Health Indicators, vol. 2004, no. 1 > Definitions
and data sources >
Non-medical determinants of health
Health behaviours
Living and working conditions
Personal resources
Environmental factors
Health behaviours
Smoking status
Definition:
Population aged 12 and over who reported being either a current smoker (daily or occasional) or a non-smoker (former or never smoked).
Sources:
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, 2003, 2000/01, health file;
Statistics Canada, National Population Health Survey, 1994/95, 1996/97
and 1998/99, cross sectional sample, health file; Statistics Canada, National
Population Health Survey, 1994/95 and 1996/97, cross sectional sample,
North component
Smoking initiation
Definition:
Population aged 12 and over who reported being either a current or former
smoker and who reported the age when they smoked their first cigarette.
Source:
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, 2003, 2000/01, health file
Changes over time in smoking behaviour
Definition:
Changes over time in the smoking behaviour of the 1994/95 household populationaged
12 and over every two years, at each cycle of the National Population
Health Survey. Population, age, sex and province are based on the first
survey cycle in 1994/95.Smokers are those who smoke on either a daily
or an occasional basis.
Sources:
Statistics Canada, National Population Health Survey, 1996/97 and 1998/99
longitudinal full-response data files and 2000/01 longitudinal data
file
Frequency of heavy drinking
Definition:
Population aged 12 and over who are current drinkers and who reported drinking 5 or more drinks on at least one occasion in the past 12 months.
'Heavy drinking' is defined as current drinkers who reported drinking 5 or more drinks on one occasion, 12 or more times a year.
Sources:
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, 2003, 2000/01, health file;
Statistics Canada, National Population Health Survey, 1994/95, 1996/97
and 1998/99, cross sectional sample, health file; Statistics Canada, National
Population Health Survey, 1996/97, cross sectional sample, North component
Leisure-time physical activity
Definition:
Population aged 12 and over reporting level of physical activity, based
on their responses to questions about the frequency, duration and intensity
of their participation in leisure-time physical activity.
Respondents are classified as active, moderately active or inactive based on an index of average daily physical activity over the past 3 months. For each leisure time physical activity engaged in by the respondent, an average daily energy expenditure is calculated by multiplying the number of times the activity was performed by the average duration of the activity by the energy cost (kilocalories per kilogram of body weight per hour) of the activity. The index is calculated as the sum of the average daily energy expenditures of all activities. Respondents are classified as follows: 3.0 kcal/kg/day or more = physically active; 1.5 - 2.9 kcal/kg/day = moderately active; less than 1.5 kcal per day = inactive.
Sources:
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, 2003, 2000/01, health file;
Statistics Canada, National Population Health Survey, 1994/95, 1996/97
and 1998/99, cross sectional sample, health file; Statistics Canada, National
Population Health Survey, 1994/95 and 1996/97, cross sectional sample,
North component
Breastfeeding practices
Definition:
Recently-born children of mothers aged 15 to 49 who were breastfed, and
the duration of breastfeeding. Recently-born means born within three years
previous to being surveyed.
Sources:
Statistics Canada, National Population Health Survey, 1994/95 and 1996/97,
cross sectional sample, North component; Statistics Canada, National Longitudinal
Survey of Children and Youth, 1994/95, 1996/97 and 1998/99.
Dietary practices
Definition:
Population aged 12 and over, by the average number of times per day that
they consume fruits and vegetables.
Source:
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, 2003, 2000/01, health file
Living and working conditions
High school graduates
Definition:
Population aged 25 to 29 who have a high school graduation certificate.
A measure of educational attainment and socio-economic status.
Source:
Statistics Canada, 1996 and 2001 Census (20% sample)
Post-secondary graduates
Definition:
Population aged 25 to 54 who have obtained a post-secondary certificate,
diploma, or degree.
A measure of educational attainment and socio-economic status.
Source:
Statistics Canada, 1996 and 2001 Census (20% sample)
Unemployment rate
Definition:
Labour force aged 15 and over (and for youths, aged 15 to 24 years) who
did not have a job during the reference period.
The labour force consists of people who are currently employed and people
who are unemployed but were available to work in the reference period
and had looked for work in the past 4 weeks. The reference period refers
to a one-week period (from Sunday to Saturday) that usually includes the
15th day of the month.
A traditional measure of the economy. Unemployed people tend to experience
more health problems.
Source:
Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey (special tabulations)
Long-term unemployment rate
Definition:
Labour force aged 15 and over who did not have a job any time during the
current or previous year (for example, the years 1995 and 1996 for the
1996 Census).
The labour force consists of people currently employed and people who
are unemployed but were available to start work in the week prior to enumeration
and looked for work in the past 4 weeks.
Unemployed people tend to experience more health problems. Long-term
unemployment could extend ones' susceptibility to poor health.
Source:
Statistics Canada, 1996 and 2001 Census (20% sample)
Low income rate (income for the year prior to the
Census)
Definition:
Population in economic families and unattached individuals with incomes
below the Statistics Canada low-income cut-off (LICO). The cut-offs represent
levels of income where people spend disproportionate amounts of money
for food, shelter, and clothing. LICOs are based on family and community
size; cut-offs are updated to account for changes in the consumer price
index.
The term economic family refers to a group of two or more persons who
live in the same dwelling and are related to each other by blood, marriage,
common-law or adoption.
A widely used measure of socio-economic status. Higher income is associated
with better health.
Source:
Statistics Canada, 1996 and 2001 Census (20% sample)
Children in low-income families (income for the year
prior to the Census)
Definition:
Population of children aged 17 and under living in economic families with
incomes below Statistics Canada's low-income cut-offs (LICO). The cut-offs
represent levels of income where people spend disproportionate amounts
of money for food, shelter, and clothing. LICOs are based on family and
community size; cut-offs are updated to account for changes in the consumer
price index.
