Final report - Integrated Land Management Bureau

The averaged responses to this survey question could serve as the indicator for sense of
place in the North and Central Coast.
4.4.2 Physical and mental health
Physical and mental health appeared as key components of human well-being across all
of the nine HWB frameworks reviewed. Studies focusing on the determinants of health
are voluminous. Studies have shown, for example, that disparities in the size of the gap or
inequality in social and economic status between groups within a given population
greatly affect the health status of the whole. The larger the gap, the lower the health status
of the overall population (Wilkinson and Marmot 1998).
Many agencies collect, analyse, and report on health statistics. Several organizations in
Canada have developed indicators to track the health status and health determinants of
populations. For example, the Public Health Agency of Canada (2007) found 12 key
factors associated with health status, such as income and social status, social support
networks, education and literacy, physical environment, and culture (including lack of
culturally appropriate health care services). Many of these factors overlap with other
components of HWB.
BC Statistics (BC Stats) compiles data on potential years of life lost, teen pregnancies,
life expectancy, infant mortality, and per capita alcohol sales as proxies for health.
ACTNOW BC, a provincial health initiative, collects health behavior information that it
concludes are key determinants of health, including tobacco use, obesity, nutrition,
physical activity levels, and attitudes of pregnant women about alcohol use.
The Canadian Community Health Survey is conducted every two years by Statistics
Canada to compile estimates of health determinants, health status, and health system
utilization.
The Statistics Canada Statistical report on the health of Canadians lists 31 health status
indicators. They include measures of general well-being, general health and function,
injuries, conditions and diseases, and death.
Health indicator data are available through a number of sources, including Statistics
Canada through the biennial Canadian Community Health Survey, and the province
through various ministries and BC Stats and BC Vital Statistics. There are several scales
at which the data are available in BC: Six Health Regions, 16 Health Service Delivery
Areas (HSDA), and 89 Local Health Areas. Unfortunately, none of these geographic
areas overlay cleanly on the North and Central Coast plan areas. Further, the Statistics
Canada indicators are only compiled at the HSDA level, which is too large a scale to be
useful for the North and Central Coasts whose populations are small. For many health
indicators, data are simply not offered by Statistics Canada at the HSDA level because of
the small sample size on the North and Central Coast.
25