Population Health Report

Fraser Health Medical Health Officers have released the health authority’s annual population health report. The report aims to help community leaders and health officials understand why some groups of people are not as healthy as others and how we can all work together to improve health.

The new Public Health Act (2008) reinforces the importance of these annual reports by making it a requirement that Medical Health Officers report annually on the health of the population.

This year’s report, titled “Partnerships to Health,” emphasizes the importance of healthy childhood development in setting up a lifetime of good health and reducing growing demands on the health care system. The report also underscores the importance of healthy communities, recognizing that healthy lifestyle choices, including eating well and being physically active, are easier to make if the communities we live in support these behaviours.

The report outlines actions that can be taken by individuals, organizations and governments and is meant to help guide future policy decisions.

The annual Population Health Report is supported by statistical profiles that track a broad range of population health indicators, such as life expectancy, education, tobacco use, fruit and vegetable consumption, school immunization coverage, infant mortality and chronic disease rates.

The complete report and supplementary profiles is available online.