The Community Health Status Resource provides information on the health of the residents of Middlesex-London based on the local data available to public health. The goal of the Resource is to contribute to the community’s health and well-being by providing the information necessary to effectively respond to current and evolving population health issues including population health status, social determinants of health and health inequities. Providing population health information to the public, community partners and other health care providers is a mandated requirement for public health.1
Middlesex-London, as referred to in this Resource, is the geographic region served by the Middlesex-London board of health. It includes the residents of the City of London and the County of Middlesex, and to the extent that the data sources permit, includes information for urban Indigenous populations and the residents of the three First Nation’s communities in close proximity to this health unit: Chippewa of the Thames First Nation (Anishinaabe); Oneida Nation of the Thames (Haudenosaunee); and, Munsee-Delaware Nation (Leni-Lunaape). The role of the board of health is to support and protect the physical and mental health and well-being, resiliency and social connectedness of the health unit population, with a focus on promoting the protective factors and addressing the risk factors associated with health outcomes.1
The Community Health Status Resource provides information about the following population health topics:
• Geography & Demographics
• Social Determinants
• General Health
• Injuries
• Substance Use
• Behavioural Risk Factors
• Chronic Disease
• Oral Health
• Infectious Disease
• Immunization
• Healthy Pregnancy
• Birth & Early Development
• Child and Youth
• Healthy Environments
• Urban Indigenous Health2
Each topic is explored using standard population health indicators as defined by the Association of Public Health Epidemiologists of Ontario3, Public Health Ontario4 or Statistics Canada5 where available. Key findings, tables, graphs and interpretation are provided for each indicator. Numbers of events (e.g., deaths, births) and rates of events (i.e., how often the event occurred given the number of people in a specified population) are provided to give the reader a sense of how prevalent a certain event is in a community in absolute and relative terms. More detailed data tables and technical documentation are available within the “Data Tables” button.
Comparisons are provided, when possible, with corresponding rates for the province as a whole and with the Middlesex-London Health Unit’s Peer Group. The Peer Group represents the average of the Ontario public health units with socio-economic characteristics similar to those of Middlesex-London and includes health regions that were characterized in 2015, by having population centres with high population density and a rural mix.6 Comparisons were made by sex, age group and urban/ rural population centres when appropriate and when the population size was large enough to allow. Further analysis of health indicators by income, education and employment group where explored where available within the dataset itself to assess health equity. This subgroup analysis helps to identify priority populations which may experiencing, or are at increased risk of poor health outcomes and may benefit from special attention and tailored public health interventions. Comparisons over time were also examined. Time trends can help to indicate whether our community is improving or getting worse on an outcome of concern.
Any differences found were assessed to see if they were statistically significant, that is, to see if the differences were considered ‘real’ or due to chance alone. This was done by comparing 95% confidence intervals, calculated for each rate. If the intervals did not overlap, the difference was considered to be statistically significant. Confidence intervals are shown in charts as error bars. Tables and figures also indicate instances where numbers were too small to produce reliable rates.
Maps for demographic and social determinants of health indicators from the Census were provide by dissemination area (DA). DA’s are the smallest standard geographic area for which all census data are disseminated and typically include 400 to 700 people. These maps were provided to help to focused public health effort in areas where it may be warranted by connecting how variations in the social determinants of health are linked to place within Middlesex-London.
Suggested Community Health Status Resource Citation
Suggested citation for homepage
Author. Homepage Title [Internet]. Place of publication (Province): Publisher; Date of publication Year Month Day [modified Year Month Day; cited Year Month Day]. Available from: URL
Example:
Middlesex London Health Unit. Middlesex-London Community Health Status Resource [Internet]. London (ON): Middlesex London Health Unit; 2012 Oct 9 [modified 2019 May 7; cited 2019 Nov 20]. Available from: http://communityhealthstats.healthunit.com
Suggested citation for specific webpage
Homepage [Internet]. Place of publication (Province): Publisher; Date of publication of the homepage. Title of specific webpage; Date of webpage publication Year Month Day [modified Year Month Day]; [approximate number of screens or paragraphs]. Available from: URL
Example:
Middlesex-London Community Health Status Resource [Internet]. London ON: Middlesex London Health Unit; 2012. Injuries: all cause of unintentional injuries; 2012 Oct 9 [modified 2019 Mar 15; cited 2019 Nov 8]; [about 2 screens]. Available from: http://communityhealthstats.healthunit.com/indicator/injuries/all-causes-unintentional-injuries
References:
1. Ontario. Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Ontario public health standards: requirements for programs, services, and accountability, 2018. Toronto, ON: Queen's Printer for Ontario; 2018. Available from: www.health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/publichealth/oph_standards/docs/pro...
2. Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre. Our health counts London [Internet]. London, ON: SOAHAC; 2018 [cited 2018 Nov 22] Available from: soahac.on.ca/our-health-counts
3. Association of Public Health Epidemiologists in Ontario. Core Indicators for public health in Ontario [Internet]. Toronto, ON: APHEO; 2018 [cited 2018 Nov 22]. Available from: www.apheo.ca/temporary-core-indicators-table
4. Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (Public Health Ontario). Snapshots 2018 [Internet]. Toronto, ON: Queen’s Printer for Ontario; c2018 [cited 2018 Nov 22]. Available from: www.publichealthontario.ca/en/DataAndAnalytics/Snapshots/Pages/default.aspx
5. Statistics Canada. Middlesex-London Health Unit, [Health region, December 2017], Ontario and Ontario [Province] (table). Census Profile. 2016 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2016001 [Internet] Ottawa, ON; 2017 [cited 2018 Nov 22] Available from: www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof
6. Statistics Canada. Health Region (2014) Peer Groups – Working Paper [Internet]. Ottawa, ON: 2014 [cited 2018 Nov 9]. Available from: www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-402-x/2015002/wp-dt/wp-dt-eng.htm
Last modified on: May 7, 2019