The Canadian Medical Association has an online dialogue about how issues such as poverty, lack of access to healthy foods and adequate housing affect health. According to the CMA, social and economic factors determine 50 per cent of health outcomes.
Dr. Gary Bloch at Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital is one of a growing number of Canadian physicians who see poverty as a disease. He maintains that treating people at low income with a higher income will have at least as big an impact on their health as any other drugs that he could prescribe them.
To that end, along with the standard questions about past medical history, Dr. Bloch also screens for income level.
In his practice, prescribing income could mean assessing whether a patient’s illnesses might qualify for provincial or federal disability supports and employment insurance. He helps fill in applications and connects patients with programs such as basic financial planning.
Increasingly, physician groups are recognizing poverty as a disease, not simply from lifestyle factors such as smoking, but also from the toll the stress of being poor can take on the body.
According to a technical report released last year by the American Academy of Pediatrics, for children in particular, the strong and frequent bombardment of “toxic stress” from living in substandard housing with adults who are also stressed can set the stage for lifelong damage.
A nutritious diet and access to opportunities for recreation could do more for health care than building more hospitals. With a bad economy and a budget that needs balancing – it could be difficult getting the newly elected BC Liberal government to act.
It is a priority for us in the Boundary though because this riding has one of the lowest average incomes in the province.