Re-conceptualizing health and learning in terms of community resilience and enterprise

Purpose – Many Canadians presume their universal health care system provides equitable opportunity and access to health, yet this is not necessarily the case, especially for marginalized populations. The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize how marginalized, yet resilient, communities are able to build capacity and contribute to their own learning about health. Design/methodology/approach – Environmental scan, state of the field review and community consultations on a national scale. Findings – For adults living in rural and remote areas that fall below health norms, health knowledge and care is often not enough to build capacity and support resilient communities. More learning needs to be done by all members of community and government. Practical implications – Consultations with selected members of marginalized populations and their service providers reveal a cross-community, cross-sector and cross-government focus on addressing the social determinants of health is needed to increase individual capacity. Originality/value – Consultations with community members and their service providers reveal rich information about the state of health and learning in selected areas across Canada. Using literature on health and learning as a framework, this paper discusses challenges and promising practices in terms of participants' abilities to sustain their own and their communities' health and learning.