Data Sources
Data Sources
This section outlines the data sources that have been used throughout HealthSTATS to describe the demographic profile and health status of the population of Simcoe Muskoka.
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, along with the other public health units in Ontario, receive data from various sources on a regular basis. Most data are received from Statistics Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Cancer Care Ontario.
It is important to understand the nature of the data to ensure it is interpreted correctly. Additional data sources may be added to HealthSTATS as its content grows.
Air Pollutant Data: Historical Air Pollutant Data
The Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks has 39 ambient (outside) air monitoring stations across Ontario that collect real-time air pollutant data. The 6 common pollutants monitored include ozone, fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and total reduced sulphur compounds.
Source:
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks; Air Quality Ontario
Data Notes:
- There are two ambient air monitoring stations in Simcoe Muskoka, in Barrie (Simcoe County) and in Dorset (Muskoka District).
- The ambient air monitoring station in Barrie is the only one in Simcoe Muskoka that collects hourly data on all three pollutants needed to calculate the AQHI. Calculations for AQHI in Dorset are based on an estimated value of nitrogen dioxide, following direction from the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Beach Postings
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit and municipal and community authority partners monitor select public bathing beaches from June to August each year. When advisories are posted for a beach, they will remain in effect until follow-up testing of the water shows that the bacterial contamination is gone. Advisories may remain in effect after several samples.
Source:
Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit
Data Notes:
- A list of beaches included in the monitoring program and their current status is available through the health unit Inspection Connection webpage.
- Provincial Park beaches, such as Wasaga Beach, are monitored by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks. Beach water quality results for these parks are available on their website.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Better Outcomes Registry & Network (BORN)
The Better Outcomes Registry and Network (BORN) Information System is a provincial data source, funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and supported by CHEO to collect and store data about every pregnancy, birth and child in Ontario, regardless of where the birth occurs (including births in hospitals, home or community settings). BORN is a timely maternal-child registry, providing a longitudinal perspective of each birth, from pregnancy, labour and birth to postnatal visit and care.
Source:
Better Outcomes Registry Network (BORN) Ontario
Data Notes:
- Birthing hospitals, midwifery practice groups, fertility clinics, prenatal screening labs, newborn screening laboratories, prenatal and newborn screening follow-up clinics in Ontario contribute data to BORN.
- BORN supports the measurement of maternal-child health status and outcomes, and the development of responsive health policies; and improves evaluation and accountability of program and service delivery.
- The BORN Information System (BIS) integrates data from the following five data sources:
- Fetal Alert Network (fetal and congenital anomalies)
- Prenatal Screening Ontario
- Niday Perinatal & Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)/Special Care Nursery (SCN) Database
- Ontario Midwifery Program
- Newborn Screening Ontario
- BORN is a dynamic data source, whereby data are updated daily. Data for the same period extracted at two different time points may differ. To inform the user, the data extraction date is included in the data source.
- BORN data are reviewed and cleaned by BORN Ontario staff and infant geographic information are added into the record based on postal code of residence, regardless of the location of birth. Postal codes were mapped by BORN based on the 2013 Postal Code Conversion File.
- Data from First Nations communities are not included in the BORN public health data cube. BORN has removed all records with postal codes linked to First Nations communities to honour First Nations Ownership, Control, Access and Possession (OCAP) principles.
- Data with 10 to <30% of missing data are released with caution and >30% missing are not releasable. Missing data are excluded from denominators for all percentages derived based on BORN data.
- Provincial comparator data are available for selected indicators through BORN Standard Reports and reported where available.
- There is generally a six-month lag time before data are considered complete and can be reported.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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The Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) provides cross-sectional (at one point in time) estimates of the factors related to health status, health care utilization and health determinants for the Canadian population. The survey contains questions on a wide range of health topics, including: physical activity, height and weight, smoking, exposure to secondhand smoke, alcohol consumption, general health, chronic health conditions, injuries, use of health care services and related socio-demographic information.
Source:
Statistics Canada Ontario Share File distributed by the Ontario Ministry of Health
Data Notes:
- The Ontario Share File has a slightly smaller sample size than the Master File and Public Use Micro File (PUMF). This is because respondents must agree to share their information with the province to be included in the Share File.
