"A new report that details the health of Canadians paints a positive picture of Prince Edward Island's high quality of life," says Health and Social Services Minister Walter McEwen.
The Report on the Health of Canadians was released on Tuesday at the Meeting of Canada's Ministers of Health. The report was prepared by the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Advisory Committee on Population Health.
"Prince Edward Island scored higher than any other province in terms of 'high psychological well-being' among residents," Mr. McEwen said. "Additionally, the rate of Islanders who are "very satisfied" with their work environment was the second highest in the country, at 55 per cent."
Some other findings in the report include:
Prince Edward Island continues to show the best Canadian record in terms of preventing low-birth weight among babies, at 4.1 per cent. The national average is 5.8 per cent.
A higher number of Islanders scored in the top range of "psychological well-being" than anywhere else in the country. In fact, Prince Edward Island's rating in this area was 66 per cent higher than the national average. Only nine per cent of Canadians reached this score, compared to 15 per cent of Islanders.
The rate of depression among Islanders was four per cent - which tied for the lowest rate in the country. The national average was six per cent.
In the category of high chronic stress, Prince Edward Island had the second best rating in the country, at 20 per cent. The national average was 26 per cent.
In terms of life expectancy, Prince Edward Island has the best record in Atlantic Canada, at 78 years. This is slightly behind the national average of 78.2 years.
Poverty among children is much lower among Island children than in the rest of the country. On Prince Edward Island, 13 per cent of children under 18 are considered to be poor, compared to 20 per cent in the rest of Canada.
The poverty rate among those 65 and over is also better than the Canadian average. Nationally, 19 per cent of seniors are considered poor. On Prince Edward Island, only 13 per cent of seniors fall below the poverty line.
Prince Edward Island has the lowest gap in Canada between wages paid to men and women. On average, women receive 78 per cent of that paid to men. Nationally, the average is 70 per cent.
"Clearly, there are many areas in which improvement is still possible," Mr. McEwen said. "Even with the lowest rate of child poverty, there is more we can do. The same also applies to poverty rates among seniors.
"That said, I think Islanders should be pleased at how well we stack up to other jurisdictions in a wide variety of categories."
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Copies of the Report on the Health of Canadians are available by contacting Division of Health Policy Research, Department of Health and Social Services, telephone number 368-4940.