The Centre sees promise in approaching inequalities through first understanding what "wicked problems" are, and then considering a more general mapping of the very complex (and wicked) issue of health inequalities and the various ways of reducing them. Towards this end, Val Morrison completed training in Dialogue Mapping™ from the CogNexus Institute in 2010.
 

Two others from the NCCHPP will be completing the series in 2012 and will go on to receive training with the intention of sharing this approach to wicked problems with local public health actors. For a succinct overview of what wicked problems are, visit this page on the site of the CogNexus Institute.

As part of our focus on wicked problems and on creating spaces for shared understanding of them, Val Morrison and François-Pierre Gauvin facilitated a workshop in May 2011 showcasing both deliberative dialogues and Issue/Dialogue Mapping as tools for dealing with wicked problems. (To read about that presentation, click here.) We intend to continue to develop this angle as a tool for combatting health inequalities.

François-Pierre, along with colleagues from the NCC for Methods and Tools, will be expanding on this workshop at the upcoming TOPHC meeting in Toronto in April 2012. To find out more, check the TOPHC program here (see page 25, workshop #36, for a description).

We are continuing to work with our colleagues at the NCC for Determinants of Health on equity issues. In 2012, we will publish a portrait of equity tools and/or lenses as well as applications of Equity-focused Health Impact Assessments currently used in Canada and elsewhere.


Image :
© iStockphoto.com/ Bob Turitz Photography