The term economic family refers to a group of two or more persons who
live in the same dwelling and are related to each other by blood, marriage,
common-law or adoption.
A widely used measure of children at risk.
Source:
Statistics Canada, 1996 and 2001 Census (20% sample)
Average personal income (income for the year prior
to the Census)
Definition:
Average personal income (pre-tax, post-transfer) for persons aged 15 and
over who reported income.
Higher income is associated with better health.
Source:
Statistics Canada, 1996 and 2001 Census (20% sample)
Housing affordability (income for the year prior to
the Census)
Definition:
Households (renters, owners, and total) spending 30% or more of total
household income on shelter expenses. Shelter expenses include payments
for electricity, oil, gas, coal, wood or other fuels, water and other
municipal services, monthly mortgage payments, property taxes, condominium
fees and rent.
As a general rule, households are considered to have affordability problems
if more than 30% of household income is spent on housing costs. At that
level of spending, it is likely that inadequate funds will be available
for other necessities such as food, clothing, and transportation. Housing
affordability problems affect renters more than owners. Band housing on
Indian reserves was not included in the calculation of housing affordability.
Source:
Statistics Canada, 1996 and 2001 Census (20% sample)
Decision latitude at work
Definition:
Degree of control that individuals have over their work circumstances (who agree or disagree with the statement "I have a lot to say about what happens in my job." and "My job allows me the freedom to decide how I do my job."). Refers to population aged 15 to 74 who worked at a job or business at any point in the past 12 months before the interview.
Source:
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, 2003, 2000/01, health file;
Statistics Canada, Statistics Canada, National Population Health Survey,
1994/95, cross sectional sample, health file
Median share of income (income for the year prior
to the Census)
Definition:
Proportion of income (from all sources, pre-tax, post-transfer) held by households
whose incomes fall below the median household income.
A proportion of 50% would represent no inequality.
Source:
Statistics Canada, 1996 and 2001 Census (20% sample), special tabulations
Government transfer income (income for the year prior
to the Census)
Definition:
Proportion of all income that came from government transfers (e.g., Canada
or Quebec Pension Plan, Unemployment Insurance, etc.) for the population
15 years of age and over.
Source:
Statistics Canada, 1996 and 2001 Census (20% sample)
Owner-occupied dwellings and average dwelling value
Definition:
Owner-occupied dwellings is the percentage of private dwellings in which
the owner lives (excluding band housing and collective dwellings). Average
dwelling value is the average expected value of owner-occupied dwellings
(including the value of the land) if the dwellings were to be sold at
the time of the Census (excluding dwellings located on farms and reserves).
Source:
Statistics Canada, 1996 and 2001 Census (20% sample)
Crime rate (incidents)
Definition:
The number of Criminal Code offences expressed as a rate per 100,000 population,
for violent crimes, property and other crimes, and total. Violent crimes
are "person offences", which include homicide, attempted murder,
sexual and non-sexual assault, abduction, and robbery. The crime rate
is based on the number of incidents reported to or by the police.
Source:
Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Uniform Crime
Reporting Survey
Youth and adult crime rate (charges)
Definition:
The number of youths (aged 12 to 17 years) or adults (aged 18 and over)
charged with Criminal Code offences expressed as a rate per 100,000 youths
or adults, for violent crimes, property and other crimes, and total. Violent
crimes are "person offences", which include homicide, attempted
murder, sexual and non-sexual assault, abduction, and robbery.
Source:
Statistics Canada, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Uniform Crime
Reporting Survey
Personal resources
Social support (National Population Health Survey)
Definition:
Level of perceived social support reported by population aged 12 and
over, based on their responses to four questions about having someone
to confide
in, someone they can count on in a crisis, someone they can count on
for advice, and someone who makes them feel loved and cared for.
In this publication, a score of 0 was classified as low social support,
1 to 3 as medium social support and 4 as high social support.
Source:
Statistics Canada, National Population Health Survey, 1994/95 and 1996/97,
cross sectional sample, health file; Statistics Canada, National Population
Health Survey, 1994/95 and 1996/97, cross sectional sample, North component
Social support (Canadian Community Health Survey)
Definition:
Level of perceived social support reported by population aged 12 and
over, defined as having emotional or informational support when an
individual
needs someone to listen or needs to confide in someone. It is based on
a list of eight questions that ask people how often they receive certain
types of support in certain circumstances. In this publication, a score
of 0 to 10 was classified as low social support, 11 to 20 as medium
social support and 21 to 32 as high social support.
Source:
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, 2003, 2000/01, health file;
Statistics Canada, Statistics Canada
Life stress (National Population Health Survey)
Definition:
Level of chronic stress reported by the population aged 18 and over,
based on their responses to a series of 17 questions about their personal
situation. In this publication, a score of 0 or 1 was low life stress,
2 to 4 was moderate life stress and 5 to 16 was high life stress.
Source:
Statistics Canada, National Population Health Survey, 1994/95 cross sectional
sample, health file
Life stress (Canadian Community Health Survey)
Definition:
Population aged 18 and over who reported their level of life stress.
Source:
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, 2003, 2000/01, health file
Environmental factors
Exposure to second-hand smoke at home
Note: Definition for exposure to second-hand smoke was changed in 2004 to reflect changes in questionnaire wording. Data from CCHS 2000/01 are therefore not comparable.
Definition:
Non-smoking population aged 12 and over who reported that at least one person smokes inside their home every day or almost every day.
Source:
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, 2003, health file
Exposure to second-hand smoke
in vehicles and public places
Definition:
Non-smoking population aged 12 and over who reported being exposed to second-hand smoke in private vehicles and/or public places on most days in the month preceding the survey.
Source:
Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, 2003, health file
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