Slippery Logic

What do all of us human beings need to live happy, healthy, productive lives? Seems almost like asking what is the meaning of life, except we actually now have a pretty good idea of the answer to the first question. These needs are what have been called the Social Determinants of Health and include housing, income, food security, physical and social environments that are supportive and safe, education, early childhood development, etc. For more information on the SDOH please see http://thecanadianfacts.org. These determine the health of our communities, our families, our society as a whole. Seems fairly straight forward really. So, where does this slippery logic come in?

I read a quote by Michael Shapcott today that said "A good home is vital to personal health and is essential to improving the overall health of the population.", and it reminded me of some conversations I have had where someone has provided examples of individuals they know of that don't have a good home or who live in poverty, but yet are healthy and have a good life, so how can we make the case that a good home is vital to personal health or a determinant of health when it isn't true for everyone? Here is the slippery logic that more often than not leads to focusing on individual health and individual responsibility. When we are talking about the determinants of health we are talking about a population, not specific individuals. Of course there will be individuals who are outliers and may still be able to do well and overcome in poor housing or with food insecurity, but these individuals are the outliers, not the average. Perhaps their story would provide valuable information about resiliency and success in the face of deprivation, however deprivation impacts across a population and the most effective ways to improve the health of an entire population is to create environments that enable all individuals equitable access to the determinants of health.

It is all connected and the more we make these connections the easier it will be to make positive and equitable changes for all of us.

I begin, again...

If you were to visit my home you would find a stack of books prominently displayed in my living room. The subjects diverse and seemingly unrelated. These are books that I have read, in the process of reading or plan to read. I leave these books in the open for a couple of reasons; The first is to remind myself to keep reading, keep working, keep learning and keep thinking. The second, and possibly more important reason, is to communicate to others who I am, what I spend my time on, the topics that interest me, and hopefully as a way to start conversations. As far as I know, all I have accomplished is to constantly remind myself how much I have to learn. But still, they sit there. A piece of me in a way.

I think this is what my writing will be about, to learn and most importantly engage with others in meaningful and ideally productive conversations. I am looking forward to it.

Where to start

I am brand new to this idea of blogging and am struggling with what to say. I have so much to say, so many thoughts, but no idea of where to start, and wonder if it really matters, will anyone even read any of this, will it make any difference to myself or anyone else for that matter? I guess that is why I have chosen to start blogging, it is my hope, as unrealistic as it may be, that others will somehow hear me, others of similar ideas, similar hopes and dreams. Anyone see the movie August Rush? I guess you could say I hear "the music" everywhere and if feel that if I follow my heart and do as I feel is right someone will hear me, just like August Rush.

I am a dreamer, I can't help it, I see that change is necessary, and have a difficult time accepting when others may say that it is too hard, or it isn't realistic. I say why? If it is important enough nothing is unrealistic, and nothing is more important than right now and what we choose to do with it.