Marie
DesMeules is the Director of the Social Determinants of Health Division, part
of the Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch at the Public
Health Agency of Canada. DesMeules helped produce the Key Health Inequalities
in Canada report.
Canadians are among the healthiest people in the world. However, the report
shows that the benefits of good health are not equally enjoyed by all
Canadians.
Low
socioeconomic status was strongly related to structural drivers of inequity,
including poor oral health. Employment status, educational attainment and
income level exacerbated the inequities. DesMeules and her team analyzed only
one indicator of poor oral health: the inability to chew. The study found the prevalence
of inability to chew among adults in the lowest income group was 3.3 times that
of adults in the highest income group. Data also indicated that 67% of adults
had dental insurance, of which 83.2% was employer-sponsored. “This leaves a
large portion of the adult population in Canada relying on out-of-pocket
payments for dental care,” according to the study. The state of health
inequalities in Canada is available through the Health
Inequalities Data Tool, an online interactive database.