New
report sheds light on the question "how healthy
are Albertans"?
March, 2004
- article originally published on Health
Quality Council of Alberta website
Are we living longer and healthier lives than 20 years ago?
Are we spending our health dollars in the best way? Do we
receive good care when we need it regardless of where we
live?
Health Report to Albertans 2003 answers these questions and highlights HSUOC's
recent research. When we prepared this report, we asked the public, health
care providers and health administrators which health indicators they believed
would most interest Albertans. A group of health care experts interpreted the
findings, which were presented based on feedback from public focus groups.
Some of the key positive findings from the Alberta Report of Comparable Health
Indicators (2002) highlighted in the report include:
•More Albertans survive in-hospital following heart attacks
and strokes than the national average.
•Fewer Albertans are re-admitted to hospital after a heart
attack than the national average.
•The life expectancy of Albertans is steadily increasing
and is now over 82 years for women and 77 for men, an increase
of two years for females and three years for males since
1986.
•Alberta has lower "potential years of life lost" (PPYL)
following diagnosis of lung cancer, colorectal cancer,
heart attack and stroke than the national average.
•Albertans are more active than the average Canadian.
Areas where Alberta scored less favourably compared to
the national average include: Alberta has a higher percentage
of low birth weight babies.
•Albertans smoke more than the national average.
•Alberta and Quebec have the highest suicide rates in
Canada.
to download
entire report, visit the Health
Quality Council of Alberta website
