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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 2002 Nov 1;93(Suppl 2):S70–S76. doi: 10.1007/BF03403622

Community Resources and Determinants of the Future Health of Manitobans

Anita L Kozyrskyj 111,✉, Patricia Fergusson 211, Jennifer Bodnarchuk 111, Marni Brownell 111, Charles Burchill 111, Teresa Mayer 311
PMCID: PMC6979726  PMID: 12580394

Abstract

Background

Life history studies in health show that some of the key determinants of health inequalities lie in biological and social experiences at the earliest times of life. The objectives of this research were to describe the regional distribution of childhood determinants of adult health, such as school achievement, and the environments which contribute to their development.

Methods

Using Manitoba data from the National Population Health Survey, the National longitudinal Survey on Children and Youth, the Department of Education, Training and Youth, the Department of Family Services and Housing, the library Association website and the Agriculture and Food website, the regional distribution of Grade 3 standards test scores and neighbourhood resources such as child care services, libraries, sports participation and food costs were determined for 12 Regional Health Authorities and 12 Winnipeg Community Areas, ranked by a measure of population healthiness, the premature mortality rate. Findings were also reported by income level and larger geographic regions.

Results

Children living in neighbourhoods with less healthy populations were more likely to have poorer school performance, as indicated by Grade 3 math standards test scores. They were also more likely to change schools, less likely to participate in sports, and had decreased access to affordable food and licenced day care. They had similar access to library books as children living in more healthy neighbourhoods, although book lending rates were not measured.

Conclusion

We documented regional variation in the availability of resources to support healthy childhood development.

Footnotes

The full report “Assessing the Health of Children in Manitoba: A Population-Based Study” on which this article is based is available from the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy at the above address or online at: https://doi.org/www.umanitoba.ca/centres/mchp/reports

Sources of support: This work was supported as part of a project on child health in Manitoba, one of several projects undertaken each year by the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy under contract to Manitoba Health. The results and conclusions are those of the authors and no official endorsement by Manitoba Health was intended or should be inferred. Dr. Brownell was also supported by a New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Formerly from MCHP

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