Health

Description: This infographic details the prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy among the Canadian population aged 3 to 79 by focusing on risk factors as well as behaviours that can reduce the likelihood of low vitamin D.

Description: Individuals who are nearing death report a preference to be cared for and to die outside of hospital. The reasons for this preference are complex and multifactorial. This study examined differences in the use of end-of-life acute care and the location of death among residents with dementia in rural long-term care homes, compared with those in urban long-term care homes, in Ontario, Canada.

Description: Mental health disparity is associated with diverse characteristics, such as gender, socioeconomic status, Indigenous identity, immigrant status, race, disability, and sexual orientation. However, intersectional studies on women’s mental health have been rare, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic period. To fill this research gap, this study examines women’s and girls’ self-reported mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic using seven characteristics, including Indigenous identity, immigrant status, racialized background, LGB+ sexual orientation, disability, and socioeconomic status (low income and unemployment).

Description:

Health Reports, published by the Health Analysis Division of Statistics Canada, is a peer-reviewed journal of population health and health services research. It is designed for a broad audience that includes health professionals, researchers, policymakers, and the general public. The journal publishes articles of wide interest that contain original and timely analyses of national or provincial/territorial surveys or administrative databases. New articles are published electronically each month.

Health Reports had an impact factor of 5.0 for 2022 and a five-year impact factor of 5.6. All articles are indexed in PubMed. Our online catalogue is free and receives more than 700,000 visits per year. External submissions are welcome.

Description: This article provides insights into the rates of COVID-19 mortality among First Nations peoples and Métis living in private dwellings and the social determinants of COVID-19 mortality among these populations using data from the 2016 Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohorts linked to the Canadian Vital Statistics – Death Database from 2016 to 2021.

Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin

Description: Monthly indexes and percentage changes for selected sub-groups of the health and personal care component of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), not seasonally adjusted, for Canada, provinces, Whitehorse and Yellowknife. Data are presented for the corresponding month of the previous year, the previous month and the current month. The base year for the index is 2002=100.

Description:

In collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), this data file provides Canadians and researchers with preliminary data to monitor only the confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Canada. Given the rapidly-evolving nature of this situation, these data are considered preliminary.

Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin

Description: In collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), this table provides Canadians and researchers with preliminary data to monitor only the confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Canada. Given the rapidly-evolving nature of this situation, these data are considered preliminary. This table will provide an aggregate summary of the data available in the publication 13-26-0003.

Description: Socioeconomic characteristics of the population aged 15 and older that is Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or who use other terms related to gender or sexual diversity (2SLGBTQ+), by gender, age group and geographic region. Marital status, presence of children under age 12 in the household, education, employment, personal income, Indigenous identity, the visible minority population, immigrant status, language(s) spoken most often at home, place of residence (population centre/rural), self-rated general health, and self-rated mental health. Estimates are obtained from combined cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey, 2019 to 2021.

Description: Selected socioeconomic characteristics of the transgender or non-binary population aged 15 and older, by age group. Marital status, presence of children under age 12 in the household, education, employment, personal income, Indigenous identity, the visible minority population, immigrant status, language(s) spoken most often at home, place of residence (population centre/rural), self-rated general health, and self-rated mental health. Estimates are obtained from combined cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey, 2019 to 2021.

Description: Socioeconomic characteristics of the population aged 15 and older whose reported sexual orientation is lesbian or gay, bisexual or pansexual, or another sexual orientation that is not heterosexual (LGB+), by gender, age group and geographic region. Marital status, presence of children under age 12 in the household, education, employment, personal income, Indigenous identity, the visible minority population, immigrant status, language(s) spoken most often at home, place of residence (population centre/rural), self-rated general health, and self-rated mental health. Estimates are obtained from combined cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey, 2019 to 2021.

Description:

This dashboard presents selected data that are relevant for monitoring the impacts of COVID-19 on economic activity in Canada. It includes data on a range of monthly indicators - real GDP, consumer prices, the unemployment rate, merchandise exports and imports, retail sales, hours worked and manufacturing sales -- as well as monthly data on aircraft movements, railway carloadings, and travel between Canada and other countries.

Estimates are presented from January 2019 to the current reference month for each data series. The information will be updated continuously as new data becomes available, and additional series may be added to the dashboard as circumstances warrant.

