Calgary a top performer in the Conference Board's city health ranking, while Edmonton falls behind
OTTAWA, Dec. 13, 2016 /CNW/ - Calgary finishes 2nd and earns an "A" grade overall in The Conference Board of Canada's health performance ranking of 10 Canadian cities. Meanwhile, Edmonton places 8th overall, but still earns a "B" grade.
"Slight variations between cities have significant impacts on the health of its citizens, as is the case with Calgary and Edmonton," said Louis Thériault, Vice-President, Public Policy. "Calgary's position is helped by a second-place ranking in the life satisfaction and healthy lifestyle categories. Meanwhile, Edmonton does well on population health but falters slightly in the remaining categories."
Highlights
- Calgary finishes 2nd in city health rankings, and is one of only three cities to receive an overall "A" grade.
- Edmonton places 8th and receives an overall "B" grade.
- Saskatoon is at the top of the city health rankings, while Montreal rounds out the rankings in the final position.
The City Health Monitor examines and benchmarks the physical and socio-economic health of 10 metropolitan areas in Canada. Each metro area receives a grade based on their performance on 24 indicators, grouped into four categories: life satisfaction; population health; healthy lifestyle; and access to health care services.
Calgary
Calgary scores an "A" grade in the life satisfaction category, placing near the top in three out of the six indicators in this category: perceived life stress, perceived health, and sense of belonging to the local community. Meanwhile, Calgary also earns an "A" in the healthy lifestyle category, with the city boasting the second highest percentage of physically active residents.
Calgary's citizens also have relatively low rates of heart disease, diabetes, and lung diseases. However, higher rates of hypertension and stroke slightly offset these results giving Calgary an overall "B" grade on population health. Unfortunately, Calgary's worst showing is a "C" grade in the access to health care category, posting weak results on most of the indicators in this category.
Edmonton
Although they place near the bottom of the rankings, Edmonton's results are still good enough to earn an overall "B" grade. Like Calgary, Edmonton achieves an "A" grade in the life satisfaction category, with solid results across the board.
Edmonton has a relatively high number of nurses available per 100,000 population, giving it an "A" grade in this indicator. However, lower rankings on the relative number of specialists and available hospital beds, along with fewer residents with access to a regular doctor, drops the city's overall grade to a "B" on access to health care services.
Edmonton receives "D" grades on the other two categories examined: population health and healthy lifestyle. The metro area performs poorly on most of the population health indicators, with a noticeable last place ranking on the stroke and cancer indicators. On healthy lifestyle, Edmonton finishes in the bottom half of the rankings on four of the six indicators.
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SOURCE Conference Board of Canada
Yvonne Squires, Media Relations, The Conference Board of Canada. Tel.: 613- 526-3090 ext. 221, E-mail: [email protected]; or Juline Ranger, Director of Communications, The Conference Board of Canada, Tel.: 613- 526-3090 ext. 431, E-mail: [email protected]
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