Poverty: Stats & Facts
People living in poverty:
- Experience cardiovascular disease at a rate 17% higher than the average Canadian
- Have 58% higher rates of depression than the Canadian average
- Experience higher rates of lung, oral, and cervical cancer
From a powerful body of evidence, we know that poverty puts patients at higher risk for most chronic diseases, like diabetes and heart disease, mental illness, and even for accidents and trauma. This is why it is important to screen everyone for poverty.
Poverty: A Clinical Tool for Primary Care Providers
Intended Use
- Primary care providers are the target users for this tool
- Information is organized for use over a visit with your patient to:
- Screen all of your patients for poverty
- Consider poverty as a risk factor
- Intervene, educate and support your patients
In the Know Video
Watch our clinical lead Dr. Gary Bloch MD, CCFP speaking to Poverty: A Clinical Tool for Primary Care Providers Tool and how it can be used in practice.
Clinical Lead
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Gary Bloch is a family physician with St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, and co-Chair of the OCFP’s Committee on Poverty and Health. His clinical, education, program development, and research interests focus on the intersection between poverty and health, and specifically on what primary care providers can do to address poverty as a health issue. Dr. Bloch is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto and a founding member of the advocacy group Health Providers Against Poverty and of Inner City Health Associates, a group of physicians who work with the homeless across Toronto. He has developed curriculum for medical students, residents and practicing physicians on poverty interventions. He has also been heavily involved in the creation and evaluation of health team interventions into the social factors that impact health. He is frequently asked to speak on these topics, to health provider and public audiences. His work has been featured in the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, the CBC, and other media outlets.
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Knowledge Translation in Primary Care Project Overview
The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has engaged the Centre for Effective Practice (CEP), in collaboration with the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) and the Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario (NPAO), to develop and disseminate a series of clinical tools and health information to support primary care providers.
Poverty: A Clinical Tool for Primary Care Providers is a product of the Centre for Effective Practice. Permission to use, copy and distribute this material for all non-commercial and research purposes is granted, provided the below disclaimer, this paragraph and the following paragraphs, and appropriate citations appear in all copies, modifications, and distributions. Use of the Poverty: A Clinical Tool for Primary Care Providers for commercial purposes or any modifications of the tool are subject to charge and use must be negotiated with Centre for Effective Practice (Email: [email protected]).
Disclaimer
The Poverty: A Clinical Tool for Primary Care Providers (the “Tool”) contains links to websites and other external resources (“Third Party Resources”) that are operated by and/or created by third party organizations. These third party organizations are solely responsible for the information contained in, and the operation of (as applicable), their respective Third Party Resource(s).
This Tool was developed for licensed health care professionals in Ontario as a guide only and does not constitute medical or other professional advice. Primary care providers’ and other health care professionals are required to exercise their own clinical judgment in using this Tool.
Neither the Centre for Effective Practice (“CEP”), Ontario College of Family Physicians, Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario, Government of Ontario, the contributors to this Tool, nor any of their respective agents, appointees, directors, officers, employees, contractors, members or volunteers: (i) are providing medical, diagnostic or treatment services through this Tool; (ii) to the extent permitted by applicable law, accept any responsibility for the use or misuse of this Tool by any individual including, but not limited to, primary care providers, or entity, including for any loss, damage or injury (including death) arising from or in connection with the use of this Tool, in whole or in part; or (iii) give or make any representation, warranty or endorsement of any of the Third Party Resources, that are owned or operated by third parties, including any information or advice contained therein.
