key: cord-0874886-r2i9ryys authors: Smith, James A.; Wells, Leanne; Gelbart, Lisa; Lawson, Tony title: Beyond COVID‐19: Consumers call for greater focus on health equity date: 2021-01-15 journal: Health Promot J Austr DOI: 10.1002/hpja.450 sha: 782bdfc14882cfefc2e95cf4a3f76558fa2ba20c doc_id: 874886 cord_uid: r2i9ryys nan The Australian public health community has long advocated for increased investment in health promotion and prevention. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] This has paralleled advocacy from consumer groups and has frequently included calls for a much sharper focus on health equity and action on the social, political, economic, environmental and commercial determinants of health. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] The recent global COVID-19 pandemic has cast a glaring spotlight on health and social inequities experienced by vulnerable and marginalised populations worldwide, particularly those living in poverty. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] These observations have been noted in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and elsewhere across the globe. In some instances, it has exacerbated already well-documented health inequities, 12, [15] [16] [17] [18] such as those relating to race and ethnicity, [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] socio-economic status, 25 homelessness, [26] [27] [28] disability 29 and ageing. 30 In other instances, it has created new and unforeseen inequities, particularly with respect to education and employment. 16, 18, 31, 32 In Australia, concerns have been raised about the disproportionate impact of vulnerable populations, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, 33, 34 homeless people, 26 Optimising consumer-centred health and social care for now and the future. 39 This was framed as a diagnosis, and subsequent prescription, made by the Consumer Commission. The prescription for health equity stated: 'We must recognise the inequalities across age groups that have been widened due to COVID-19 and engage and empower young people in the recovery. We should adopt a social determinants approach and implement it be developing a national social prescribing scheme, increasing investment in health promotion, prevention and health literacy, and investing in critical social supports and infrastructure to build communities'. ( 39 , p4). The call for investment in health promotion was explicit. 39 Calls for investment in social infrastructure including social housing, income support, childcare, public transport, broadband coverage, aged care and disability care were also repeatedly mentioned. 39 The abovementioned call to action has emphasised the important role that health consumers play in describing the challenges associated with health inequities in Australia. However, it also conveys that consumers are well-positioned to identify tangible actions that can lead to improved health equity over the longer term. Indeed, much of the discussion was highly consistent with decades of public health evidence suggesting that increased investment in health promotion and prevention is critical for reducing health inequities. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] This is clearly articulated in the Australian Health Promotion Association and Public Health Association of Australia joint policy position statement on health promotion and illness prevention. In particular, actions to address the social determinants of health, and calls for the adoption of health-in-all-policies approaches, have been a prominent feature of these discussions. 7, 9, [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] Importantly, this feedback is extremely timely. The Australian Government is currently in the midst of developing a National Preventive Health Strategy (NPHS). While the consultation period has recently closed, the consultation paper identified the importance of 'an agile health system focused on prevention and equity' and a has only been a vehicle to make this more apparent. Please let us learn from this pandemic experience and be bold in our response. Voices: Journal of the Health Consumers Forum of Australia, Issue 27, November 2020. The content has been reproduced with permission from the Consumer Health Forum of Australia. Health promotion: essential to a national preventative health strategy We need a comprehensive approach to health promotion The case of national health promotion policy in Australia: where to now? Health promotion: a political imperative Positioning health promotion as a policy priority in Australia Changes not for the fainthearted: Reorienting health care systems toward health equity through action on social determinants of health To what extent do Australian health policy documents address social determinants of health and health equity? Adaptive policies for reducing inequalities in the social determinants of health Intersectoral action on SDH and equity in Australian health policy Reflections on the framing of 'health equity' in the National Primary Health Care Strategic Framework: a cause for celebration or concern? Addressing power and politics through action on the commercial determinants of health COVID-19: vulnerability and the power of privilege in a pandemic COVID-19: control measures must be equitable and inclusive Failing another national stress test on health disparities COVID-19 and health equity -a new kind of "herd immunity The extent of COVID-19 pandemic socio-economic impact on global poverty: a global integrative multidisciplinary review COVID-19 exacerbating inequalities in the US COVID-19 and inequalities. Fiscal Stud COVID-19 and African Americans COVID-19: Black people and other minorities are hardest hit in the US The COVID-19 pandemic: a call to action to identify and address racial and ethnic disparities Is ethnicity linked to incidence or outcomes of COVID-19? Racial health disparities and COVID-19: caution and context Are some ethnic groups more vulnerable to COVID-19 than others? Institute for Fiscal Studies initiative funded by the Nuffield Foundation People experiencing homelessness urgently need to be recognised as a high risk group for COVID-19 Efforts escalate to protect homeless people from COVID-19 in the UK COVID-19: A potential public health problem for homeless populations The National Disability Insurance Scheme and COVID-19: a collision course Older people and COVID-19: isolation, risk and ageism COVID-19, school closures, and child poverty: a social crisis in the making COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment, and civil unrest: Underlying deep racial and socioeconomic divides First nations people leading the way in COVID-19 pandemic planning, response and management Crook s%20pre print %2029%20Apr il%202020 Indigenous Australians and the COVID-19 crisis COVID-19 and the policy-induced vulnerabilities of temporary migrant workers in Australia COVID-19: an Australian perspective Introducing the percent, number, availability, and capacity [PNAC] spatial approach to identify priority rural areas requiring targeted health support in light of COVID-19: a commentary and application Consumer Commission Divergent Workshop 3 (Health Equity) Consumer Commission Report -Making Health Better Together: Optimising consumer-centred health and social care for now and the future. Canberra Australian Health Promotion Association and Public Health Association of Australia. Health promotion and illness prevention: Policy position statement Ten years on from the Commission on Social Determinants of Health Final Report: Progress or procrastination? Senate Printing Unit; 2013. 43. Government of South Australia and World Health Organization. Progressing the sustainable development goals through health in all policies: case studies from around the world Health in all policies in south Australia-did it promote and enact an equity perspective?