Current Research Priorities

MIHE brings together McMaster researchers across many disciplines to produce and mobilize knowledge on issues that affect health equity. Our current areas of focus are:

• Housing
• Income Security and Health
• Racism in Healthcare

We review these areas of focus periodically and the list will evolve over time.

Research Framework

The Institute is action-oriented, with a strong focus on knowledge mobilization. Drawing on models that conceptualize how research can inform the policy-making process, the Institute focuses on activities in several domains of activity:

• Discovery-based and agenda-setting research, with scholarly research and innovation directed towards the needs of knowledge users and policy-makers;
• Policy formulation, which involves developing policy options to address a problem;
• Policy decision-making, where research is used to assess policy options that will yield the best possible outcomes;
• Policy implementation, which may include building evidence-based tools to be used in the administration of a new program; and
• Evaluation, where policies and programs are evaluated for their effectiveness.

While the bulk of University activity is typically in the discovery and agenda-setting stage, there is considerable expertise at McMaster that can be brought to bear on the other activities to enhance the impact of research on health equity.