and other international regulatory systems.
(7,42,43)
- The initiative excludes a number of marketing
and advertising techniques primarily directed at
children, namely advertiser-generated
characters (e.g., Tony the Tiger), product
packaging, displays of food and beverage
products, fundraising, public service messaging
and educational programs. (26,27)
Provincial Restrictions
The Quebec Consumer Protection Act states that
“no person may make use of commercial
advertising directed at persons under thirteen years
of age.” (26) Despite its merits, the effectiveness of
the Quebec ban has been compromised. In its
current form, the ban does not protect children
from cross-border leakage of child-directed
advertisements from other provinces. (40) One
study found that while the ban reduced fast food
consumption by US$88 million per year and
decreased purchase propensity by 13% per week,
the outcomes primarily affected French-speaking
households with children, not their English-speaking
counterparts. (44) A more recent study looking at
the ban’s impact on television advertising arrived at
similar conclusions and found that Quebec French
subjects were exposed to significantly fewer candy
and snack promotions (25.4%, p<0.001) compared
to the Ontario English (33.7%) and Quebec English
(39.8%) groups. (40)
The ban has further been criticized for having a
weak definition of “advertisement”, which allows
adult-targeted advertisements for unhealthy foods
during children’s programming (37) and having
weak regulatory and monitoring structures. (37,40)
In assessing the effectiveness of Quebec’s
legislation in reducing children’s exposure to
unhealthy food advertising, it is important to note
that the ban was not developed to target or reduce
the marketing of foods and beverages specifically,
but rather to reduce the commercialization of
childhood. (27)
Public Policy: The Way Forward
Several legislative approaches have been
undertaken internationally to restrict unhealthy
food and beverage marketing. (7,43,45) While
more research is needed with regards to the impact
of restricting unhealthy food and beverage
marketing on child health outcomes (i.e., obesity), a
US study estimated that between 14-33% of
instances of childhood obesity could be prevented
by eliminating television advertising for unhealthy
food. (46) An Australian study found that a
restriction on non-core-food advertisement
between 7am and 8:30pm could reduce children’s
exposure to unhealthy food advertising by almost
80%. (47) An evaluation of the UK regulations
which restricts television advertising of all foods
high in fat, sugar and sodium found that since its
introduction there has been a 37% reduction in
unhealthy food advertisement seen by children.
(25)
Restrictions on food marketing are being
increasingly advocated internationally. A 2011
International Policy Consensus Conference
identified regulating marketing to children as a key
policy strategy to prevent childhood obesity. (48) A
similar recommendation was made at the
September 2011 United Nations high-level meeting
on the prevention and control of non-
communicable diseases. Restrictions on television
advertising for less healthful foods has also been
identified as an effective (Class I; Grade B)
population-based strategy to improve dietary
behaviors in children by the American Heart
Association. (49)
Within Canada, non-governmental and other health
organizations are assuming an equally active role.
Among others, the Chronic Disease Prevention
Alliance of Canada, the Dietitians of Canada, the
Alberta Policy Coalition for Chronic Disease
Prevention, the Simcoe Board of Health, the
Thunder Bay and District Board of Health and the
Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Board
of Health have issued position papers or statements
urging the federal government to implement more
stringent regulations on food and beverage
marketing to children. (26,42,48)
Conclusions
The current voluntary, industry self-regulated and
ineffective system of restricting the marketing and
advertising of foods and beverages fails to protect
Canadian Children and thereby contributes to the
rising rates of childhood obesity and the likelihood
of premature death and disability in our children’s
and future generations. Strong federal government
leadership and nationwide action from other levels
of government and other key stakeholders are
needed. Regulation restricting unhealthy food
advertising is internationally supported, with a
growing evidence base for expanding such
regulation to all forms of food marketing.
This policy statement offer an integrated, pragmatic
and timely response to the national stated priorities
of childhood obesity and chronic disease prevention
in Canada and supports the F/P/T vision of making
Canada, “…a country that creates and maintains the
conditions for healthy weights so that children can
have the healthiest possible lives.” (4)
This policy statement was funded by The Heart and Stroke
Foundation of Canada (HSFC) and the Institute of
Circulatory and Respiratory Health (CIHR) Chair in
Hypertension Prevention and Control, prepared with the
assistance of an ad hoc Expert Scientific Working Group,
reviewed and approved by the Hypertension Advisory
Committee and endorsed by the undersigned national
health organizations.
HYPERTENSION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Manuel Arango, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
Norm Campbell, Canadian Society of Internal Medicine
Judi Farrell, Hypertension Canada
Mark Gelfer, College of Family Physicians of Canada
Dorothy Morris, Canadian Council of Cardiovascular Nurses
Rosana Pellizzari, Public Health Physicians of Canada
Andrew Pipe, Canadian Cardiovascular Society
Maura Rickets, Canadian Medical Association
Ross Tsuyuki, Canadian Pharmacists Association
Kevin Willis, Canadian Stroke Network
STAFF
Norm Campbell, HSFC/CIHR Chair in Hypertension
Prevention and Control, Chair
Tara Duhaney, Policy Director, Hypertension Advisory
Committee
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