Some indicators for this report were selected from the list of core indicators recommended by the Association for Public Health Epidemiologists of Ontario (APHEO). APHEO has recognized the need for consistency among health reports.1 Its Core Indicators Working Group (CIWG) has aimed to systematically define and operationalize a core set of health indicators in Ontario. The CIWG works to ensure the Core Indicators are accurate, up-to-date and reflect the legislative requirements set in the Ontario Public Health Standards.1
Numerous APHEO indicators were assessed in this report. These include indicators related to the population; social environment and health; mortality, morbidity and health-related quality of life; chronic disease and injuries; behaviour and health; mental health; and use of health services.
Additional indicators were chosen for examination based on consultations with Health Analytics and Health Promotion management at Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health. Consideration was also paid to meeting the data requirements set out in the Ontario Public Health Standards, the Accountability Agreement Indicators of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health’s Key Performance Indicators for monitoring set out in the 2011-2016 strategic plan.
Data in this report are shown for Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (WDG) and for the province of Ontario to provide a comparison. Where possible, figures were calculated for Wellington and Dufferin Counties and the City of Guelph. In some cases, small numbers prevented the release of figures for these stratified geographies.
The accompanying interactive report enables the user to work with dynamic data. Users will be able to combine these regions in varying combinations to obtain information that is more specific to their data needs. A separate interactive report is also available for the LHIN sub-regions of WDG.
Age Groupings
Age groupings in this report allow for comparisons between older adults, the under 55 age group and the total population. The age of older adults is stratified by 10-year groups to allow comparisons within this age group. In some cases, small numbers prevented the release of figures for stratified age groupings.
Data from 2007-2014 were used from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) and grouped into two years to prevent the release of small figures. From IntelliHEALTH, data for population projections are used for the period 2017-2041 and for life expectancy are used for the period 2006-2012. Other data retrieved from IntelliHEALTH are used for the period from 2006-2015/16. Data from 2010-2036 are used for the dementia projections. EMS data were provided for the years 2013-2016 for the data on the number of annual calls.
References
- Association for Public Health Epidemiologists in Ontario (APHEO) [Internet]. Toronto: APHEO; c2011. Core indicators for public health in Ontario. 2014 [cited 2017 June 20]. Available from: http://core.apheo.ca/index.php?pid=55