To support the analysis of time series movements in the data, the dashboard reports changes in each series on both a month-over-month and year-over-year basis. For most of the variables reported, information on cumulative changes in the data both prior and subsequent to the end of 2019 is also presented by indexing the level estimates to December 2019, as depicted in the accompanying charts.

Description: The dashboard presents data that are relevant for monitoring the impacts of COVID-19 on mortality in Canada. It includes the latest weekly death data, historical weekly death data back to 2014, updated adjusted (i.e. the estimated number of weekly deaths) and expected weekly death counts produced for the 2020 reference year from the Canadian Vital Statistics: Death database (CVS:D). The CVS:D is an administrative survey that collects demographic and medical (cause of death) information from all provincial and territorial vital statistics registries on all deaths in Canada. With this tool, data users can explore current and historical weekly trends of deaths for each province and territory. Key variables such as age group and sex are also presented in interactive charts. The interactive tool allows users to examine excess deaths by comparing the trend in weekly deaths in 2020 to the trends in weekly deaths in previous years.

Description: Provisional estimates of excess mortality, adjusted numbers of deaths, and expected numbers of deaths to monitor weekly death trends in Canada. Given the delays in receiving the data from the provincial and territorial vital statistics offices, death data have been adjusted to account for undercoverage. Data in this table will be available by province and territory.

Description: Provisional estimates of excess mortality, adjusted numbers of deaths, and expected numbers of deaths to monitor weekly death trends, by age group and sex, in Canada. Given the delays in receiving the data from the provincial and territorial vital statistics offices, death data have been adjusted to account for undercoverage. Data in this table will be available by province and territory.

Description: Gender, age, language, income, poverty status, indigenous identity, immigrant status, visible minority, education and labour force status of the population residing in resource-based communities (census subdivisions where a relatively high proportion of employment income comes from fishing, forestry, or agriculture), for 2021.

Description: Vitamin D status of Canadians aged 3 to 79, by age group and sex. Data was collected between 2007 and 2019 and represents Canadians living in the 10 provinces (territories were excluded).

Description: This electronic publication contains life tables comprising life expectancy and related estimates by age and sex for Canada, the provinces and territories. Detailed estimates (by single year of age) have been produced for Canada and all of the provinces, except Prince Edward Island, based on two types of complete life tables: three-year estimates (for periods of consecutive three years) and single-year estimates. Aggregated estimates (by five-year age group) have been produced for Prince Edward Island and the three territories separately based on abridged life tables (three-year estimates).

Description:

Indicators based on the registration of vital events are used to determine the health status of populations. The need for these indicators at the regional and community levels has grown with the trend toward decentralization in the delivery of health services. Such indicators are important because they affect funding and the types of service that are provided. Health status indicators tend to be associated with variables such as the level of urbanization or socioeconomic status. According to four indicators - mortality ratios for all causes of death, mortality ratios for external causes of death, infant mortality ratios, and low birth weight live birth ratios - some areas of British Columbia, specifically along the border with Alberta, have relatively good health, although the characteristics of these regions suggest that this should not be the case. However, a much different picture emerges when vital event data registered in Alberta for residents of these areas of British Columbia are considered. This article shows that for adequate health planning and program implementation, some communities need data from neighbouring provinces. It illustrates the effect of incorporating Alberta data into the development of health status indicators for British Columbia. It also suggests that similar adjustments may be necessary for data compiled in other provinces.

Description:

The positive relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and longevity has long been established. Comparable evidence exists for SES and morbidity, but observations of this relationship tend to be limited to specific health indicators. In this article, a comprehensive quantitative measure of health status, the Health Utility Index (HUI), is applied to an analysis of the relationship between SES the health status of people aged 25 and over in Ontario. The HUI, based on a set of questions included in the 1990 Ontario Health Survey (OHS), provides a summary index of the health of each respondent. The OHS data show that lower levels of education, income, and occupation are associated with lower HUI values. Health status differences across SES groups are greater in late middle-age than at younger or older ages, a pattern consistent with the findings of other studies. The development of summary indicators like the HUI is part of a larger effort to construct measures for monitoring the health of Canadians.

Description:

This article examines sex-specific variations in death rates and causes of death at different ages in 1993, and trends in cause-specific death rates since 1950.

