Wednesday, April 09, 2014

VIHA Presentation Paints Health Picture


Higher % of people on income assistance

While there are some reasons to be optimistic about the local health area profile presented by Dr. Paul Hasselback, Medical Health Officer, Vancouver Island Health Authority, there are also several areas of concern.

As the above graph indicates, as a percentage, Nanaimo has nearly 80% more people relying on employment insurance or income assistance as the rest of the Island. The other disturbing thing this reveals is the fact the trend is increasing each year from 2011 (blue line) to 2013 (red line).

Higher % of children below education standards

All of these comparisons are comparing Nanaimo with the rest of Vancouver Island and the province of BC.

In the area of education Nanaimo has a higher percentage of children below standard in writing. A higher percentage of kindergarten children were vulnerable for language and cognitive development and finally a higher percentage of Nanaimo children were below standard in reading.

Healthy development (child and youth)

There is a higher percentage of children living on income assistance with a single parent, 5.9% for Nanaimo compared with 3.0% for the Island.

A higher rate of children in need of protection in Nanaimo (11.6 per 1000) compared with 6.4 per 1000 for the province and 12.1 per 1000 for the Island.

There is a higher rate of children living on income assistance in Nanaimo (6.9%) compared with 4.1% for the Island.

A higher percentage of kindergarten children were rated as vulnerable for physical development (17.0%) compared with 13.5% for BC and 14.4% for the Island.

Crime

A higher rate of non-cannabis drug offences in Nanaimo (280.8 per 100,000 people) compared with (169.0 per 100,000) for the Island.

A higher motor vehicle theft rate in Nanaimo (4.2 per 1,000 people) compared with the Island (2.7 per 1,000).

A higher serious juvenile crime rate in Nanaimo (5.2 per 1000 youth) compared with (3.8 per 1,000) in BC and (4.9 per 1000) for the Island.

Chronic Disease Prevalence

24.9% of Nanaimo residents experienced hypertension (26.3% Island, 24.2% BC). 23.1% of Nanaimo residents experienced depression/anxiety (26.6% Island, 24.1% BC).

Life expectancy for Nanaimo was 80.89 years compared with 81.53 years for the Island and 82.00 years for the province.

Island Health warns that the profiles presented are not intended to be used for detailed planning or analysis. As they are updated on an annual basis, there may be more current data available.

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