Provincial implementation supports for socio-demographic data collection during COVID-19 in Ontario’s public health system

Setting The Ontario government implemented a regulatory change to mandate the collection of socio-demographic (SD) data for individuals who tested positive for COVID-19. This change was informed by evidence of COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on marginalized communities and calls for broader collection of SD data. Given the scarcity of similar efforts, there is a significant knowledge gap around implementing standardized SD data collection in public health settings. Intervention Public Health Ontario provided collaborative support for the implementation of SD data collection, grounded in health equity principles, evidence, and best practices. We supported the addition of SD fields in Ontario’s COVID-19 data collection systems, issued data entry guidance, hosted webinars for training and learning exchange, and published a resource to support the data collection process. The current focus is on building sustainability and quality improvement through continued engagement of public health units. Outcomes By November 28, 2020, almost 80% of COVID-19 cases had information recorded for at least one SD question (individual questions, range 46.8–67.0%). We hosted three webinars for the field, and the data collection resource was viewed almost 650 times. Practitioners continue to express needs for support on applying equity principles to data analysis and interpretation, and community engagement on data collection and use. Implications Sharing knowledge on responsive implementation supports in collaboration with the field and using current evidence and guidance will strengthen public health practice for SD data collection. Laying this groundwork will also improve the likelihood of success and sustainability of these equity-focused efforts.

Public sector wage reforms in the light of equity principles

Since 1967 seven committees and commissions have been set up to review disparities, distortions and anomalies inherent in the pay policy and wages in the public sector in Ghana. The introduction of the Single Spine Pay Policy in the year 2010 was meant to address these anomalies but has been bedevilled with several unrests at the labour front. This has manifested itself in various ways such as strike actions, protests, petitions, legal actions, and appeals to the Labour Commission and other stakeholders. Several attempts at resolving these agitations since independence have not yielded the expected outcome which would have led to a more stable labour front. The literature on the various pay reforms in Ghana has not addressed the equity issues inherent in them. The aim of this article therefore, is to review the pay policies, in the light of equity principles and propose solutions to minimise the labour unrest associated with public sector wage reforms. The article uses Adams Equity theory of motivation to explain the frequency of labour unrest in Ghana and proposes the application of the tenets of equity theory as a solution. We use documentary analysis to examine the various reforms and propose a theoretical approach to resolve the canker within and among the labour groups. We conclude this article by arguing that the frequent labour unrest within the public service in Ghana is mainly as a result of perceived inequity in the implementations of the public sector wage reforms.

Modeling social sustainability: analysis of hospitality e-distributors

Purpose The purpose of this study is to propose a definition and model of social sustainability within the ambit of systems theory and to test it on hospitality e-distributors. The study suggests that social sustainability arises through the congruence among the interrelated components of social innovation, societal demand and social stakeholders in a transformation model and it can be assessed to whether and how this congruence addresses to the equity principles. Design/methodology/approach The study provides a case analysis on two selected hospitality e-distributors – Booking.com and Airbnb. The data obtained from a video-based content on managerial interviews were triangulated with the data of corporate disclosures and expert views derived from a focus group study. Findings The study reveals that both companies affect the intra-generational, procedural and geographical equity principles across physical and virtual communities so long as they take the advantage of their strategic positions. While Booking.com transforms its own industry, Airbnb disrupts the entire system by blurring the boundaries between market and non-market as well as touristic and non-touristic areas. Practical implications The study contributes to the practitioners by showing how to configure and assess the social sustainability of their organizations at the different contexts. Social implications The study provides a holistic perspective on social sustainability by linking the concept with social innovation, societal demand and social stakeholders and highlighting its contribution to equity principles. Originality/value Despite the proliferation of studies, the authors have very little understanding on the social pillar of sustainability. The current study fills the gap by addressing these conceptualization and measurement challenges in the literature.

Equity Implications of the COP21 Intended Nationally Determined Contributions to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

This chapter examines the equity implications of the “bottom-up” approach to climate change negotiations by analyzing the individual country unconditional greenhouse gas reduction pledges specified in the COP21 Agreement of 2015. It compares the implications before and after emissions trading in terms of the standard equity metrics of the Gini coefficient and Atkinson index for three major countries/regions: the European Union, China, and California. The chapter adapts a nonlinear programming model well suited to this purpose that determines the equilibrium emissions allowance price, mitigation costs, and allowance purchases and sales from trading. It also tests the sensitivity of the results to macroeconomic conditions and technological change. The findings are that the pledges made at COP21 reflect substantial inequality in general and run counter to most equity principles. They are definitely a major departure from the Egalitarian, Vertical, and Rawlsian equity principles proposed for many years by developing countries.