On September 15, 2017, Dr. Istvan Mucsi was honoured to be a guest speaker at the 7th Annual Health Equity Summit hosted by theCouncil of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA). CASSA is an umbrella group of organizations working to empower the members of South Asian communities to participate fully in defining Canada’s political, economic, social and cultural future. This full-day event at Ryerson University focused on men’s health in the South Asian context, with emphasis on topics in mental, sexual and chronic heart and kidney health.
The summit also offered several valuable breakout sessions on chronic health, mental health, sexual health and health policy, covering:
- Diabetes prevention:This session highlighted community-based diabetes education programs offered through Toronto Public Health and the Flemington Health Centre’s South Asian Diabetes Prevention Program.
- Cardiovascular health: In this session, Firdaus Ali from the Heart and Stroke Foundation spoke about community-based health education and disease prevention programs targeting the needs of members of South Asian communities.
- Mental health and illness: This session featured a research study by Dr. Robert Whitley of McGill University on the mental health of Sri Lankan Tamil men in Toronto, as well as a presentation on stress management services offered through the South Asian Community Health Services organization.
- Sexual health: This session offered presentations from Toronto Public Health and from the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention describing their HIV/AIDS, sexual health and education/support programs for South Asian men.
- Health equity: The afternoon concluded with a presentation from Joanne Plaxton of the Health Equity Branch of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, focusing on Ontario’s recent Patients First Act (Bill 41, 2016) which aims to reduce Ontarians’ barriers to accessing prompt, appropriate health care.