- The target population of the CCHS includes household residents (aged 12 and over) in all provinces and territories, with the exclusion of populations in First Nations Communities (referred to by Statistics Canada as Indian Reserves), Canadian Forces Bases, and some remote areas.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth (CHSCY)
The 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth (CHSCY) is a cross-sectional survey that collects information on issues that have an impact on the physical and mental health of children and youth in Canada. The survey covers a broad range of topics, including long-term conditions, injuries, physical activity, nutrition, oral health care, children’s social environments, the use of electronic devices, time spent in school and extracurricular activities, mental health and childhood experiences.
Source:
Statistics Canada, Ontario Share File distributed by the Ontario Ministry of Health
Data Notes:
- Children and youth aged 1 to 17 as of January 31, 2019 in Canada were included in the survey. Local data for Simcoe Muskoka were available through oversampling.
- Children and youth living in First Nation communities and other Indigenous settlements, children and youth living in foster homes and the institutionalized population are excluded from the survey.
- CHSCY 2019 covered approximately 98% of the Canadian population aged 1 to 17 years in all provinces and 96% in all territories.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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The Case and Contact Management System (CCM) is a central data repository for COVID-19 case and contact management, outbreaks and all adverse events following immunizations, and reporting in Ontario. The Health Protection and Promotion Act requires that each public health unit in Ontario collect information about any case of a disease of public health significance (reportable diseases), including COVID-19, in their jurisdiction and report it to the Ministry of Health (MOH). This information is used for local, provincial and national surveillance.
Source:
Ontario Ministry of Health
Data Notes:
- Between July and August 2020, CCM replaced the integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) for COVID-19 for most health units in the province. COVID-19 cases and outbreaks in iPHIS were migrated over to CCM with key reporting elements. Adverse events following immunizations were also migrated over to CCM between 2021 and 2022. iPHIS is used for collecting information on all other reportable diseases in Ontario.
- The numbers of cases of COVID-19 in CCM is an underestimate of the actual numbers since not all people with COVID-19 develop symptoms, seek medical treatment or testing, and therefore, the disease goes unreported.
- As of June 1, 2024, all data entry into CCM was stopped. All COVID-19-related data and adverse events following immunization data are now entered into the Integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS).
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Census and National Household Survey (NHS)
The census of population is carried out by Statistics Canada every five years and provides a reliable source for describing the population and dwelling counts not only for Canada but also for each province and territory, cities, and districts within cities. The census also provides information about Canada’s demographic, cultural, social, and economic characteristics.
Source:
Statistics Canada
Data Notes:
- The 2021 short form Census questionnaire was sent out to 100% of all households. The 2021 long form Census questionnaire was sent out to 25% of all households. Target Group Profiles are produced using the 25% sample.
- The 2021 Census included some updated or new questions, such as a new question on gender; updates to ethnic or cultural origins; and updated terminology related to Indigenous Peoples.
- As part of the Simcoe County Data Consortium, SMDHU has access to custom tables and datasets purchased from Statistics Canada through the national Community Data Program. Many of these data products include breakdown to smaller geographic levels and different variable combinations not publicly available. Many of the Population Demographic pages use these data sets, specifically Target Group Profiles, which provide data for a specific group of persons, where all variables in the profile relate to these persons. Some examples of target group profiles include Indigenous peoples, francophone, and immigrants.
- In 2011, Statistics Canada conducted a voluntary National Household Survey in place of the mandatory long form Census questionnaire. Due to changes in how the survey was administered, some data is not comparable between the 2011 National Household Survey and the 2016 and 2021 census.
Data Used in the following Dashboards:
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COVaxON
COVaxON is a central data repository for COVID-19 vaccine data and reporting in Ontario, and is used to track vaccine inventory, vaccine administration and to book vaccination appointments. It is used to report on COVID-19 vaccine administration at community and mobile vaccine clinics and in other healthcare settings where COVID-19 vaccines are being administered.
