Understanding Dahlgren and Whitehead’s “Rainbow Model” of Health Determinants Health is not just about individual choices or genetics—it is deeply influenced by a broad range of social, economic, and environmental factors. The Dahlgren and Whitehead “Rainbow Model” (1991) provides a comprehensive framework to understand these determinants. It illustrates how multiple layers of influence shape an individual’s health, emphasizing that public health interventions must go beyond personal behavior to address wider social and structural factors. The Structure of the Rainbow Model The “Rainbow Model” is depicted as a series of concentric layers surrounding an individual, with each layer representing different levels…

It is obvious. The prevalence of diabetes and high blood pressure varies by neighbourhood in Toronto. The following maps from Ontario Community Health Profile Partnership (OCHPP) website display this geographical disparity. The maps use a colour scale; the darker the area higher the rate. We can find a clear geographical gradient. It ranges from 4.4 per 100 (the lightest colour) to 19 per 100 individuals (the darkest colour) with regard to diabetes (Map 1). But the rates vary from 16 per 100 (the lightest colour) to 31.6 per 100 for high blood pressure (the darkest colour) (Map 2). Map 1:…

Look at Figure 1 Figure 1: Image source: http://www.sollis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/equity-vs-equality.jpg In Figure 1, all three children are of equal height. But, they cannot reach the fruits, Because of, the terrain’s unequalness. They need help. But, the help each one requires is different. They need boxes of different heights. By helping them with boxes of “appropriate height”, all three can reach the fruits. This is equity: Providing help appropriate to the degree of help needed. As we can see the degree of help needed varies not due to inherent biological differences. It is due to reasons outside their control. When we find…

Those who know public health know Prof. Irving Zola‘s “upstream vs downstream” parable. Irving Zola is a medical sociologist. His friend, John McKinlay, describes Zola’s parable in his 2019 article, “A case for re-focusing upstream: The political economy of illness”1. The “Upstream boat” sails through this upstream path. Following is the reproduction of the parable; ” I am standing by the shore of a swiftly flowing river, and I hear the cry of a drowning man. So, I jump into the river, put my arms around him, pull him to shore, and apply artificial respiration. When he begins to breathe,…