November 2009 - In Addition…

New Burden of Injury Report released by SMARTRISK

Injury costs Canadians $19.8 billion annually – more than $600 for each man, woman and child in the country, according to a new report released by SMARTRISK, The Economic Burden of Injury in Canada. In fact, injury – from falls, traffic, drowning, suicide, violence and other means – remains the leading cause of death for Canadians aged one to 44, taking the lives of 13,667 people in 2004.

The report shows how all Canadians pay a price for preventable injury, whether or not they have been injured themselves or have suffered a loved one having been hurt, permanently disabled or killed.

“With this comprehensive report, we want to help policy makers and injury prevention practitioners understand in detail where and who injury strikes so they can develop and use effective prevention strategies to bring injury numbers down,” says Bob Baker, SMARTRISK President and CEO. “This report builds on our groundbreaking 1998 study on the burden of unintentional injury in Canada, using improved research methods, updated data and breakdowns by province.”

For example, in Ontario:

  • 4,643 injury deaths, 71,727 hospitalized, another 1,196,505 treated for injury outside of hospital
  • 22,029 suffered permanent, partial disabilities and 1,741 permanent, total disabilities.
  • Total cost to Ontarians amounted to $6.8 billion. Direct costs accounted for 54% of total injury costs while indirect were 46% of total costs.
  • Falls were the costliest cause of injury, at $2.1 billion, 1,065 deaths and 36,450 hospitalizations and 342,889 non-hospitalizations.
  • Transport incidents had the second highest burden at $1.1 billion, 934 deaths and 8,894 hospitalizations.
  • Suicide and self-harm was next at $842 million, 1,021 deaths and 7,052 hospitalizations.

But the economic cost of injury, including health care costs and lost productivity, is not the entire story. The report shows the human toll as well – 13,667 Canadians lost their lives to injury in 2004, another 5,023 individuals were permanently and totally disabled and 62,563 were left with a permanent, partial disability. More than 210,000 Canadians spent at least one night in hospital and another 3.1 million were treated in emergency for injuries. Suicide accounted for the most deaths, followed by transport incidents, then falls, while by far the greatest number of permanent disabilities resulted from falls.

The report’s provincial figures reveal that Newfoundland has the lowest burden of injury at $518 per capita, followed by Ontario at $551. Alberta topped the provinces at $918 per capita, followed by Saskatchewan at $791.

SMARTRISK’s injury prevention partners across Canada will be able to use the report’s data to better target their interventions to reduce injury rates.

The bottom line is that injury is preventable through a combination of educational programs, environmental modifications and enforcement mechanisms.

 

Planning By Design: a healthy communities handbook

This month the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Ontario Professional Planners Institute released Planning by Design: a healthy communities handbook. Release of the handbook comes in conjunction with World Town Planning Day, an annual event celebrated on November 8th in more than 30 countries around the world. Planners from across the province will be highlighting the importance of community planning in Ontario and the release of this handbook is a key part of these activities.

The purpose of the handbook is to share and generate ideas on how places can be planned and designed more sustainably for healthy, active living and to retain and attract residents, investors and visitors. Rural and urban planning and design strategies, including land-use patterns, transportation networks, public spaces and natural systems, are all factors that can promote increased physical activity, psychological well being and healthier outcomes for all community members. Heart disease, asthma, diabetes, obesity, stroke, cancer, stress and depression are some of the serious health issues that are reducing community vitality and resiliency through productivity loss and increasing demands on public and private sector resources. For example, the cost of physical inactivity is evident by how cardiovascular disease claims the lives of 79,000 Canadians each year and costs the health-care system over $7.3 billion in direct costs and $12.4 billion in indirect costs.

“The Ontario government is committed to developing planning tools and policies that support healthy and sustainable communities. We are working with OPPI to strengthen the links between community planning and public health,” said Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister, Jim Watson.

“The creation of healthy sustainable communities is a top priority for Ontario's Planning Profession. Planning by Design is a hands-on tool with practical examples for inspiring communities throughout Ontario to implement initiatives,” said OPPI President, Susan Cumming, MCIP, RPP.

One of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing's goals is to develop strong and sustainable urban and rural communities. The ministry works to develop a better planning system that promotes dynamic local economies, protects greenspace and important natural resources, and builds better communities where people want to live, work and invest.

