The Centre for Healthy Communities (CFHC) is Loyalist College’s newest applied research centre of excellence rooted in social innovation. The CFHC collaborates with community not-for-profits, government agencies, health, and social service partners to strengthen their impact on social determinants of health, through a health equity lens, that aligns with the College’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The foundational pillars of the CFHC include supporting four Sustainable Development Goals: reduce poverty, increase good health and wellbeing, increase quality education, and reduce inequalities. The CFHC is a “centre without walls”, meaning research projects and activities are integrated in community with partners and service providers to promote ease of access and collaboration.
The health of Canadians is shaped not only by medical care or lifestyle choices, but also by the living conditions experienced. The Social Determinants of Health are non-medical factors that influence health outcomes – they are the conditions in which people live and the systematic factors that shape the conditions of daily life. Improving the health of our communities means thinking about health and its determinants in a more holistic manner, which also requires one to imbue a health equity perspective. Health equity is the view that all members of society should have equal opportunity to a healthy lifestyle regardless of social, economic, demographic or geographic factors.
These determinants are often interrelated and yet many of the region’s service providers have worked in silos without well-coordinated efforts in multidisciplinary services. While Canada recognized 17 Social Determinants of Health, current areas of focus for the CFHC fall under three broad areas with six subject matters. While projects are not required to land within these domains, these areas of focus have been identified by current and prospective community partners as sectors in need of, and equipped for, social innovation in the foreseeable future.
The CFHC is equipped to help community partners solve real-world challenges with immediate applications through the support of data-informed decision-making. Types of services and projects supported through the CFHC include:
Industry Partnership Officer connects with partner to define organizational needs and identify the challenge. Confidentiality agreements and/or non-disclosure agreements are executed as needed.
CFHC Operations Manager connects with partner to develop project scope.
CFHC Operations Manager and partner collaborate to develop research agreement(s).
Research team is assembled and protocols established.
Project services are executed, and deliverables are achieved.
Knowledge mobilization of outcomes is supported by the CFHC for partner.
To learn more, please contact:
Kurstin Salisbury, M.Sc., B.A.
Operations Manager, Centre for Healthy Communities
ksalisbury@loyalistcollege.com
613-969-1913, ext. 2275