Source:
Ontario Ministry of Health distributed by Ontario Ministry of Health: IntelliHealth Ontario
Data Notes:
- This includes reporting for all COVID-19 vaccines that are currently approved for use in Canada.
- Also includes doses administered outside of Ontario if proof of vaccination was provided and the client consented to adding this information to COVaxON.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Discharge Abstract Database (DAD)
The Discharge Abstract Database captures administrative, clinical and demographic information on hospital discharges (including deaths, sign-outs and transfers). This data source is primarily used for hospitalization and birth data, as this data contains live births and stillbirths for births that occurred in hospital.
Source:
Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI) distributed by Ontario Ministry of Health: IntelliHealth Ontario
Data Notes:
- Data are collected based on location of hospital but are generally analyzed by the residence of the patient for health status purposes.
- The data source contains discharge records, not admissions. The data are reported for completed cases only. Hospitals do not report on cases that are still being treated. The data represent the number of discharges, not the number of people. Time periods are usually based on the date of discharge; however, some indicators are based on the date of admission.
- Since a person may not be hospitalized or may be hospitalized several times for the same disease or injury event, or discharged from more than one hospital (when transferred) for the same injury event, hospitalization data provide only a crude measure of the prevalence of a cause.
- Data are influenced by factors that are unrelated to health status such as availability and accessibility of care, and administrative policies and procedures. This may influence comparisons between areas and over time.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Early Development Instrument
The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a survey that measures readiness for school and identifies vulnerability and developmental progress across 5 domains, and several subdomains, including physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive development, and communication skills and general knowledge. The survey is completed by teachers of each child in their Senior Kindergarten classrooms (ages 5 – 6) as a representative subset of schools from all school boards across Ontario.
Source:
Produced by the Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster University and disseminated and supported by Early Years Division, Ontario Ministry of Education
Data Notes:
- Participation in the EDI is not universal across Ontario school board and political boundaries, and therefore the provincial average may not be broadly representative of the total Ontario population. For example, Simcoe County did not participate in Cycle 3 of the Ontario EDI (2010-2012).
- The data provided to the health unit excludes special needs children, Indigenous children, and children attending private schools for senior kindergarten, or who are not enrolled in senior kindergarten.
- EDI provides a snapshot of child development and readiness for school. While patterns may emerge in the EDI results, it cannot be used to determine causal associations.
- The EDI survey has been administered in Ontario on a three-year cycle, in 2004-2006, 2007-2009, 2010-2012, 2015 and 2017-2018 school years. Data are collected in February/March. Cycle 6 data collection, originally scheduled for 2021, was collected in 2023 for the 2022-23 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, EDI questionnaires completed in 2023 were done so later in the school year than previous EDI cycles, so the Cycle VI cohort is slightly older than previous cohorts.
- Children are assigned to each jurisdiction (Simcoe County or Muskoka District) based on their home postal code (and not based on their school postal code).
- For an EDI survey to be used in the analysis, the child or teacher must be in the class for at least one month prior to completion and the teacher must complete approximately 75% of the survey.
- Health unit analysis relies on summary reports compiled by the Offord Centre and distributed to the health unit by Simcoe County and the District of Muskoka.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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eTick
Effective September 20, 2021, the Natural Microbiology Laboratory (NML) stopped accepting blacklegged ticks for bacterial testing for Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria which causes Lyme Disease in humans, as part of the passive tick surveillance program. As a result, ticks are no longer collected by the health unit. Passive tick surveillance is now supported by citizen science initiatives. The health unit encourages the use of eTick.ca, where the public can upload pictures of ticks they find on themselves, other people, or on pets, for identification.
Source:
eTick Project
Data Notes:
- SMDHU acknowledges the contribution of Dr. Jade Savage (Bishop’s University), Dr. Manisha Kulkarni (University of Ottawa), Dr. Claire Jardine (University of Guelph, and Dr. Katie Clow (University of Guelph) to the production of eTick data in Ontario, as well as the financial support of PHAC to the eTick project.
