About Us
Centre for Research on Inner City Health - Keenan Research Centre
Our mission is to reduce health inequities through innovative research that supports social change.
Our Focus
Where we live impacts how we live. Access to suitable housing, nutritious food, clean water, safe recreation, and supportive social networks affect our health and our ability to benefit from health care. In cities, these resources are often distributed unequally across communities.
Canadians who are poor and socially marginalized have worse health and die earlier than people in more stable situations. Low-income groups also face more barriers in accessing health services, despite Canada's commitment to providing universal health care coverage.
This "social gradient" in health is evident in countries around the world. At every level of income, economic and social inequalities are mirrored by health inequities.
We conduct research to better understand the linkages between poverty, social exclusion, and poor health. And we evaluate "what works" to improve health outcomes for inner city populations.
Our Research Program includes:
- Homelessness, Housing, and Health
- Neighbourhoods and Health
- Maternal and Child Health
- Mental Health and Substance Use
- Urban Aboriginal Peoples and Health
Our Post-Doctoral Training Program focuses on interventions research to advance health equity.
We also provide community education through our outreach activities.
Our Approach
CRICH research is genuinely transdisciplinary. Our strengths include clinical epidemiology, health economics, ethics, geography and GIS mapping techniques, health services research, medicine, population health, psychology, psychiatry, knowledge translation, and social epidemiology.
An important priority at CRICH is "interventions research". Many research studies have measured the problem of health inequities. However, less scientific attention has been paid to solutions. Our team focuses on assessing "what works" to help turn proximity into accessibility, and improve health and social services in our cities.
We work in partnerships with non-researchers to produce evidence that can be used in practice. We collaborate with diverse policy sectors, including housing, transit, education, corrections, and community and social services.
Our Centre:
CRICH is part of the Keenan Research Centre in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's Hospital. We receive annual core funding from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Ontario.
Meet Our Team:
Ahmed M. Bayoumi
James R. Dunn
Richard H. Glazier
Mark Halman
Jeffrey S. Hoch
Stephen W. Hwang
Kamran M. Khan
Jim Lavery
Paul S. Links
Rosane Nisenbaum
Patricia O'Campo
Anne E. Rhodes
Sean B. Rourke
Janet K. Smylie
Sanjeev Sridharan
Vicky Stergiopoulos
Donald A. Wasylenki
Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute
Bringing together leading edge research and education to shape the future of healthcare.
