Hey Everyone,

It’s a new year and with it comes new challenges, new variants and new things to uncover that can bring renewed hope for change. I hope that everyone has been well physically, mentally and spiritually. 

With that being said, let's get into some updates:

1. Here’s where we are:
The decision to remove vitamin D testing from OHIP was recommended by the Ontario Health Technology Advisory Committee which is run by Health Quality Ontario (HQO). The board that makes these decisions is staffed by various healthcare leads from all parts of the province and volunteer patients on a renewable two year term. Click here to learn more about the committee. 

• The committee cited that they used the ‘best available medical evidence’ to aid them in their recommendation. Normally this would make sense however, Canada does not have much race or cultural based health data. Large parts of the Black and Indigenous populations do not routinely see physicians until they are ill and requiring specialized care. These factors would contribute to their recommendation to test vitamin D in extreme cases such as osteoporosis, renal disease, diabetes and rickets. Healthcare should be used as a preventative measure with vitamin D being tested as part of a physical.
• In the fact sheet provided by the Ontario Government, guided by the recommendations of HQO, the following was noted ‘individuals with darker skin pigmentation and those who live in the north are at higher risk of having low vitamin D levels and although this alone is not a basis for vitamin D testing, it points to a greater need in those populations to ensure they receive adequate vitamin D through healthy diet and supplementation’. Research articles contradict this statement; skin pigmentation and geographical regions are a basis for testing. Also, public health education around vitamin D has been minimal at best. How many of you have had your family doctor ask if you are taking vitamin D supplements or are eating a vitamin D rich diet?
• While you are able to go back and look at the HQO records for the recommendations that the board has made, the online records currently only go back to 2011. In 2017, a suggestion was brought forward to the HQO to look at vitamin D testing in laboratories but it was deferred, to be reviewed at a later date as it was not deemed to be high priority. 

2. Here’s where we’re going:

• On January 25, 2022 I sent an email asking Health Quality Ontario for the documents that they used to recommend the removal of vitamin D testing from OHIP and all recommendations that they provided to the Ontario Government.
• Review the documents that were used to make the recommendation back in 2010
• Make an official request to reinstate vitamin D tests to OHIP and/or update the list of who is covered based on research, data and the social determinants of health

3. Here’s what’s next

• Interviews with media and medical professionals in support of our petition.
• Educating the population about how to advocate for themselves, finding resources and getting support through various social media.
• Once this work is done I’ll be looking to tackle race and culture based research standards in Canada.

P.S. We have an Instagram page and a name! Follow Citizens for Cultural Care @ourhealthcare.ca

Have a comment or question? Want to help? Are you good with social media design? Send a DM to the Instagram page 

Keep sharing so people can keep signing and we can invoke change. It’s time to start asking for what we want and not settling for what is given.

Talk Soon,

LaToya