Our population health snapshot is classified into :
New Brunswick snapshot: 30 indicators that compare where New Brunswick stands in comparison to other provinces and the Canadian Average.
Zone snapshot: 37 indicators for each of the 7 health zones, that compare where each zone stands in comparison to the other health zones and provincial average.
Context page: A page with 35 indicators that can aid with understanding the context around the health of the population in New Brunswick and each of the 7 health zones.
What do we measure?
The indicators in our Snapshot falls within one of two categories:
- Health Outcomes; or
- Determinants of health (grouped into: Health Services, Health Behaviours, Social and Economic Factors, and Physical Environment).
The indicators are updated with the most recent information available to us.
The indicators in the "Context" section include information about the demographic profile, prevalence rates of chronic health condition and the top 10 hospital admissions for the citizens living in this jurisdiction classified by case mix group (grouping together acute care inpatients that are similar clinically and in terms of resource use).
How can the snapshots be used?
The population health snapshots help answer the following questions:
- How do we compare to others?
To facilitate the identification of areas of strengths and improvement, this year, the Snapshots include green and red flags that highlight the indicators where the province or the zone performs significantly better or worse than other provinces or other zones respectively. The flags were calculated based on Z-score analysis.
- Are we trending in the right or wrong direction?
In addition to presenting the latest indicator data, the snapshots include a trending column that allows the reader to see how the current value compares to the previous year available for the indicator.
Up arrow: The indicator is getting better (compared to previous year of data)
Down Arrow: The indicator is getting worse (compared to previous year of data)
Even Line: The indicator has remained the same (compared to previous year of data)
In general, provincial trends may mask a wide variability across the health zones with some zones exhibiting trends that are opposite to those of the province. Understanding the geographic variability in health determinants and health outcomes is essential to better understand the possible underlying inequities in population health and quality of health services, thus to effectively plan health programs and initiatives based on the needs of a given population.
What is Z-Score?
A Z-score is a numerical measurement that describes a value's relationship to the mean of a group of values (normal distribution of values). Z-score is measured in terms of standard deviations from the mean. If a Z-score is 0, it indicates that the data point's score is identical to the mean score. A Z-score of 1.0 would indicate a value that is one standard deviation from the mean.
For the Population Health Snapshot, a Z-score of 1.282 is the cut point used to determine the top and bottom 5% performers (the 10% on the extremes).
Red flag: The indicator is among the poor performers (i.e. significantly below average)
Green flag: The indicator is among the best performers (i.e. significantly above average)