Description:

In 1994, Statistics Canada began data collection for the National Population Health Survey (NPHS), a household survey designed to mesure the health status of Canadians and to expand knowledge of health determinants. The survey is longitudinal, with data being collected on selected panel members every second year. This article focuses on the NPHS sample design ant its rationale. Topics include sample allocation, representativeness, and selection; modifications in Quebec and the territories; and integration of the NPHS with the National Longitudinal Survey of Children. The final section considers some methodological issues to be addresses in future waves of the survey.

Description:

Changes in Statistics Canada's annual population estimates, introduced in 1993, have an impact on a wide range of social, economic and demographic indicators. Any indicator that relies on population estimates will be affected by the new figures. This article describes the adjustment and examines its impact on health and vital statistics rates. With rare exceptions, all rates decrease as the denominators are adjusted upward. For example, accident rates, suicide rates, and age-specific fertility rates based on the adjustment population are lower than those previously calculated. The extent of the adjustment, however, depends on the geographic and demographic characteristics of the population at risk. Analysts whose work concentrates on special subgroups for whom the adjustment is particularly great (such as young adult men) may wish to pay closer attention to the new population figures. Although the new rates are lower than before, underlying trends and patterns over time or across subcategories are quite similar. The revised series incorporates estimates of net census undercoverage, and for the first time, includes non-permanent residents. In 1991, net census undercoverage and non-permanent residents together amounted to about one million persons, or 3.6% of the revised Canadian population of 28,120,100.

Description:

This article examines national and regional trends in mortality and morbidity due to abdominal aortic aneurysms from 1969 to 1991. Annual age-adjusted mortality and hospital separation rates were calculated for men and women aged 55 and older whose underlying cause of death was abdominal aortic aneurysm, or who were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of abdominal aortic aneurysm. In recent decades, abdominal aortic aneurysm mortality rates remained stable, in contrast to substantial declines in mortality rates for cerebrovascular disease and cardiovascular disease. The pattern was similar for both sexes, although rates were four to five times higher among men than among women. In 1991, age-adjusted rates were around 31.0 per 100,000 men aged 55 and over and 8.5 per 100,000 women aged 55 and over. Over the 1969 to 1991 period mortality rates in all regions tended to coverage. Although mortality rates were stable, hospital separation rates for abdominal aortic aneurysms increased sharply, particularly for unruptured aneurysms. Screening programs have been able to detect asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysms, and surgical intervention can substantially reduce mortality. However, the costs and benefits of screnning programs should be assessed. If current mortality rates persist, as the baby boom ages there will be an absolute increase in the number of deaths from abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Description:

In the early 1990s, Canadians were less likely to be hospitalized than they had been a decade before. And when they did enter hospital, their stays tended to be shorter. As well, hospitalization for surgical procedures was less frequent and required less time in hospital.

Nonetheless, a few patterns persisted throughout the decade. Females were more likely than males to be admitted to hospital - largely a reflection of obstetrical procedures - but females' average length of stay was slightly less than that of male patients. However, with advancing age, the likelihood of hospitalization and the duration of stays increased for both sexes.

Description:

Between 1992 and 1993, the life expectancy at birth of Canadians fell slightly, from 78.06 to 77.95 years. This decline reflected an unusually sharp upturn in the number of deaths in 1993, which was attributable, to some extent, to an influenza outbreak in early spring that year, and to substantial increases in tobaccorelated deaths among women. The overall decline in life expectancy occurred in every province except Nova Scotia, and affected both sexes, although it was more pronounced among females.

Description:

Lack of sleep is not the only cause of daytime sleepiness; many other things can induce it, including excessive warmth, boredom, or performing a demanding but uninteresting task. This study measures tiredness based on respondent assessment of drowsiness during working hours.

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More than one-quarter of all time-loss claims due to work accidents are for back injuries. This article traces the pattern of growth in back-injury claims accepted by Workers' Compensation Boards during the last decade.

Description:

Introductory video for the survey provided to respondents at the household and posted on the Canadian Health Measures Survey Respondent relations (Statcan) website.

Description:

The Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) is a national survey of Canadians aged 15 and over whose everyday activities are limited because of a long-term condition or health-related problem.

