Article January 1, 1991 ISSUE

SECOND THOUGHT

Looking again at news and commentary

The Financial Post

From The Financial Post (Toronto), November 3, 1989

"Understanding health: Canada leads the way" by John Godfrey

"What makes us healthy? Ambrose Hearn, a deputy minister of health in Newfoundland, once answered the question by citing four factors: (1) clean water, (2) good food, (3) education, (4) employment. ...

"Now a major new study being undertaken by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research is confirming the essence of Hearn's observations: Our ever-expanding and costly health care system plays a relatively minor role in determining who among us is healthy and who is not. ...

"We know that health care is consuming an ever-greater portion of public expenditures in Canada and elsewhere. In the U.S., health care costs amount to 12% of gross national product. What the institute's health program is already indicating is that the way to produce a healthier population may not lie in spending ever-greater sums of money on hospitals and doctors.

"A study paper of the health project starts with the curious fact that the great improvements in the health of Western societies over the last two centuries predate advances in medical diagnosis and therapy.

"Until recently, it has been assumed the maintenance and restoration of health is a function of the availability of health care services. This assumption has engaged most of the intellectual resources and public policy attention we have dedicated to thinking about and planning for a healthier society. The institute's study challenges this premise."

Reprinted with permission.

Editors' comment: It's always heartening to hear of a creditable study that is willing to challenge popular assumptions. As with other studies that don't automatically build on conventional views, a fresh look at the evidence often makes people think in new and thought-provoking ways.

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