Health Equity and Inclusion Strategy: Ours to grow
Summary:
This multi-year plan focuses on health equity, Indigenous health and workplace inclusion.
SickKids recently launched its first enterprise-wide Health Equity and Inclusion Strategy (PDF) – a commitment to reduce barriers to care, improve workplace inclusion, and help ensure that every child and youth, regardless of background or circumstance, can achieve their full health potential.
Aligned with SickKids 2030 and the organization’s vision of Healthier Children. A Better World., the strategy recognizes a truth families and communities have long shared: Child health is shaped by far more than what happens in the clinic. Families arrive seeking care while also carrying the realities of home safety, access to resources, identity, and barriers within the health system itself.
“Improving the health of children – all children – means understanding every child in the fullness of who they are, from genetic code to postal code,” said Dr. Ronald Cohn, President and CEO, SickKids. “This strategy is about transforming systems so we can anticipate, address and prevent inequities proactively, and deliver better outcomes and experiences for all children, families and staff members.”
The strategy builds on the progress of SickKids’ earlier equity, diversity and inclusion efforts by expanding the focus to health-care access and equity across the patient journey, creating a foundation for Indigenous health, and continuing to ensure that our diverse group of staff feel safe and respected.
The Health Equity and Inclusion Strategy is anchored by three strategic directions:
- Advancing health equity and action on the social determinants of health
- Strengthening Indigenous health, with a focus on culturally safe care, meaningful partnership, and expanded supports for patients and families
- Continuing to build an inclusive workplace through equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives that foster learning, connection, and respect
“With this strategy we affirm that equity is a core ingredient of health-care excellence,” said Dr. Indra Narang, Vice President of Health Equity and Inclusion at SickKids. “By harnessing clinical expertise, research and data, lived experience, and community insights, we will identify where gaps exist and respond with solutions that are just, sustainable and deeply human.”
Success will not be measured by the pages of a document, but by what staff, children and families feel and experience when they come to SickKids: Do they feel respected and understood? Do they feel seen and cared for as whole people? In the months and years ahead, SickKids will be working closely with teams and partners to propel the strategy from vision to action.
The Health Equity and Inclusion Strategy belongs to all of us – and is ours to grow.