About Upstream

Upstream is a movement to create a healthy society through evidence-based, people-centred ideas. Upstream seeks to change the current conversation, reframing public discourse around the goal of true health and helping citizens understand the best ways to reach that goal.

From the emergency room, to homeless shelters, to the prison system, we see the consequences of downstream thinking all around us. Upstream thinking means investing wisely for future success rather than spending all of our time and resources responding to failure.

If health for all is our goal, then upstream thinking is about addressing the things that have the greatest influence on our health, including income, employment, education, early childhood development, housing, nutrition and the wider environment.

Upstream works with the growing body of evidence on these social determinants of health and use that knowledge to guide recommendations for change.

By sharing stories through a variety of media, Upstream seeks to creatively engage citizens, sparking within them a personal stake in the social determinants of health and a demand for upstream alternatives to the status quo.

Upstream uses this evidence and storytelling to foster a vibrant network of organizations and individuals who share this vision.

By demonstrating that a better way is possible, we can help create the conditions for wiser decisions and a healthier Canada.

Learn more at www.thinkupstream.net