The Chief Public Health Officer's Report on The State of Public Health in Canada 2009

Growing Up Well – Priorities for a Healthy Future

Table of contents

• A Message from Canada's Chief Public Health Officer
• Acknowledgements
• Executive Summary
• Chapter 1: Introduction
  • Why a report on the state of public health in Canada
  • Goals of the report
  • Who this report is about
  • What the report covers
• Chapter 2: The Role of Public Health in Influencing the Lifecourse Trajectory
  • What is a lifecourse trajectory?
  • Public health and the lifecourse trajectory
  • Lifecourse trajectories and childhood investments
  • A brief history of Canada's experience with creating the conditions for a healthy start to life
  • Summary
• Chapter 3: The Health of Canadian Children
  • Canada's children from birth to 11 years
  • The health of Canada's children
    • Life expectancy, births and birth outcomes
    • Mortality
    • Ill health and disease
  • Summary
• Chapter 4: Social and Physical Influences on Health
  • Socio-economic status
  • Home, school and community environments
  • Healthy behaviours
  • Summary
• Chapter 5: Setting Trajectories for a Healthy Life
  • Socio-economic status and developmental opportunities
  • Abuse and neglect
  • Prenatal risks
  • Mental health and disorders
  • Obesity
  • Unintentional injuries
  • Summary
• Chapter 6: Growing Up Well – Conditions and Priorities for a Healthy Future
  • Conditions for childhood health and development
  • Priority areas for action
    • Better data and information
    • Improved and ongoing education and awareness
    • Healthy and supportive environments
    • Co-ordinated, multi-pronged and sustained strategies
  • Moving forward – Making a difference
• Appendix A: List of Acronyms
• Appendix B: Routine Immunization Schedule for Infants and Children
• Appendix C: Family Guide to Physical Activity for Children
• Appendix D: Indicators of Our Health and Factors Influencing Our Health
• Appendix E: Definitions and Data Sources for Indicators
• References

List of Figures

• Figure 2.1 Prevalence of neural tube defects in seven Canadian provinces, 1993 to 2002
• Figure 2.2 Infant mortality rates, select countries, 1925 to 2005
• Figure 3.1 Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal population distribution by age group, Canada, 2006
• Figure 3.2 Rate of child injury deaths, ages 1 to 14 years, in select OECD countries, 1970s and 1990s
• Figure 3.3 Rate of hospitalizations for select unintentional injuries for children aged 0 to 11 years, Canada, 1995, 2000 and 2005
• Figure 3.4 Estimated prevalence of mental disorders in Canadian children under 15 years of age, 2001
• Figure 4.1 Percentage of adverse birth outcomes by neighbourhood quintile, Quebec, 1991 to 2000
• Figure 4.2 Estimated proportion of children, aged 0 to 11 years, living in low-income households, Canada, 1991 to 2006
• Figure 4.3 Ratio of richest and poorest deciles, families raising children in Canada, 1976 to 2004
• Figure 4.4 Substantiated maltreatment cases by primary category and sex, Canada excluding Quebec, 2003
• Figure B.1 Routine immunization schedule for infants and children

List of Tables

• Table 3.1 Children in Canada
• Table 3.2 Health of children in Canada
• Table 4.1 Factors influencing children’s health
• Table E.1 Body mass index for children, aged 2 to 17 years
• Table E.2 Low-income cut offs, Canada, 2006