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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):S9–S14. doi: 10.1007/BF03403612

Using a Population-based Health Information System to Study Child Health

Marni Brownell 11,✉, Teresa Mayer 21, Patricia J Martens 11, Anita Kozyrskyj 11, Patricia Fergusson 31, Jennifer Bodnarchuk 11, Shelley Derksen 11, David Friesen, Randy Walld 11
PMCID: PMC6980005  PMID: 12580384

Abstract

Objective

This paper describes the population-based analyses of measures of child health status used throughout this supplement.

Methods

The articles in this supplement examine health-related data for children 0 to 19 years. Most analyses cover the period from April 1, 1994 to March 31, 1999. Administrative and survey data were used to assess child health and well-being. For regional comparisons, data were broken down by subregions of Manitoba, called Regional Health Authorities (RHAs), and neighbourhoods of Winnipeg, called Winnipeg Community Areas (Winnipeg CAs).

Methods

The premature mortality rate (PMR) was used as a proxy of the overall health of the population. All graphs comparing rates among RHAs and Winnipeg CAs rank these subregions in the same order, from lowest to highest PMR. Income was operationalized by dividing the province’s population into urban and rural quintiles based upon household income. Other aspects of methodology are discussed.

Results

Results are presented in the articles that follow this one.

Conclusion

The relationships between key child health indicators and geographic and socioeconomic factors for Manitoba children are discussed in the articles following this one.

Footnotes

Formerly from MCHP

Formerly of the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy

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.htm

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 and Dr. Martens was supported by a Community Alliances for Health Research Program grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

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