People who live in Powell River have a strong sense of community belonging, but struggle with a high rate of obesity, according to a new report.
Dr. Paul Martiquet, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) medical health officer for rural Sunshine Coast presented the findings of the community health profile for Powell River to City of Powell River Mayor and Councillors at the June 2 committee of the whole meeting.
The highlights he presented came from the statistics gleaned from a 2013 My Health My Community report. The results of the 93-question survey of adults in Powell River were also released June 2. The project was a partnership initiative between Vancouver Coastal Health, University of BC and Fraser Health.
Martiquet said VCH recently signed a collaboration agreement with the city to recognize the work that is being done and the decisions being made to improve the health of the community.
“I think what we realize working in health is that we can’t do it alone,” Martiquet said. “In fact, the majority of what makes us healthy are decisions that are made every day that affect the socio-economic environment and the healthy built environment.”
Employment, income levels and education have dramatic influence on what makes people healthy, the medical officer said. Then comes biology and environment.
The report provides an overview of health and wellness in Powell River that will give residents, community agencies and local governments a better understanding of the factors influencing health in their community.
“This new data is incredibly valuable because it will enable us to work upstream to prevent injuries and chronic disease through our efforts with local governments, health care planners and community stakeholders in developing health public policies,” said Dr. Patricia Daly, VCH chief medical officer, in a media release announcing the results. “This will be critical for our population health and well-being, and ensuring sustainability of our health care system.”
Of the 16,510 adults who live in Powell River Regional District and the City of Powell River, only 252 completed the 15-minute online health survey which was available from June 2013 to July 2014. Powell River’s target was for a total of 645 completed surveys, roughly four per cent of the adult population, but only 39 per cent of that total were completed. Martiquet said that the surveyors were unable to solicit a substantial response from Tla’amin (Sliammon) Nation, so detailed information regarding that population is not available.
Across the two health authorities (VCH and Fraser Health), surveyors collected 77 per cent of their goal.
Changes to the scope of information gathered in the national census of population prompted this inquiry into the state of public health.
The survey found that over 78 per cent of respondents in Powell River said they had a strong sense of community belonging, more than 20 percentage points higher that the VCH average.
Overall general and mental health were comparable to the health authority and regional averages.
Powell River has one of the highest rates of obesity and chronic diseases such as hypertension and arthritis across the health region. Thirty-eight per cent reported they scored higher than 30 on the body mass index, putting them in the obese range.
The Upper Sunshine Coast scored high on emergency preparedness with almost 37 per cent saying they have more than three days of supplies stored.
Only slightly more than 15 per cent said that they engage in binge drinking one or more times per month, compared to Whistler which had the highest rate where almost half of the respondents said they did.
Eighty-three per cent of Powell River residents said that they had a family doctor.
While the amount of time Powell River residents spend in their cars commuting to work is some of the lowest in the health authority, Powell River is considered one of the most car-dependent communities surveyed.
Readers can see the full report online.
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