Health Promotion and Quality of Life in Canada: Essential Readings

This synthesis is long overdue and will contribute to advancing the field. The introduction of quality of life into this volume represents a new conceptualization.” -- Kim Raine, School of Public Health, University of Alberta

“This urgently needed book will be an excellent addition to current literature in Canada. It will make quite a splash in the somewhat stagnant waters of many current health promotion writings and teachings, and will be very relevant for all who concern themselves with moving a social change agenda forward in Canada.” -- Elizabeth McGibbon, School of Nursing, St Francis Xavier University

“The articles are well written, making the work easily accessible to a variety of audiences, including students, practitioners, and researchers. This reader will encourage a broader view of the impact of health determinants on quality of life as experienced in day-to-day living.”-- Linda Reutter, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta

Dennis Raphael is a professor of health policy at the School of Health Policy and Management at York University. He is the editor of Social Determinants of Health: Canadian Perspectives; co-editor of Staying Alive: Critical Perspectives on Health, Illness, and Health Care; and the author of Poverty and Policy in Canada.

Health and quality of life are vital indicators of societal functioning. The way a society distributes resources among its population reveals much about the society itself. This unique volume unites readings that explore the integral link between quality of life and public policy choices. It begins with individual perspectives on health promotion and quality of life that provide a conceptual basis for determining an individual’s or community’s standard, then moves on to community and policy perspectives.

The middle section introduces a political economy framework and the social determinants of health concept to illustrate how societies differ in their willingness to support quality of life and health. Later chapters examine vulnerable populations: Indigenous communities, persons with disabilities, women, and racialized and immigrant communities. The book concludes with suggestions for bringing together the agendas of health promotion, quality of life, and the social determinants of health. It provides an up-to-date analysis of the barriers facing those attempting to improve quality of life and health, as well as the means to accomplish these goals.