This text is part of the special booklet 90th Acfas Congress
A preventive, community-based and more global vision of health and of the conditions that favor it is what the concept of sustainable health proposes. A subject that will be discussed during a symposium entitled Sustainable health for Quebec and its regions. Forging links between communities and researchwhich will take place on May 11 during the 90e Acfas Congress.
According to the Intersectoral Health Research Group of the University of Quebec (RISUQ), sustainable health is the business of the community. It gives citizens back the power to act on their health and emphasizes prevention.
“Sustainable health stems from the UN’s sustainable development goals,” says Cathy Vaillancourt, full professor at INRS and head of RISUQ. The idea is to no longer see health as something that is supported solely by the health system and hospitals, but as something that involves prevention and the self-determination of citizens. This also involves the environment, to have living environments that promote health. The idea is to create a quality of life that allows a state of well-being throughout life. »
It is also an intersectoral approach that involves municipalities, citizens and organizations to create living environments favorable to the health and rehabilitation of sick people. In this philosophy, the citizen is put at the center.
“Environmental factors as health factors are studied, but still little put into practice, says Cathy Vaillancourt. We are still in a medical-centric approach. However, this is an approach that requires more time to work with the communities. »
The community perspective
A concrete example stems from the tragic story of the death of Joyce Echaquan, in 2020. A team of researchers is working in co-construction with Indigenous communities to create a training program for health workers. In this context, the panel “Health from an Aboriginal perspective” of the Aboriginal Coalition for Safe and Equitable Care Practices in Quebec (CAPSSEQ) reports on this project.
“The solution is often the people who are experiencing the situation or the citizens who have it,” adds Cathy Vaillancourt.
Research in partnership with patients
Several of the presentations will highlight projects carried out according to the sustainable health approach where people with the disease under study have participated directly.
This is the case of a project related to breast cancer, which will be discussed in “Rehabilitation and breast cancer. Better understand the needs, expectations and experiences of post-mastectomy women. “This study was really developed with people who had undergone a mastectomy to see how we could set up rehabilitation methods, particularly around movement, to try to better understand their realities,” says the person in charge of the symposium.
Another research project, by Professor Catherine Mounier, focuses on Krabbe disease, a rare and orphan disease. “As part of this project, the family of a child with the disease has created a foundation, and really brings the reality of the field into the laboratory. Nothing is done without a discussion with the partner. All this research was done with a community, a citizen or a patient partner, hand in hand and in co-construction before the project, during the project, when we have results, and afterwards in the transfer of knowledge. So it’s a different relationship with the participants compared to traditional studies.
The state of play in Quebec
Quebec is on a roll when it comes to sustainable health, believes Cathy Vaillancourt. “Our group has existed for three years, and there is also VITAM, a sustainable health research centre, so approaches are being put in place. There is awareness going on. We are well placed in this regard, but where the shoe pinches is on the political side. The health system remains very medico-centric. This means that citizens are not heard. For me, this is a lack that must be recognized by governments. Yes, hospital care is important, but what is done upstream and downstream is also important to reduce health costs. »
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, pertaining to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.