MLHU - Health Status Resource

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Glossary:

Knowledge of Official Languages

Some knowledge of English, French, or both

Labour Force

People over the age of 15 years who are currently employed and those who are unemployed but were available to start work in the week prior to the Census and looked for work in the past 4 weeks. It excludes anyone who may have been without a job and was not actively looking for work.

Land Transport Collision

Land transport collisions include injuries sustained during a motor vehicle collision, whether as a driver or passenger in the vehicle, a pedestrian, a cyclist, or a motorcyclist. They also include injuries sustained on all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles and other types of vehicles travelling on land.

Language & Cognitive Development domain

Assesses children’s basic and advanced literacy skills, their basic numeracy skills, their interest in reading and math, and their ability to remember things.1

1. Offord Centre for Child Studies. EDI in Ontario over Time [Internet]. Hamilton, ON: McMaster University, 2018 [cited 2019 Mar 26]. Available from: https://edi.offordcentre.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/EDI-in-Ontari...

Large-for-Gestational Age (LGA)

The number of live births with a birth weight above the ninetieth percentile of birth weights for their gestational age and sex, per 100 live births

Leisure Time Activity Level

This variable is a measure of the average daily energy expended during leisure time activities by the respondent in the past three months.

Energy Expenditure (EE) is calculated using the frequency and duration per session of the physical activity as well as the MET value of the activity. The MET is a value of metabolic energy cost expressed as a multiple of the resting metabolic rate.

(CCHS Derived Variable document 2009/10)

Life Expectancy

The average length of time that an individual will live if subjected to the mortality experience for the specified population and time period.

Life expectancy at age 65

is the average number of years that a person at that age can be expected to live, assuming that age-specific mortality levels remain constant.

Lifetime Abstainer

Has never smoked a whole cigarette in lifetime.

Limitations of Survey Data

Self-reported survey data is valuable because it assesses behaviours in the population, data not usually collected elsewhere, but it is not the most reliable source of health data.  People are not always aware of or truthful about their health behaviours, their height and their weight when asked in a survey.

London Economic Region

A geographic area used to describe a regional economic activity zone of influence which includes not only London but also the surrounding areas such as Middlesex, St. Thomas, Woodstock, Tillsonburg and much of Elgin County.

Low Birth Weight Rate

The number of live births with a birth weight of less than 2,500 grams, per 100 live births.

Low Income Cut-Off

Low income cut‐offs (LICOs) are income thresholds, determined by analyzing trends in family spending. Values below the low income cut-off indicate that individuals or families may be devoting a larger share of income than the average family on the necessities of food, shelter and clothing. The LICO is reported based on after-tax income.

Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines

Exceeding the low-risk alcohol drinking guidelines means drinking in excess of the recommendations in either guideline 1 or guideline 2.

Guideline 1: To reduce long term harm. Recommends no more than 10 standard drinks a week for women (no more than 2 a day) and no more than 15 standard drinks a week for men (no more than 3 a day). Include non-drinking days.

Guideline 2: To reduce risk of injury. Recommends drinking no more than 3 standard drinks a day for women or 4 for men on any single occasion.

Market Basket Measure

is a measure of low-income and has been identified as Canada’s official poverty line. It defines the cost of purchasing a specified basket of goods and services to enjoy a modest, basic standard of living.1

1. Statistics Canada, Dictionary, Census of population 2016 – Market Basket Measure (MBM) [updated 2017 Sep 13; cited 2019 Feb 20]. Available from: https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/ref/dict/pop165-eng.cfm

Material deprivation

is an area (neighbourhood) based summary measure that simultaneously assesses the neighbourhood’s education, employment, income, housing conditions and family structure.1

1. Matheson, FI; Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (Public Health Ontario). 2016 Ontario marginalization index: user guide. Toronto, ON: Providence St. Joseph’s and St. Michael’s Healthcare; 2018. Joint publication with Public Health Ontario. https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/eRepository/userguide-on-marg.pdf

Median

The median is a measure of central tendency used to describe data. The median of a set of values is calculated by first ordering the values from smallest to largest; the median is the middle number of the ordered values. One-half of the values in the set are above the median, and one-half of the values are below the median.

Middlesex-London

Middlesex-London, as referred to in this resource, includes the City of London and the County of Middlesex and is the region served by the Middlesex-London Health Unit.  

Mosquito pool

A mosquito pool is a group of female mosquitos of the same species. A mosquito pool can range in number from one to 50 mosquitos. Mosquito pools are identified in traps that are set by Ontario public health units within their jurisdictions.

Mother Tongue

First language learned in childhood and still understood at the time of the Census.

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