Addressing the Social Determinants and Inequities in Health for Black Communities – Nov. 22, 2023

Session Description

This event is hosted by Leong Centre as part of their Community Engagement Series.

Speaker: Dr. Notisha Massaquoi, Assistant Professor in the Department of Health and Society at the University of Toronto, Scarborough

While the foundations of the Canadian health system are rooted in promoting equity and social justice, it is clear that these foundations are not promoting meaningful success for Black communities. In 2020 the Toronto Board of Health declared that anti-Black racism is a public health crisis, and research has clearly shown that Black community members across Canada experience disproportionate poor health outcomes as demonstrated by almost any measure of health and wellbeing—e.g., life expectancy; chronic disease prevalence and premature birth rates. We will explore the intersections of the social determinants of health and anti-Black racism. We will interrogate the crisis of disproportionality faced by the Black communities within pandemics such as HIV/AIDS and COVID-19. This conversation will provide an opportunity to challenge the neutrality we often experience in Canadian health systems and instead offer concrete ways to become more outspoken an intentional in increasing our ability to radically shift how we promote health and wellbeing for Black communities.