“Our Health Counts” – Closing Gaps in the Health Data of Indigenous People in Urban Ontario

– Presented by the OPHA/alPHa Health Equity Workgroup

The Revised Ontario Public Health Standards 2018 identify Indigenous people as a priority population for Public Health. Information about the health status of Indigenous people living in urban areas of Ontario is often incomplete or not available. Getting a true count of urban Indigenous populations, and knowing about their health and social inequities are essential for effective planning and evaluation of services for this population.

The “Our Health Counts” project out of Well Living House at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto has been working with urban Indigenous organizations and health service providers to build population-based Indigenous health needs assessment information and identify best practices in Indigenous health service and program evaluation. This webinar will share key socio-demographic, health status, and health service access issues of urban Indigenous populations in Ontario as well as core principles and recommendations for Indigenous health service and program evaluation.

By the end of this webinar, participants will:

1. Realize the proportion of Ontario’s Indigenous population that live in urban areas.
2. Describe key health and wellbeing related challenges faced by urban Indigenous populations in Ontario.
3. Identify key principles and recommendations about Indigenous health services and program evaluation.
4. Consider ways this information could apply to the work of public health professionals.

Presenter

Our presenter, Dr. Janet Smylie, is a family physician and public health researcher. She currently works as a research scientist in Indigenous health at St. Michael’s Hospital, Centre for Urban Health Solutions (CUHS), where she directs the Well Living House Applied Research Centre for Indigenous Infant, Child and Family Health. Her primary academic appointment is as a Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. She maintains a part-time clinical practice with Inner City Health Associates at Seventh Generation Midwives Toronto. Dr. Smylie has practiced and taught family medicine in a variety of Aboriginal communities both urban and rural. She is a member of the Métis Nation of Ontario, with Métis roots in the prairies. Her research interests are focused in the area of addressing the health inequities that challenge Indigenous infants, children and their families through applied health services research. Dr. Smylie currently leads multiple research projects in partnership with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities/organizations. She holds a CIHR Applied Public Health Research Chair in Indigenous Health Knowledge and Information and was honoured with a National Aboriginal Achievement (Indspire) Award in Health in 2012. A Métis woman, Dr. Smylie acknowledges her family, teachers, and lodge.