MCHP does research on the health of Manitobans with its primary focus looking into what makes people healthy. Many factors affect health such as health care, health programs and policies, income, education, employment and social circumstances. At MCHP, researchers are sorting out the contribution of these factors.

For instance, research at MCHP points to an income-health gradient again and again. It isn't just that poor people are sicker than rich people - poor people are sicker than middle income people, who in turn are sicker than the upper middle, and so on. We see the same gradient between education and health. Simply put, the poorer you are, the sicker you are likely to be; and likewise, the less educated you are, the sicker you are likely to be.

Most of the information that forms the basis of research at MCHP comes from the Repository - a comprehensive anonymized database that tells us about Manitobans' use of such services as physicians, hospitals, home care, nursing homes and prescriptions. It also offers anonymized information about education and family services and is continually expanding into new areas such as housing, justice, and post secondary education.

Researchers then use the information within the Repository to perform their research and publish reports based on these findings. These reports can be found in the Deliverables section.