Income and health in Canada: research gaps and future opportunities

The goal of this research project was to identify and suggest means of filling the gaps/needs in Canadian research activity and public policy action on the income and health relationship.

The research consisted of an environmental scan and analysis of 321 empirical research pieces from Canada (n = 241), the United Kingdom (n = 40) and Finland (n = 40) followed by a systematic gaps/needs analysis of these studies by members of three advisory committees, consisting of researchers and policy advocates. These data were complemented by key informant interviews with researchers from Canada, the UK and Finland. The gaps/needs were then reviewed and assigned priority rankings by members of the three advisory committees.

Numerous gaps/needs in Canadian research on income and health were apparent. They fell into five main areas: (a) training and capacity building in addressing income as a health determinant; (b) developing adequate data and measures; (c) researching specific substantive health issues; (d) researching specific public policy areas; and (e) developing an understanding of the pathways and mechanisms mediating the income and health relationship. Members of the advisory committees achieved a high level of agreement concerning these gaps/needs and means of reducing them.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Institute of Population Health should target specific research initiatives to help fill the identified gaps in knowledge. They should also work together with public policy institutes to synthesize findings concerning income, its distribution, and health, and help distribute these findings to the public in general and policy-makers in particular.