Toward Health Equity Guide Interview Project:

Abstract

For my practicum, I worked with the Health Equity Integration Team (HEIT) to improve the application of Sex- and Gender-Based Analysis + (SGBA+) at The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). SGBA+ is an analytical tool used in the federal government to ensure the consideration of diversity and intersectionality in programs and policies. One of the training resources on SGBA+ at PHAC is called Toward Health Equity: The SGBA+ Guide. This guide provides an overview of SGBA+, associated concepts, and a case study. I was part of a team tasked with updating this document to make the guide more applicable to current agency priorities. However, in revising the guide it became clear that there was a significant gap in understanding what document users needed. To make this guide as user-friendly and relevant as possible, I suggested that we conduct interviews with key informants throughout the agency to gather feedback and identify barriers to SGBA+ application. This project was part of a Knowledge Translation (KT) process that involved employees from many different roles and divisions at PHAC. The interviews allowed readers to identify the guide’s strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in clarity and content. Improving SGBA+ application at the federal public health level is important, because it is the agency’s way of applying a health equity lens to the work that they do. This project was also significant because it interrupted the standard process of KT, which follows a linear path and only integrates user feedback at the end. Instead, this project promoted an iterative process, involving document users throughout the development and revision of the guide to create a final product that is more tailored to their needs. Clear and effective communication is crucial to public health practice; this project is an example of how to achieve that by incorporating constructive feedback.