Established in 1986, the Ontario Professional Planners Institute is the recognized voice of the Province’s planning profession and provides vision and leadership on key planning issues. The Institute’s more than 3,000 members are employed by governments, private industry, agencies, and academic institutions. Planners work in a wide variety of fields, including urban and rural community development, urban design, environment, transportation, health and social services, housing, and economic development.

To read the handbook or for further information on World Town Planning Day, please visit www.ontarioplanners.on.ca

Copies of the handbook can also be obtained through the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing at www.ontario.ca/mah

 

What Does It Take To Make A Healthy Province?

Ontarians are not the healthiest Canadians according research out of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) but that can change if the province follows lessons from leading provinces and other leading countries. The Investigative Report “What Does it Take to Make a Healthy Province? A benchmark study of jurisdictions in Canada and around the world with the highest levels of health and the best health behaviours” was published in November.

“Quebec was identified as a leader, not because their health is better than Ontario but because their health is rapidly improving,” says Dr. Doug Manuel, principal investigator and ICES researcher. “Quebec's life expectancy will surpass Ontario's within the next 10 to 15 years, for the first time since life expectancy has been recorded in Canada.”

Compared to the leading provinces—British Columbia remains in the top spot—Ontario’s health behaviour is worse, health targets are lower and fewer resources are allocated to improving health behaviours related to smoking, physical activity, diet and obesity.

In order for Ontario to match British Columbia’s health targets by the 2015, the following must happen:

  • Less than 15 per cent of Ontarians use tobacco;
  • More than 73 per cent of Ontarians are physically active - that is, they take part in more than 30 minutes of moderate physical activity each day;
  • Fewer than 32 per cent of Ontarians are either overweight or obese, according to Body Mass Index (BMI) calculations;
  • Government must invest at least an additional $165 million per year into programs aimed at improving health behaviours related to smoking, physical activity, diet and obesity.

“We identified what makes a leading province. Leadership was critical. The Premier should proclaim that a major government goal is for Ontario to become the healthiest province in Canada,” says Manuel. The report outlines 6 other key recommendations for action and indicators of progress:

  1. Ontario must identify its own specific health imperative
  2. Ontario’s health behaviour goals should be at least a ambitious as those stated by other leading provinces
  3. The Ontario government should understand how Ontarians feel about health behaviours and incorporate that understanding into the provinces’ health strategy
  4. Compared to other leading jurisdictions, the Ontario government should allocate more resources towards improving health behaviours related to smoking, physical activity, diet and obesity
  5. Ontario should be the first province to introduce new innovative and effective strategies to improve health behaviours among its residents
  6. Ontario should narrow existing health and health behaviour disparities

More detailed study findings can be found on the ICES website.

 

Recreation and Parks: Essential for Quality of Life

Parks and Recreation Ontario is pleased to release an exciting report on the Use and Benefits of Local Government Recreation and Parks Services [PDF]. This report summarizes the results of a survey of Ontario residents that explores people's attitudes toward parks and recreation services in their community. This study provides valuable information for everyone working or volunteering in parks and recreation.

The study, conducted with support from the Province of Ontario, replicates one from a decade ago. Qualitative telephone surveys were conducted by Opinion Research during the month of February 2008 to gather the perspectives of a cross section of 1,058 Ontario residents from across the province: rural to urban, north to south, young students to older retirees, richer and poorer. The study asked Ontarians to think about their relationship to recreation and parks services, including use, benefits, impact and access.

The study yielded fourteen key findings and identified three populations that do not benefit equally from recreation and parks services: Ontarians living in rural areas, living below the poverty line, and living with a disability. Additionally, the report provides recommendations for repositioning the benefits of recreation and parks:

  1. Recreation is important in the “work-life balance”;
  2. Ontarians seek recreation opportunities in their communities;
  3. Recreation needs to be accessible to everyone;
  4. All Ontarians benefit from parks and recreation;
  5. Most people are willing to pay for public recreation and parks;
  6. Ontario understand the wider benefits of parks and recreation;
  7. Public space is vital to community health;
  8. Participating in recreation is a key determinant of health status and quality of life;
  9. Local parks and recreation services have a vital impact on community and social development.

The summary report presents a powerful message about the contribution that recreation and parks make to the public good. It confirms that the general public understands both the direct and intangible benefits that these services provide, are strong supporters of public recreation and parks, and acknowledge that these services are essential to social and community development.