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Phipps E, Bumstead L, Butt T, Crighton EJ, Desjardins N, Hart R, Oickle D, Sánchez-Pimienta CE, Schlonies R, Schonauer M, Umbach J, Masuda JR. 'It doesn't happen any other way': relationship-building and reflexivity for equity-focused intersectoral practice (EquIP). Health Promot Int 2023; 38:daad142. [PMID: 37966158 DOI: 10.1093/heapro/daad142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Intersectoral processes that bring together public institutions, civil society organizations and affected community members are essential to tackling complex health equity challenges. While conventional wisdom points to the importance of human relationships in fostering collaboration, there is a lack of practical guidance on how to do intersectoral work in ways that support authentic relationship-building and mitigate power differentials among people with diverse experiences and roles. This article presents the results of RentSafe EquIP, a community-based participatory research initiative conducted in Owen Sound, Canada, in the midst of a housing crisis. The research explored the potential utility of equity-focused intersectoral practice (EquIP), a novel approach that invests in human relationships and knowledge co-creation among professionals and affected members of the community. The three-phase EquIP methodology centred the grounded expertise of community members with lived/living experience of housing inadequacy to catalyze reflexive thinking by people in professional roles about the institutional gaps and barriers that prevent effective intersectoral response to housing-related inequities. The research demonstrated that EquIP can support agency professionals and community members to (i) engage in (re)problematization to redefine the problem statement to better include upstream drivers of inequity, (ii) support reflexivity among those in professional roles to identify institutional practices, policies and norms that perpetuate stigma and impede effective intersectoral response and (iii) spark individual and collective agency and commitment towards a more equity-focused intersectoral system. We conclude that the EquIP methodology is a promising approach for communities seeking to address persistent health equity and social justice challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica Phipps
- University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1N 8Z4
- Centre for Environmental Health Equity, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, K7L 3N6
- Canadian Partnership for Children's Health and Environment/RentSafe, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lynda Bumstead
- Grey Bruce Healthy Communities Partnership, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada, N4K 0A5
| | - Tanya Butt
- RentSafe Tenants' Rights Advocate, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada
- Community Voices, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada, N4K 1P1
| | | | | | - Robert Hart
- Grey Bruce Public Health, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada, N4K 0A5
| | - Dianne Oickle
- National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada, B2G 2W5
| | - Carlos E Sánchez-Pimienta
- Centre for Environmental Health Equity, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, K7L 3N6
- University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5T 3M7
| | - Renee Schlonies
- RentSafe Tenants' Rights Advocate, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada
- Community Voices, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada, N4K 1P1
| | - Misty Schonauer
- RentSafe Tenants' Rights Advocate, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jill Umbach
- Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada, N4K 1P1
| | - Jeffrey R Masuda
- Centre for Environmental Health Equity, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, K7L 3N6
- University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, V8W 2Y2
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