Bridging the preparedness divide

Produced by Thomas Appleyard | April 24, 2009 Bridging the Preparedness Divide: A Framework for Health Equity in Ontario’s Emergency Management Programs 1 “The rich died and the poor died alike” - Reverend Eakin on the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 “Perhaps no observation during the great influenza epidemic of 1918-1919 was more common than the familiar comment that “the flu hit the rich and the [...] But the deep sources of the tragedy were the everyday disasters that the city tolerates, takes for granted, or has 3 officially forgotten.” - Eric Klinenberg on the Chicago Heat Wave in 1995 An Equity Lens on Health During the past year, the Ontario health system has made definitive commitments to health equity. [...] Lalonde was undoubtedly correct in saying “disaster management is certainly one of the competencies that organizations in the health sector will 8 have to develop in the years to come.” An Opportunity A health equity lens has not yet consciously and consistently been applied to the major initiatives of the health system’s emergency management programs; however, there is clear recognition that this [...] Similarly, Toronto Public Health’s influenza pandemic plan, by far the most comprehensive local plan in the country, states “in the next phase of planning, TPH will address the issues related to serving vulnerable populations such 12 as immuno-compromised individuals, the frail elderly and the homeless.” It is time, then, for Ontario’s health care planners to develop and implement models of health [...] The authors describe that there are disparities among social groups in (1) the likelihood of exposure to the influenza virus, (2) the likelihood of contracting influenza if exposed and (3) the likelihood of receiving timely and effective treatment.