The Ottawa Charter and Calls to Action

The Ottawa Charter’s primary goal is to create healthcare changes through health promotion, developed through a conference of healthcare leaders worldwide, to move towards a better public healthcare system (World Health Organization, 1986). It is not necessarily dependent on the treatment of diseases but rather a political task force to develop policies from micro to macro strategies to action in systematic change (Bedoya, 2020). Health promotion is dictated by a sphere of commitment from politicians, partnerships, communities, and individuals (Bedoya, 2020; Let's Learn Public Health, 2017).

This topic of Indigenous Health issues is fascinating to me because I am Indigenous, and my birth parents were forced to attend Residential School. I have only recently learned about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I have been adopted away from my Indigenous family and just learned about the Calls to Action and the Ottawa Charter through the media and my post-secondary education. There have been many changes for equity and fairness for Indigenous people, such as restoring culture, language and traditions, but more changes are needed in health care and promotion (Bedoya, 2020; First Nations Health Authority, 2019).  The authors who conducted a study on the unmet calls to action concluded in their report that only thirteen out of ninety-seven calls to action were met; the rest are unfulfilled and significantly influence the disparities and well-being of Indigenous peoples and communities (Jewell & Mosby, 2023). Failure to respond to these calls jeopardizes Indigenous people's mental health caused by historical trauma, particularly the legacy of residential schools and the loss of children (Government of Canada, 2024). Unmet emotional needs deny them the healing and closure required to cope with such terrible experiences (Government of Canada, 2024). The unmet Calls to Action exemplify how the charter has not reflected on progress due to advocacy not being delegated in the strategies towards rebuilding public policy (Bedoya, 2020; Jewell &Mosby, 2023; World Health Organization, 1986).

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is based on one call to action, number eighty, and this day is commemorated on September 30th every year and is a national holiday to remember how the past colonialism affected thousands of Indigenous people’s lives (Government of Canada, 2024). The TRC mission is to reconcile the past harms inflicted on First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people and to bring awareness to people about the truth of Residential Scholls and their effects on Indigenous people and their families (Government of Canada, 2024). Research conducted for population health and promotion is through evidence-based decision-making that comprises the health disparities in social health determinants to create changes through evaluation by the Ottawa Charter (Government of Canada, 2001). By using the action steps of advocating, mediating and enabling, Indigenous people are being supported through there are still many systemic barriers, such as racism, that affect how Indigenous are not receiving trusted health care access (First Nations Health Authority, 2019; NCCIH, 2024). The Ottawa Charter had not achieved its “health for all” goal by 2000 (Bedoya, 2020; World Health Organization, 1986). However, it is slowly promoting health through its actions and strategies to create changes in marginalized communities for fairness and equitable health (Bedoya, 2020; World Health Organization, 1986).

Kethra

References

Bedoya, D. (2020 Sept 7). The Ottawa Charter. YouTube. [Video]. https://youtu.be/uO5ziwOFbWU 

First Nations Health Authority (2019, July 16). The social determinants of health from a First Nation perspective [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD-wYpDsooQ 

Government of Canada (2024). National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-day-truth-reconciliation.html

Government of Canada. (2001) Population health promotion: An integrated model of population health and health promotion https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/population-health/population-health-promotion-integrated-model-population-health-health-promotion/developing-population-health-promotion-model.html

Jewell, E & Mosby, I. (2023). Calls to action accountability: a 2023 status update on reconciliation. Yellowhead Institute. https://www.yellowheadinstitute.org./wp- content/uploads/2023/12/YI-TRC-C2A-2023-Special-Report-compressed.pdf

Let’s Learn Public Health. (2017, March 4). Introduction to health promotion and the Ottawa Charter [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/G2quVLcJVBk 

National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health. (2019). Access to health services as a social determinant of First Nations, Inuit and Metis health.  https://www.nccih.ca/docs/determinants/FS-AccessHealthServicesSDOH-2019-EN.pdf

World Health Organization. (1986). Ottawa charter for health promotion, 1986 (No. WHO/EURO: 1986-4044-43803-61677). World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe. https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/documents/services/health-promotion/population-health/ottawa-charter-health-promotion-international-conference-on-health-promotion/charter.pdf