Webinar: Applying HEIA: Two Public Policy Case Studies

The Health Equity Impact Assessment (HEIA) Community of Interest invites you to its upcoming webinar, "Applying HEIA: Two Public Policy Case Studies."

Health equity means attaining the highest level of health for all people. It involves taking steps to ensure everyone has full and equal access to opportunities for good health. The Health Equity Impact Assessment (HEIA), developed by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, helps health systems to reduce inequities caused by barriers in access to health services and to identify and mitigate unintended impacts of initiatives. The tool is practical and flexible.

But, what is it like to apply the HEIA tool? In this webinar, two Master of Public Health candidates at Queen’s University will describe their experiences using the tool in an exercise examining the health equity impacts of recent government policy changes. One applied HEIA to the cancellation of the Ontario Basic Income Pilot project; the other examined the federal Bill S-5, which allows for the legal sale of vaping products that contain nicotine.

The presenters will respond to questions about their application of the HEIA tool. The discussion will include:

• strengths and challenges of using the tool
• potential strategies for overcoming obstacles
• methods for sourcing data for a HEIA.

The webinar is suitable for those who have a basic understanding of the HEIA tool. If HEIA is new to you, watch this short video to get a basic introduction.

Register for the webinar

Please also visit the HEIA Community of Interest website for more information.

About the Presenters

Kendra Cici received her undergraduate degree in 2017 from Western University, where she studied Honours Specialization in Health Sciences and discovered her passion for health equity and upstream prevention. She has continued her studies at Queen’s University where she is now completing her Master of Public Health. Kendra is passionate about the interplay between the social determinants of health and the disproportionate burden of illness experienced by vulnerable populations within Canada. It is her hope that through coupling health and social policy, she can aid in the creation of healthy public policies that allow all Canadians, regardless of circumstance, to achieve equitable health and wellness.

Naeha Sharma is a Master of Public Health candidate at Queen’s University. She studied Honours Biological Sciences at the University of Guelph, which fundamentally deepened her passion for mixed-methods research, as well as chronic and infectious diseases. Through her current studies and volunteer work, she has developed a keen interest in sustainable program planning and knowledge mobilization, which she hopes to utilize to move research into action. Ultimately, she is motivated by a long-standing passion for global health equity and strives to reduce health inequities by building connections between research and practice.

Please note that this webinar will be 40 min long, running from 12:00 - 12:40 pm.