Research summary
Health justice is about ensuring that all individuals have equal access to the basic necessities needed for good health—regardless of socio-economic status, race, gender or other factors. Dr. Nav Persaud, Canada Research Chair in Health Justice, is investigating how to address health inequities.
He and his research team are trying to determine how having free, convenient access to medicines affects people’s health outcomes. They are also looking at the selection of essential medicines available around the world, and at the effect of free access to healthy foods for people with diabetes who experience food insecurity. Another avenue of inquiry is whether cash transfers could help prevent preterm births in high-risk patients. Finally, Persaud and his team are developing equitable COVID-19 pandemic recovery recommendations. Ultimately, they hope to achieve a better understanding of how providing people with basic necessities could help deliver health justice.