Measure: Life expectancy is the number of years a person
would be expected to live on the basis of the mortality statistics for a given
observation period.
Note: Although life expectancy is a measure of longevity and
not quality of life, it is widely used as an indicator of the health status of
the population.
Data sources: OECD, Health Data 2005:
Statistics and Indicators for 30 Countries (for international comparison);
Statistics Canada, Canadian Vital Statistics, Birth and Death Databases (for
Canada)
Measure: Self-rated health is measured by population members
(aged 12 and over) who rate their own health status as being excellent, very
good, good, fair, or poor.
Note: Self-rated health is a widely accepted indicator of
potential health problems or the existence of more objectively measured health
problems.
Data sources: OECD, Health Data 2005: Statistics and
Indicators for 30 Countries (for international comparison); Statistics
Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, 2003; Ibid, National
Population Health Survey, 2003 (for Canada)
Measure: Infant mortality is the number of deaths of
children under one year of age expressed per 1,000 live births.
Note: The infant mortality rate is one of the most widely
used measures of societal health. It is influenced by a number of factors in the
population, including income, maternal education, and health services.
Data sources: OECD, Health Data 2005: Statistics and
Indicators for 30 Countries (for international comparison); Statistics
Canada, Canadian Vital Statistics, Birth and Death Databases
Measures: Healthy lifestyles are measured by physical
activity and body weight.
1. Physical activity is the leisure time physical activity rate of
Canadians aged 12 and older.
2. Body weight is the proportion of obese Canadians aged 18 and
over. It is measured using the body mass index (BMI).
Note: Healthy lifestyles are ways of living, including
control over personal health practices and choices, that individuals make and
that influence their state of health. Healthy lifestyles have been shown to be
clearly associated with reducing the risk of health problems.
Data limitations: BMI is used as an indicator of the subject
being overweight or obese and does not take into account body composition. It
therefore can confound muscle mass and bone density increases associated with
increased physical activity and decreases in percentage body fat.
Data sources: OECD, Health Data 2005: Statistics and
Indicators for 30 Countries (for international comparison); Statistics
Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, 2003 (for Canada)
Measure: Waiting time is the self-reported median waiting
time for specialized services by type of service and population aged 15 and
over.
Data source: Statistics Canada, Access to health care
services in Canada, 2004
Measure: Patient satisfaction is the population aged 15 and
over receiving health services in the past 12 months who rate their level of
satisfaction with those services as either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied.
Note: Perceived rating of the quality of services received
(rated as excellent or good) is another component of this indicator.
Data source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Community
Health Survey, 2003
Additional health indicators sources: Canadian Institute for
Health Information, Health Care in Canada, 2004; Health Canada, Healthy
Canadians-A Federal Report on Comparable Health Indicators, 2002
Measures: Attitudes toward diversity means
- personal respect toward ethnic groups; and
- support for affirmative action and employment equity, in response to the
question: "Should governments require employers to advance non-whites
to higher positions?"
Note: There is possible confusion between the terms affirmative
action and employment equity as Canada only deals with employment
equity. Affirmative action is usually limited to U.S. policies.
Data limitations: Both measures are based on a private
sector survey with no regular periodicity. It is more difficult to track over
time.
Data source: Environics, 2004 Focus
Canada-Multiculturalism and Ethnic Tolerance, 2004
Measure: Volunteerism is the number of volunteers and the
number of hours volunteered.
Data limitations: Data are based on the 1997 and 2000
iterations of the National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating
(NSGVP). Due to technical problems, the Canada Survey of Giving,
Volunteering and Participating, which is the successor to the NSGVP, was
undertaken in 2004 and not 2003 as originally forecast.
Data sources: Statistics Canada, National Survey on
Giving, Volunteering and Participating, 2000; Ibid, Cornerstone of
Community: Highlights of the National Survey of Non-profit and Voluntary
Organizations, 2004
Measure: Political participation is measured by voter
turnout in elections.
Data sources: BBC (for the 2005 UK election); Committee for
the study of the American Electorate (for the 2004 U.S. election); Elections
Canada, 2004; Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, 2004 (for Italy,
France, and Germany); Kyodo (for the 2003 Japan election)
Measure: Participation in cultural and heritage activity is
measured by participation in selected cultural and heritage activities. These
activities may range from attending a folk festival, a rock concert, Canada Day
celebrations, or the changing of the guard on Parliament Hill to going to the
theatre, movies, a park, or a zoo. Reading a book or a magazine, playing sports,
or visiting a museum are also ways of participating in cultural and heritage
activities.
Note: This type of participation helps to foster a
nation-wide sense of shared history and multicultural heritage, thus maintaining
the unique Canadian identity of "unity in diversity."
Data limitations: It is difficult to make comparisons across
multiple activities as updates are infrequently on a wide range of activities at
the same time. Additionally, on an international level, it is very difficult to
compare leisure time activities. Surveys use varying methodologies and must
respect numerous national and cultural differences.
Data source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey,
2004
Measures:
1. The crime rate represents all Criminal Code incidents reported to police
per 100,000 population, excluding traffic violations and violations of other
federal statutes, such as drug offences
2. Violent crime includes homicide, attempted murder, assault, sexual
assault, other assaults, other sexual offences, abduction, and robbery
3. Property crimes are crimes committed with the intent to acquire property
without violence or the threat of violence, the most frequent of which are
thefts, break-ins, theft of motor vehicles, and fraud
4. Level of fear of crime in the neighbourhood
5. Victimization rates
Data sources: Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting
Survey, 2004; Ibid, Juristat, "Crime comparisons between
Canada and the United States," 2001; Ibid, General Social Survey on
Victimization, 2004; United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice
Research Institute, International Crime Victimization Survey, 2000
Measures: Housing is the adequacy or non-adequacy of
conditions according to three standards set by the National Occupancy Standard:
1. residents reporting that no major repairs are required;
2. suitability in size, with enough bedrooms for the size and makeup of the
household; and
3. affordability, defined as costing less than 30.0 per cent of total
before-tax household income.
Note: When incapable of meeting one or more of the following
standards, a household is considered "in core housing need." When the
three standards are respected, the household is regarded as
"acceptable."
Data source: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation,
census-based housing indicators and data, 2005
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