A Review of Canadian Policy on Social Determinants of Health

This paper provides an assessment of the social and fiscal policies related to social determinants of health at the federal level in Canada. An extensive review of grey literature was carried out to obtain information about policies and programs that address socio-economic factors influencing population health. Publications and reports on government websites such as Service Canada and non-government organizations such as UNICEF were examined in order to evaluate current socio-economic policies related to social determinants of health in Canada. The study found that Canada has generated a substantial body of research in the area of social determinants of health. Several policies and some programs directed towards social determinants such as income distribution, childhood care and development, education, employment and housing, have been implemented in Canada on the national level. Canada has made major progress in some areas of social determinants of health related policy-formulation and implementation, but it is deficient in several others. There is a need to galvanize efforts across all levels of governance to address the gaps between research and policy development related to social determinants of health at a system-wide level in Canada.