Hastings and Prince Edward Counties/Feb. 3, 2022
February is Black History Month, which serves as a reminder to recognize the contributions of Black Canadians. This month provides an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of the Black Canadians who live and work across Hastings and Prince Edward Counties.
Black History Month prompts us to consider how we can better support Black members of our community and amplify the work of Black changemakers in our region today, and every day of the year. At Hastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPEPH), it also prompts us to consider how we as individuals and an organization can ensure our organization is inclusive and accessible to Black Canadians.
Race, and more specifically the effects of racism, is a social determinant of health. The social determinants of health are the interrelated social, political and economic factors that impact the conditions in which people live, learn, work and play. Anti-Black racism can have a profound impact on health by the frequent stress it puts on the body. This can trigger stress-coping behaviours which can lead to disease. Public health has a role to play in addressing these inequities.
HPEPH is continuing its anti-racism efforts. Over the past year, the following steps have been taken:
- An HPEPH public health nurse currently chairs the Quinte Local Immigration Partnership (QLIP) Anti-Racism Working Group. This group includes representatives from health, education, social services and grassroots sectors and aims to promote and support anti-racism initiatives in the region. The group is working to gather community-based data on experiences of racism throughout the Quinte region in order to build capacity for anti-racism action.
- An HPEPH Anti-Racism Working Group is a core priority of our recovery plans as staff resume program responsibilities following COVID-19 emergency response. It is expected the first meeting of this group will be held in the first half of 2022. Two HPEPH staff members have undergone training to develop the skills and capacity to build an inclusive workplace which includes a commitment to anti-racism.
- HPEPH maintains a web page about racism as a social determinant of health. We continue work to share this important information with the community. This year, HPEPH spoke about this topic at the Leadership and Inclusivity Summit in Belleville, with an aim to increase awareness about how racism can lead to negative health consequences.
- In late 2020, HPEPH started to collect race-based data, when appropriate, to better understand, and plan to address, health inequities related to race. Throughout the pandemic, people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and received contact tracing have been asked if they would like to share information about their race, which helps us identify groups who may be disproportionately affected by COVID-19. We strengthened this effort in 2021 by hiring an additional staff member to collect sociodemographic data, including race, during our COVID-19 vaccine clinics. This helped us to better understand which groups were accessing the vaccine and allowed us to consider who would benefit most from additional outreach.
- HPEPH continues to represent public health at the Belleville Equity Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
This February, join HPEPH in considering how you can advance the work of anti-racism to create a safer, healthier, and more just community for all.
If you have feedback as to how we can make our programs and services more inclusive, please reach out.
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Media contacts
Emily Tubbs, Communications Specialist
etubbs@hpeph.ca
Maureen Hyland, Communications Specialist
mhyland@hpeph.ca
About Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPEPH) is a public health agency that serves the counties of Hastings and Prince Edward from four local offices. We monitor the health of our local population, deliver programs and services within our communities, and help develop healthy public policies. We provide information and support in many areas to help improve the health and well-being of our residents. Together with our communities, we help people become as healthy as they can be. For more information, please visit hpePublicHealth.ca. You can also find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
We invite community partners and residents to share this Media Release with their respective networks.
