Think Upstream Project
Thinking upstream means looking at the social determinants of health
Think Upstream is a project of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives National Office. We’re working with a growing network of people who recognize that social, ecological, and economic conditions shape people’s health and the wellbeing of our communities. We call these the social determinants of health.
Your newsroom for social determinants of health
- Budgeting for well-being
- Public health and health equity
- A poverty reduction plan
- The determinants of health
- An inclusive economy
Our publications are available to all at no cost. Please support the CCPA and help make important research and ideas available to everyone. Make a donation today.
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Think Upstream Radio: When the big employer ghosts a town – now what?
“We can’t be waiting with bated breath for the big company to say we will save you,” says Pearson. “As cities are abandoned, decline, and…
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How much do lifestyle choices matter for health?
“With all this attention to the so-called lifestyle approach, all it really does is actually increase health inequalities, because the people that are in the…
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Food security and your health
Reliable access to decent, nutritious food is absolutely fundamental to a healthy life.
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Solving Canada’s housing affordability crisis
Housing has been used as a spatial fix—or temporary solution—to the problems of the global economy.
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What if we replaced child care deserts with universal child care?
“If parents are to escape poverty through workforce participation or education … access to high-quality child care is essential.” – Campaign 2000
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Basic income cancellation impacts on Ontario
“The Basic Income Pilot cancellation is not just a social assistance issue, it is a health issue.” “It is nearly impossible to focus on long…
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Think upstream on pesticides
“Our health, and the health of our communities, are on the line here.” “It’s not just disease that threatens our health — we also need…
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Population growth is only part of our ecological problem
There is a famous equation proposed by Paul Erlich and John Holdren in 1972: I (human impact on the Earth) = P (population) x A…
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Climate adaptation is critical for health, especially if you’re poor
We need to focus on the social determinants of health to become climate change ready. That was the message we heard loud and clear from…
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Overcoming the new precariat: The future of work
“Jobs for life” were being replaced with concepts like downsizing, the 1990s word for mass layoffs, and golden handshakes, the euphemism for early retirement, which…
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Too little too late: Lisa’s story
I’ve had the opportunity to work and to learn in Brazil, India, Mozambique, and the Philippines, all over rural Saskatchewan, including with Indigenous communities in…
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