Ottawa Charter

MHST/NURS 631: Health Promotion

After 30+ years, is the Ottawa Charter still relevant?

The Ottawa Charter still has relevance over 30 years later and is still used as a template for health promotion worldwide with its five key strategies: build healthy public policy, create supportive environments, strengthen community action, develop personal skills and reorient Health Services (Thompson et al., 2018). Although still relevant and vital, I feel that we need to update the charter by somehow incorporating guidance such as the coin model systems of inequality (Nixon, 2019).

Working within a First Nations community as a Public Health Nurse has shown me a lack of resources and support when comparing the social determinants of health to the rest of our population in Ontario. The Social Determinants of Health “refer to a specific group of social and economic factors within the broader determinants of health” (Government of Canada, 2020). There is a real need for equality when considering optimal health for all. I find actions speak louder than words; therefore, ‘social Justice’ is central to my nursing vocation. My rationale for advocacy would be strongly linked to the gaps in social inequality of our more vulnerable populations. Health equity is a human right and should not differ between Countries or within (Lee, 2020). I believe that “The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition” (Meier, 2017). This is how I would love to see the world. To facilitate equality of health for all, multiple sectors would need to take action to improve the health and well-being of the population, not only the health care sectors. Nursing theorists have helped to advance the nursing profession, and in turn, the world is acknowledging our profession’s profound complexities and contributions. The Canadian Nurses Association (2020) believes that eliminating systemic racism, inequity, and oppression demands a pan-Canadian response. They have noted that we cannot identify gaps in care and health outcomes due to Canada’s absence of race and ethnicity health-related data.

References

Canadian Nurses Association (2020, June 11). CNA News Room: Anti-Black racism is a public health emergency in Canada. https://www.cna-aiic.ca/en/blogs/cn-content/2020/06/11/anti-black-racism-is-a-public-health-emergency-in

Government of Canada (2022, June 14). Social determinants of health and health inequalities.https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/population-health/what-determines-health.html

Lee, H., Kim, D., Lee, S., & Fawcett, J. (2020). The concepts of health inequality, disparities and equity in the era of population health. Applied Nursing Research, 56, 151367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2020.151367

Meier B. M. (2017). Human Rights in the World Health Organization: Views of the Director- General Candidates. Health and human rights, 19(1), 293–298.

Nixon, S. A. (2019). The coin model of privilege and critical allyship: Implications for health. BMC Public Health, 19(1), 1-13. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12889-019-7884-9.pdf

Thompson, S. R., Watson, M. C., & Tilford, S. (2018). The Ottawa Charter 30 years on: Still an important standard for health promotion. International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 56(2), 73–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/14635240.2017.1415765

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