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Health News For South West

Thursday, May 28, 2015
Elgin St Thomas Public Health
New Report on the Health Status of Elgin St. Thomas Residents

Elgin St. Thomas Public Health has released its 2015 Health Status Report. The report provides a picture of the health of residents in Elgin St. Thomas and how we compare to Ontario. It includes information on population, income, education, food security, hospitalization, smoking, physical activity, obesity, injury, births, infectious diseases, and much more.

“This is a comprehensive report on the health information that is available in Elgin St. Thomas,” explained Carolyn Richards, an epidemiologist with Elgin St. Thomas Public Health. “Although the information was created to guide planning for the health unit’s programs and service, the information may also be useful to other organizations in our community.”

Some of the findings highlighted in the report include:

Almost 90% of Elgin St. Thomas residents rate their overall health as good or very good
There are more seniors and fewer children in the region over time
Our median household income is less than the median for Ontario
64% of our youth have never smoked a cigarette
More than half of our adults are overweight or obese
62% of citizens report eating fewer than five servings of fruits and vegetables a day
We have fewer motor vehicle collisions and more all-terrain vehicle injuries compared to Ontario
64% of us spend more than 15 hours a week on screen time
Chlamydia is the most commonly reported communicable disease

The full report is available at http://www.elginhealth.on.ca/healthstatus2015.

For more information on Elgin St. Thomas Public Health’s 2015 Health Status Report, please contact Carolyn Richards, Epidemiologist at 519-631-9900 ext 1300.