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Glossary: S
Sedentary behaviour
Time spent in the last seven days doing sedentary activities such as using a computer (including playing computer games), using the Internet, playing video games and watching television or videos. For all activities, the time spent at school or work is excluded. Time spent reading is not included.
Self-harm injuries
The group of injuries included in this category for emergency room visits are those where the individual purposely inflicted poisoning or injury on themselves. It also includes attempted suicide.
Self-perceived health
Population aged 12 and over who rated their own health as either excellent or very good when asked, “In general, how would you say your health is: excellent, very good, good, fair or poor?”
Self-perceived mental health
Population aged 12 and over who reported perceiving their own mental health status as being excellent or very good when asked, “In general, would you say your mental health is: excellent, very good, good, fair or poor?"
Self-perceived Oral Health
The concept of quality of life is closely related to self-perception. Self-perception of health is useful because it allows for the interpretation of the impact of everyday experiences and day-to-day life.1
1. Barbosa do Vale, E., da Cruz Gouveia Mendes, A., & da Silveira Moreira, R. Self-perceived oral health among adults in Northeastern Brazil. Rev. Saude Publica 2013 47(suppl 3): 1-11.
Self-reported cancer
The percent of individuals age 12 and older who reported having cancer.
Self-Reported Chronic Health Conditions Survey Question
The question in the Canadian Community Health Survey is “Now I’d like to ask about certain chronic health conditions which you may have. We are interested in ‘long-term conditions’ which are expected to last or have already lasted 6 months or more and that have been diagnosed by a health professional”.
Seniors Dependency Ratio
Number of people aged 65 years and older divided by the number of people aged 20 to 64 multiplied by 100. (Also known as Elderly Dependency Ratio.)
Sex of person
Refers to the sex assigned at birth based on a person’s reproductive system and other physical characteristics.1 A person’s sex may differ from a person’s gender; a person’s gender may change over time and reflects the gender that a person internally feels and/or the gender a person publicly expresses.2
1. Statistics Canada. Sex of Person [Internet]. 2018 [cited 2018 Nov 9]. Available from: http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p3Var.pl?Function=DEC&Id=24101
2. Statistics Canada. Gender of Person [Internet]. 2018 [cited 2018 Nov 9]. Available from: http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p3Var.pl?Function=DECI&Id=463349
Sex ratio at birth
The ratio of males born alive per 100 females born alive.
Sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections
Sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBIs) are those that can be spread from an infected person to others through sexual contact, or through blood, such as when injection equipment is used by more than one person.
Sleep Guidelines
Adults aged 18 to 64 need 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night and adults aged 65 and older need 7 to 8 hours a night.1
Sleep Guidelines in Youth
12 and 13 years olds need between 9 and 11 hours per night and 14-17 year olds should have between 8 and 10 hours per night, with consistent bed and wake-up times.1
1. Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology. Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines: An Integration of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, and Sleep [Internet]. Ottawa (ON): Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology; c2019 [cited 2019 Apr 17]. Available from: https://csepguidelines.ca/
Small Counts
The stability of a rate is dependent on the number of events that contribute to that rate. Therefore, rates in small populations are often unstable due to the relatively small number of events that occur each year. When comparing trends over time between Middlesex-London, the province and the Peer Group, we often see a larger fluctuation in rates locally than for Ontario, in which the trends are fairly smooth from year to year – this concept needs to be considered when interpreting the time trends in this resource. Furthermore, the following strategies were implemented in order to present the most stable, reliable rates at the local level:
- Rates based on counts less than 5 have been suppressed;
- Directly age-standardized rates have only been derived where there were 20 or more events across all age groups;
- For most unadjusted rates and rates of rare outcomes, multiple years of data have been collapsed to present an average annual rate.
Small counts
The stability of a rate is dependent on the number of events that contribute to that rate. Therefore, rates in small populations are often unstable due to the relatively small number of events that occur each year. When comparing trends over time between Middlesex-London, the province and the Peer Group, we often see a larger fluctuation in rates locally than for Ontario, in which the trends are fairly smooth from year to year – this concept needs to be considered when interpreting the time trends and the confidence intervals in this resource.
Small-for-Gestational Age Rate
The number of live births with a birth weight below the tenth percentile of birth weights for their gestational age and sex, per 100 live births.
Smog
Smog is made up of predominantly ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter. Ozone has an impact on smog levels primarily in summer whereas fine particulate matter elevates smog levels all year. http://airqualityontario.com/press/faq.php
Smog and Air Health Advisory (SAHA)
A Smog and Air Health Advisory (SAHA) is issued when a high or very high risk AQHI rating is expected for three or more hours on a given day.
Smoke Free Ontario Act
The Smoke-Free Ontario Act is legislation enacted in 2006 that bans smoking from enclosed workplaces and public places in Ontario. In 2009, smokers were banned from smoking in cars with children under the age of 16 (Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion, 2010).
Social Competence domain
Assesses children’s readiness to explore new things, their approaches to learning, the amount of responsibility and respect they show, and their overall social competence.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...