Challenge & Change: Toward health equity in our communities

Join palliative care physician and health equity advocate Dr. Naheed Dosani for this free, public talk exploring socio-economic barriers to health care and how we can work together to meet community needs.

Through a keynote talk, fireside chat and audience Q&A, Dr. Dosani will draw on his work as the founder of the Palliative Education and Care for the Homeless (PEACH) Program to discuss how structural vulnerabilities like homelessness and poverty cause barriers to health care, and how communities can work together to increase accessibility of essential social and health services.

This event is eligible for Canadian College of Family Physicians continuing education credits.

About Dr. Naheed Dosani

As a palliative care physician and health justice activist, Dr. Naheed Dosani is dedicated to advancing equitable access to healthcare for people experiencing structural vulnerabilities like poverty and homelessness. These efforts include founding & leading the Palliative Education and Care for the Homeless (PEACH) Program at the Inner City Health Associates in downtown Toronto, serving as the Medical Director of Kensington Hospice (Kensington Health), a Health Equity Expert Advisor at the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and as a palliative care physician at St. Michael’s Hospital (Unity Health Toronto).

Dr. Dosani shares his passion for palliative care and health equity with learners as an Assistant Professor with the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. As a researcher, he is appointed as an Investigator with the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St Michael’s Hospital’s Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, with a special interest in health system innovation & advancing access to equity-oriented care for structurally vulnerable populations. As a health systems leader, he serves on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Medical Association.

Dr. Dosani has received many prestigious honours for his trailblazing work. These awards include the Meritorious Service Cross for Humanitarianism from Canada’s Governor General (2018), the Award for Humanitarianism from the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians (2019) and the Early Career Leader Award from the Canadian Medical Association (2020). Most recently, Dr. Dosani received an Honorary Doctorate Degree (Doctor of Laws) from Ontario Tech University (2022), the Dr Earl Dunn Award [for advancing primary care] from the University of Toronto Department of Family & Community Medicine (2024) and the Dr S. Lawrence Librach Award [for excellence and leadership in Palliative Care] from Hospice Palliative Care Ontario (2024). In May of 2025, he was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal, awarded to Canadians whose work strengthens their communities and country.

Affiliations

- Founder and Lead, Palliative Education And Care for the Homeless (PEACH) Program, Inner City Health Associates
- Medical Director, Kensington Hospice, Kensington Health
- Health Equity Lead, Kensington Health
- Palliative Care Physician, Department of Family & Community Medicine, St. Michael's Hospital at Unity Health Toronto
- Investigator, MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St Michael’s Hospital at Unity Health Toronto
- Health Equity Expert Advisor, Canadian Partnership Against Cancer
- Assistant Professor, Division of Palliative Care, Department of Family & Community Medicine, University of Toronto
- Member of the Board of Directors, Canadian Medical Association