The 2012 CSD Concepts and Methods Guide is designed to assist data users by providing relevant information on survey content and concepts, sampling design, collection methods, data processing, data quality and product availability. Chapter 1 of this guide provides an overview of the 2012 CSD by introducing the survey's background and objectives. Chapter 2 explains the key concepts and definitions and introduces the indicators measured by the CSD questionnaire modules. Chapters 3 to 6 cover important aspects of survey methodology, from sampling design to data collection and processing. Chapters 7 and 8 cover issues of data quality, including the approaches used to minimize and correct errors throughout all stages of the survey. Users are cautioned against making comparisons with data from previous Participation and Activity Limitations Surveys. Chapter 9 outlines the survey products that are available to the public, including data tables, a fact sheet and reference material. Appendices provide more detail on survey indicators as well as a glossary of terms.

Description:

Mental illnesses largely involve alterations in mood, thinking, and behaviour, as well as other domains of mental functioning, and affect almost all Canadians in some way, either directly or indirectly. They routinely cause significant impairments in emotional functioning, which may lead to social or physical limitations. In some cases, such as in agoraphobia, individuals cannot even leave their homes due to intense anxiety; depression can cause an individual to lose all interest in life. This document describes the mental illnesses that have the greatest impact on Canadians in terms of prevalence or severity of disability, and how they affect the health status of Canadians.

Description:

This report presents the results of the 3rd Consensus Conference on Health Indicators that was convened in March 2009, including information that was presented at the conference, a summary of the consultation process leading up to the event, and the priority health areas deemed most important for future indicator development work.

The conference marked the 10th anniversary of the Health Indicators project, a collaboration between Statistics Canada and Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). The goal of the project is to provide health regions, health care providers and the public in general with reliable and comparable data on the health of Canadians and to assist stakeholders and decision makers in the use and interpretation of the indicator data.

Description:

Since 2007/2008, Statistics Canada has centred analysis of data holdings related to health as well as our program of dissemination of health research within the new Health Information and Research Division (HIRD).

The new division has launched a comprehensive approach to analytical planning including environmental scanning and consultation; establishment of strategic multi-year priorities for health research at Statistics Canada; a process of project selection and review that ensures that analytical effort addresses our priorities; metrics to measure our adherence to priorities and the impact of our analytical effort; and communication and dissemination of analytical plans.

This multi-year analytical plan identifies the key high-level priority areas for Statistics Canada's investment in health research for 2008/2009 to 2010/2011, and serves as a blueprint for subsequent operational research planning.

Description:

This special methodological paper will help readers understand and assess reports that rank the health status or health system performance of a country, province or jurisdiction. The report outlines the components and processes that underlie health rankings, explores why such rankings can be difficult to interpret and includes a plain-language checklist to use as a critical evaluative resource when reading health-ranking reports.

Description:

This report highlights the latest developments and rationale behind recent cycles of the General Social Survey (GSS). Starting with an overview of the GSS mandate and historic cycle topics, we then focus on two recent cycles related to families in Canada: Family Transitions (2006) and Family, Social Support and Retirement (2007). Finally, we give a summary of what is to come in the 2008 GSS on Social Networks, and describe a special project to mark 'Twenty Years of GSS'.

The survey collects data over a twelve month period from the population living in private households in the 10 provinces. For all cycles except Cycles 16 and 21, the population aged 15 and older has been sampled. Cycles 16 and 21 sampled persons aged 45 and older.

Cycle 20 (GSS 2006) is the fourth cycle of the GSS to collect data on families (the first three cycles on the family were in 1990, 1995 and 2001). Cycle 20 covers much the same content as previous cycles on families with some sections revised and expanded. The data enable analysts to measure conjugal and fertility history (chronology of marriages, common-law unions, and children), family origins, children's home leaving, fertility intentions, child custody as well as work history and other socioeconomic characteristics. Questions on financial support agreements or arrangements (for children and the ex-spouse or ex-partner) for separated and divorced families have been modified. Also, sections on social networks, well-being and housing characteristics have been added.

Description:

The Record Linkage Overview describes the process used in annual internal record linkage of the Canadian Cancer Registry. The steps include: preparation; pre-processing; record linkage; post-processing; analysis and resolution; resolution entry; and, resolution processing.

Description:

The compendium of Canadian Cancer Registry procedures manuals set out the rules for reporting cancer data to the CCR for all provincial and territorial cancer registries.

Description:

The Record Linkage Overview describes the process used in annual internal record linkage of the Canadian Cancer Registry. The steps include: preparation; pre-processing; record linkage; post-processing; analysis and resolution; resolution entry; and, resolution processing.