The Health Equity Impact Assessment Community of Interest (CoI) has wrapped as of March 31, 2024. This CoI aimed to reduce inequities in access, quality, and outcomes of health and related services in Ontario.
About the CoI
The Health Equity Impact Assessment (HEIA) is a practical decision-support tool that helps to identify and address potential unintended health impacts that a plan, policy, or program could have on vulnerable or marginalized groups. The HEIA tool was developed by the Ministry of Health and other key stakeholders to advance health equity and reduce avoidable health disparities among population groups.
Prior to wrapping activities in March 2024, the HEIA Community of Interest served as an online community for knowledge exchange and collaborative knowledge creation about the HEIA tool. The CoI supported the implementation of the HEIA tool across Ontario, encouraged sharing of the results of the HEIA application, and built evidence on the effectiveness of HEIA.
The HEIA CoI was intended for planners, service providers, policymakers, and researchers with an interest in and commitment to health equity, and particularly the HEIA and other equity-driven planning tools. Champion organizations helped lead the activities, direct the work, and provide resources to CoI members.
CoI Goals
The overarching goals of the CoI were to support the application of the HEIA tool to reduce inequities in access, quality, and outcomes of health and related services in Ontario. Specifically, the Community of Interest aims to:
- promote and support the use of HEIA as a tool for equity-based planning in Ontario.
- facilitate knowledge exchange about HEIA in order to build HEIA capacity among a broad range of stakeholders.
- generate and share evidence on the effectiveness of HEIA.
- be a HEIA resource for interested stakeholders.
Resources and news
Visit the HEIA Community of Interest website for more information and resources on the HEIA and the HEIA CoI, including a HEIA online course, archived webinars and recordings, and information on upcoming events.
CoI lead organization
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Questions and comments?
Contact healthequity@camh.ca.
Related resources, news, and events
Webinar: Poverty, mental health, and social inclusion
Event | Jan 10, 2022Webinar recording: Ensuring no one is left behind: The Virtual Care Equity Matrix
Resource | Dec 3, 2021Webinar recording: A starting point for addressing homelessness in Northern Ontario
Resource | Jun 24, 2021Webinar: A starting point for addressing homelessness in Northern Ontario
Event | Jun 3, 2021Webinar recording: Listening to people with lived experience
Resource | Apr 29, 2021Promising practices in equity in mental healthcare: Health Equity Impact Assessment
Resource | Jun 22, 2020