Description | Specific Indicators |Ontario Public Health Standards | Corresponding Health Indicator(s) from Statistics Canada and CIHI| Corresponding Indicator(s) from Other Sources | Data Sources | Alternative Data Sources | Analysis Check List | Method of Calculation | Basic Categories | Indicator Comments | Definitions |Cross-References to Other Sections | References

Description

• Ratio of the difference between the population at the end of the period and the population at the beginning of the period relative to the population at the beginning of the period.

Specific Indicators

• Population Growth

Ontario Public Health Standards

The Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS) establish requirements for the fundamental public health programs and services carried out by boards of health, which include assessment and surveillance, health promotion and policy development, disease and injury prevention, and health protection. The OPHS consist of one Foundational Standard and 13 Program Standards that articulate broad societal goals that result from the activities undertaken by boards of health and many others, including community partners, non-governmental organizations, and governmental bodies. These results have been expressed in terms of two levels of outcomes: societal outcomes and board of health outcomes. Societal outcomes entail changes in health status, organizations, systems, norms, policies, environments, and practices and result from the work of many sectors of society, including boards of health, for the improvement of the overall health of the population. Board of health outcomes are the results of endeavours by boards of health and often focus on changes in awareness, knowledge, attitudes, skills, practices, environments, and policies. Boards of health are accountable for these outcomes. The standards also outline the requirements that boards of health must implement to achieve the stated results.  

Assessment and/or Surveillance Requirements Related to this Indicator
·         The board of health shall assess current health status, health behaviours, preventive health practices, health care utilization relevant to public health, and demographic indicators in accordance with the Population Health Assessment and Surveillance Protocol, 2008 (or as current) (Foundational Standard) 

Protocol Requirements Related to this Indicator
·         The board of health shall collect or access the following types of population health data and information: Socio-demographics including population counts by age, sex… (Population Health Assessment and Surveillance Protocol, 1b) 

http://www.ontario.ca/publichealthstandards

Corresponding Health Indicator(s) from Statistics Canada and CIHI

The internet publication Health Indicators, produced jointly by Statistics Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Information, provides over 80 indicators measuring the health of the Canadian population and the effectiveness of the health care system. Designed to provide comparable information at the health region and provincial/territorial levels, these data are produced from a wide range of the most recently available sources. A pdf copy of this report can be found on CIHI’s website (http://www.cihi.ca) under Research and Reports or under the PDF tab on the Statistics Canada web-page at http://www.statcan.ca/bsolc/english/bsolc?catno=82-221-X 

Population Estimates:
Data are derived from the census and administrative sources on births, deaths and migration. Postcensal estimates are based on the latest census results adjusted for net census undercoverage and for the estimated population growth that occurred since that census. More information about the data can be obtained in the Beyond 20/20 (IVT) file by selecting “File>Summary” or by browsing the footnotes below a retrieved CANSIM table. 

Individual data tables can be found at:http://www.statcan.ca/bsolc/english/bsolc?catno=82-221-X
Click on "View" beside Free on the row labeled, Latest issue.
Click on "Data tables, maps and fact sheets" on the left side menu.
Click on the indicator "Population estimates" under Community and health system characteristics, Community

Select either a CANSIM for an html rendered table or IVT to view a Beyond 20/20 file.

Data Sources (see Resources: Population Estimates)

Population Estimates: PHU, County, and Municipality Level
Numerator & Denominator: Population Estimates for Counties, Municipalities
Original source: Statistics Canada
Distributed by: Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care: IntelliHEALTH Ontario
Suggested citation (see Data Citation Notes):
Population Estimates [years], Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, IntelliHEALTH Ontario, Date Extracted: [date]

Population Estimates: LHIN Level
Numerator & Denominator: Population Estimates for LHINs
Original source: 1986–2000, Statistics Canada; 2001–onwards, Ontario Ministry of Finance
Distributed by: Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care: IntelliHEALTH Ontario
Suggested citation (see Data Citation Notes):
Population Estimates [years], Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, IntelliHEALTH Ontario, Date Extracted [date]

Analysis Check List

• Use for past population growth. 
• Use “Population Estimates PHU Municipality” pre-defined report from “02 Populations” shared folder in IntelliHEALTH Ontario if you wish to have counts based on PHU or Municipality (Census Subdivision) boundaries. Use “Population Estimates and Projections LHIN v2” pre-defined report from “02 Populations” shared folder in IntelliHEALTH Ontario if you wish to have counts based on LHIN boundaries. 
• To view population estimates by county (which is generally equivalent to PHU for Southern Ontario health units, but varies considerably for Northern Ontario health units), change the geography parameter in the query. You may also change the filter applied to the report to view years previous to 1999 (data currently available from 1986 – onwards).
• For more details about the methodology and assumptions in the calculation in the measures that are used in this indicator, refer to the data source resources.

Method of Calculation

OR

Basic Categories

• Age groupings available in pre-defined reports are: infant (<1 year), 5-year age groups, 90+. Age groups can be drilled down to single year of age.
• Sex: male, female and total.
• Geographic areas of residence: province (sum of municipalities or health units), public health unit, census subdivision (municipality), county, and LHIN.

Indicator Comments

• Represented as a percentage.
• When the rate is negative, the population is declining, while a positive rate indicates a certain level of growth.
• Population growth or decline can be further analyzed using the three determinants of population change: births, deaths, and migrations.
• A population growth rate of zero does not mean there were no changes in the population between the two measurement points, only that the difference between births, deaths and migration is zero.
• When comparing population growth figures from different years, be sure to use the same release of population projections. Do not, for example, use a population projection for the year 2016 based on 2006 Census data, and compare it with a projection for 2021 based on 2011 Census data.  

Definitions 
Sex - refers to whether the person was classified as male or female (either through self-identification or recoding by Statistics Canada).
Age - refers to the age of a person (or subject) of interest at last birthday (or relative to a specified, well-defined reference date).
For definitions of geographic basic areas see http://geodepot.statcan.gc.ca/2006/180506051805140305/03150707/0914040524_05-eng.jsp

Cross-References to Other Sections

• Crude Birth Rate
• All-Cause Mortality

References

None

Acknowledgements

Lead Author(s)
Nancy Ramuscak, Region of Peel Public Health
Cam McDermaid, Ottawa Public Health
Luanne Jamieson, Hamilton Public Health Services
Virginia McFarland, Grey Bruce Health Unit
Alissa Palangio, Sudbury and District Health Unit
William Kou, York Region Community and Health Services 

Contributing Author(s)
Core Indicator Reviewers
External Reviewers
Carol Paul, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
Jessica Deming, Region of Waterloo Public Health
Mike Delorme, Region of Waterloo Public Health

Date of Last Revision: April 8, 2011