Health Equity: Your Health Matters
Everyone deserves high-quality care.
Health equity means making sure every patient and family has a fair opportunity to receive the care and support they need, regardless of their background, identity or life circumstances.
What to expect
When you visit SickKids, you may be asked questions about things such as:
- Ethnicity or race
- Language
- Gender identity
- Income
- Access to food
- Other personal and social information
These questions are part of our Health Equity: Your Health Matters initiative.
The survey is short and optional, and you can skip any question you are not comfortable with.
By answering these questions, you help us better understand the needs and experiences of the children, youth and families we serve. This information helps us identify barriers to care and improve services for everyone
Why we ask these questions
We know that health experiences can be different for different people.
The information you share helps us:
- Identify gaps in care and health outcomes
- Understand the needs of different communities
- Improve programs and services
- Provide more equitable care for all patients and families
This initiative is being implemented across many hospitals and healthcare organizations in Toronto for Ontario Health Toronto to help improve the quality, accessibility, and equity of care for all patients and families.
Your answers help us improve care today and for the future.
How your information is used
Your answers will be added to your medical record and kept confidential, just like your other health and medical information. Your information will be seen and used by staff who have access to your medical record and who have permission to see and use it.
SickKids will use the information to better understand patient and family needs and improve care.
Your answers will not negatively affect the care you receive. The purpose of collecting this information is to help us provide better care and create a more inclusive health-care experience for everyone.
Complete your information online with MyChart
You can complete your Health Equity information before your visit using MyChart, SickKids' secure online patient portal.
With MyChart, you can:
- Access much of your health information
- Communicate with your care team
- Complete Health Equity questions before appointments
- Manage your care from your computer or mobile device
Learn more about MyChart and sign up to enhance your health-care experience.
Questions
Please contact hedi.survey@sickkids.ca.
More information
Visit Public Health Ontario's Health Equity page or watch this video from the Public Health Agency of Canada for more on this topic.