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Do you apply a health equity lens to inform programs, services and interventions?

  • A Core Competency in the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted and Blood-Borne Infections (STBBIs)

Consider...
Yasmin manages a support group housed within a multi-service community centre for women who have experienced or are experiencing abuse. The community centre is in the midst of developing a new on-site STI testing and counselling clinic in partnership with the local public health unit. Before opening the STI clinic, Yasmin wants to make sure that all potential health equity issues are considered and that the possible unintended impacts, both negative and positive, of the STI clinic on the women currently served through the support group as well as the community at large are adequately addressed.

Do you work in the area of sexual health, or STBBI program and policy development? Can you apply a health equity lens to inform programs, services and interventions?

Use the questions below to help you self-assess your knowledge, skills, attitudes and practices related to the application of a health equity lens. Remember that depending on your role, you may require different levels of proficiency for the various core competencies and it is possible that some of the competencies are not relevant to your work.

  1. Do you know the purpose and benefits of a health equity impact assessment and are you familiar with the overall method for conducting such an assessment?
  2. Can you identify some of population groups that may be at increased risk for STBBIs? What are some of the factors that impact vulnerability to STBBIs among these population groups?
  3. What are some methods of accessing or collecting information on populations for whom you are designing new programs?
  4. Can you identify some negative unintended impacts on mainstream youth that could stem from opening a needle exchange program in a sexual health clinic? How could these negative impacts be mitigated?

Suggested resources:

This is one of a series of cases on the core competencies for STBBI prevention. View all 26 cases on the core competencies for STBBI prevention.

Have a resource to suggest? Let us know.