REPORTS

Mapping Inequities Snapshot Report: Exploring the impact of social determinants on Black communities in Toronto

The Mapping Inequities Snapshot Report uses custom-analyzed data from the 2011-2021 Canadian Census and National Household Survey, among other sources, to reveal how income, housing, early childhood development, and food security impact Black communities in Toronto.

By mapping and analyzing this data, we aim to deepen our understanding of how and where social determinants affect the health and well-being of Black populations. This evidence base is designed to support the development of interventions and policies tailored to the specific needs and geographic differences of Black communities.[view]

Factors that Impact How Black Youth Access the Mental Healthcare System in Ontario

The Pathways to Care (PTC) project aimed to increase access to mental health services for Black children, youth, and their families across the province of Ontario. In doing so, the project aimed to contribute to the extant research on access to mental healthcare for Black children and youth, implement an effective knowledge translation of the project’s findings, and use those findings to intervene at the system, institution, and community levels. [view]

Facteurs impactant l’accès des jeunes Noir.es au système de santé mentale en Ontario

Le programme Pathways to Care (PTC) vise à accroître l’accès aux services de santé mentale pour les enfants et jeunes Noir.e.s et leurs familles à travers la province de l’Ontario. Ce faisant, le projet vise à : contribuer à la recherche existante sur l’accès aux soins de santé mentale pour les enfants et les jeunes Noir.e.s ; à mettre en œuvre une application efficace des savoirs résultant du projet ; et à utiliser ces savoirs pour intervenir aux niveaux des systèmes, des institutions et de la communauté. [voir]

Perspectives on Health & Well-Being in Black Communities in Toronto: Our Health, Our Way

In the fall of 2020, the Black Health Alliance launched a series of community consultations to hear directly from Black Torontonians about their health and well-being.  We talked to more than 75 residents, healthcare providers and frontline workers about their experiences. We surveyed an additional 121 people from Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. The impacts of COVID-19 necessarily dominated these conversations. People told us about their priorities for their health and well-being. Perspectives on Health & Well-Being in Black Communities in Toronto: Our Health, Our Way provides a snapshot of the priorities for Black people in Toronto’s the northwest and northeast of the city. [view]

Perspectives on Health & Well-Being in Black Communities in Toronto: Experiences through COVID-19

In the fall of 2020, the Black Health Alliance launched a series of community consultations to hear directly from Black Torontonians about their health and well-being. The impacts of COVID-19 necessarily dominated these conversations. People told us about their experiences with COVID-19, their fears, their anger, and their hope. We talked to more than 75 residents, healthcare providers and frontline workers about their experiences. We surveyed an additional 121 people from Toronto (101) and from across the GTA (20). Together they provide a snapshot of the experiences of COVID-19 for Black people in Toronto and the enormous impact of the pandemic on Black neighbourhoods in the northwest and northeast of the city, where transmission rates have been among the highest in the country. [view]

Black Experience in Healthcare 2020 Report 
Continuing to bring attention to the disproportionately poor health outcomes facing Black populations in Ontario, and the importance of collecting race- and ethnicity-based health data, the Black Experiences in Health Care Symposium’s second iteration occurred in January 2020. This convening emphasized the need for health systems and communities to partner to improve health outcomes. When we began this work, we could not have anticipated that we would soon be in the throes of a global emergency, exacerbating existing social, economic and racial justice issues in Canada. [view]
 

Black Experiences in Healthcare 2018 Report
The Black Experiences in Health Care (BEHC) Symposium was organized and hosted by Sinai Health System’s Human Rights & Health Equity Office and the BEHC Organizing Committee (which includes Black Health Alliance, Wellesley Institute and TAIBU Community Health Centre) with support from Toronto Central LHIN. The Symposium aimed to identify and raise awareness of issues and concerns with a Toronto focus relating to health inequities faced by Black Ontarian’s. [view]

Supporting Patients First, an Ontario Health Equity and Black Health Strategy

This is the BHA’s response to the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care discussion paper, Patients First: A Proposal to Strengthen Patient-Centred Health Care in Ontario. [view]

A Sound Mind 2: Mental Health & Black Youth

A Sound Mind II: Mental Health and Youth was on November 12, 2016. The forum addressed  mental illness among Black youth, sources of supports that Black youth need to cope, and steps that diverse communities can take to protect the mental health and well-being of youth. A summary of the forum are summarized in the linked report. [view]

A Sound Mind: Mental Health in the Black Community Report

In November 2015, BHA held its first full day forum bringing together mental health professionals, and community organizations and community residents to engage in an open, non-judgemental, honest discussion on the expression and impact of mental illness in the Black community. The forum’s findings are summarized in the linked report. [view]

Community Engagement Project for TAIBU Community Health Centre

In 2006, BHA was approved funding from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to establish a Community Health Centre (CHC) for Malvern – TAIBU (Kiswahili for “be in good health”) CHC. In June 2007 BHA produced its final report on the Community Engagement Project for TAIBU Community Health Centre. This report formed the basis of the centre’s mission, vision, priority populations, services and programs. [view]

How do Scarborough’s Black Youth Access The Health Care System?

In 2005, BHA completed a significant community-based research project entitled, “How do Scarborough’s Black Youth Access the Health Care System?” This report provided recommendations to health care planners, providers and policy makers to enhance the quality of life of Black youth in marginalized neighbourhoods. The report was selected for presentation at the 2007 Annual Ontario Public Health Association Conference. [view]

Submission to the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada

BHA’s 2002 submission to the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada was one of but a few which not only made recommendations on creating an equitable, feasible and sustainable health care system, BHA also addressed racial disparities in health care and provided workable solutions. [view]