Islanders who are committed to improving health can take satisfaction from a new report that ranks PEI fourth in Canada on the health of its population, says Health and Wellness Minister Doug Currie.
A new report by the Conference Board of Canada gives Prince Edward Island an overall score of “B” when it comes to health status.
PEI ranked fourth in the country after BC, Ontario and Quebec, and 12th among the 29 provinces, territories and countries compared in the report.
“This is encouraging news and a credit to the many Islanders who are working hard to stay healthy and make our communities healthy,” said Minister Currie. “It is also a reflection of the good things taking place in our health system, and further motivation for us to work together towards a culture of wellness.”
Based on the ten indicators measured, Prince Edward Island had an “A” in self-reported health and the second lowest suicide rate in the country. It has “B” grades on premature mortality, infant mortality, mortality due to diabetes and mortality due to nervous system diseases. It also has four “C”s on life expectancy, mortality due to cancer, respiratory diseases, as well as heart disease and stroke. Prince Edward Island had no “D”s and is the highest scoring Atlantic province.
“While we are pleased with the progress we are making, we recognize there is more work to do especially in areas like childhood inactivity, obesity and tobacco use,” Minister Currie said. “As a health system we are committed to increasing our focus on prevention and we will continue to provide leadership through initiatives like our mental health and addictions strategy, go!PEI and our new wellness strategy.”
The report: How Canada Performs: Health report card is available at www.conferenceboard.ca