- Ticks that were found in federal jurisdictions (i.e. First Nations communities and CFB Borden) within our region are not included in our reporting of eTick.ca submissions.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Hedgehog
The SMDHU Hedgehog Database contains inspection related data carried out within Simcoe and Muskoka. This includes inspections related to food premises, infection control, child care, tobacco and e-cigs, public beaches, recreation water, recreational camps, drinking water systems, personal service settings, and tanning beds.
Source:
Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit
Data Notes:
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Historic Climate Data
Environment and Climate Change Canada provides access to historical weather, climate data, and related information for weather stations across Canada. This includes temperature, precipitation, degree days, relative humidity, windspeed and direction.
Source:
Environment and Climate Change Canada
Data Notes:
- There are three weather stations in Simcoe and Muskoka region which are used to monitor and report on temperature and precipitation in the region, which include Barrie-Oro (near Barrie), Egbert (in Essa), and Beatrice (near Bracebridge).
- Temperatures in urban areas may be higher than those measured at local weather stations due to the urban heat island effect.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Infant Feeding Survey (IFS)
The SMDHU Infant Feeding Survey (IFS) is a routine survey of Simcoe Muskoka residents with infants who are six to 12 months old. The survey collects data on infant feeding initiation and duration, maternal age, parity, income, education, marital status, immigration, gestational age, birth weight, and birth type. Participants are selected at random from a list of new parents who provided consent to a Healthy Babies Healthy Children screen being completed and sent to the health unit.
Source:
Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit
Data Notes:
- There is no Ontario comparison for this source.
- BORN captures infant feeding intention and initiation, but not duration. SMDHU IFS captures infant feeding initiation and duration so both BORN and the SMDHU IFS capture initiation data. This allows for initiation and duration to be measured from the same sample surveyed to ensure consistency of results.
- The “any” breast milk initiation rate is very similar between the two data sources. However, the two sources differ in the exclusive breast milk initiation rate and those who were combination feeding (breast milk and a substitute). BORN exclusive initiation rates are approximately 10% higher than SMDHU IFS, and the complementary combination feeding rates are 10% lower.
Possible explanations for this difference include:
- recall bias of SMDHU IFS respondents who may not accurately remember what baby was fed from birth to discharge;
- sampling bias in SMDHU IFS because the sampling frame is all of those who have consented to have a completed HBHC screen received by the health unit so those people may be systematically different than those who do not have a completed screen;
- misinterpretation of the BORN definition of ‘initiation’: those who enter data may be capturing infant feeding practice at the time of discharge instead of capturing all types of feeding that occurred from birth to discharge. If baby is supplemented with a breast milk substitute and then returns to only breast milk, this should be captured under combination feeding in BORN, and not exclusive breast milk. SMDHU IFS captures those who have supplemented with a breast milk substitute at one point before two months but ‘returned to only breast milk’ but BORN does not. The sum of the SMDHU IFS ‘returned to only breast milk’ initiation rate of 7.0% and the exclusive initiation rate of 58.1%, is close to the BORN exclusive initiation rate of 68.3%. (Data are from SMDHU IFS 2018).
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS)
The Integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) is a database used by public health units to report information on cases and outbreaks of diseases of public health significance (reportable diseases) mandated under the Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA) to the Ministry of Health (MOH). This information is used for local, provincial and national surveillance.
Source:
Ontario Ministry of Health
Data Notes:
- iPHIS replaced the Reportable Disease Information System (RDIS) in 2005. Due to the migration from RDIS to iPHIS, the provincial data from 2005 to 2008 should be interpreted with caution.
- The numbers of cases of diseases of public health significant (reportable diseases) included in iPHIS is an underestimate of the actual numbers since not all people with a reportable disease seek medical treatment, or get tested, resulting in unreported cases.
- COVID-19 cases and outbreaks as well as adverse events following immunization are reported through the Case and Contact Management (CCM) System across Ontario until June 1, 2024 when usage of CCM stopped. At that time, data entry for COVID-19 data and adverse events following immunization data resumed in iPHIS.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Mosquito Surveillance Data
Since 2003, the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit has been conducting mosquito surveillance for West Nile Virus (WNV) in Simcoe County and District of Muskoka by trapping and testing adult mosquitoes to determine whether they are carrying WNV, or Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus (EEEV).
SMDHU also collects larval samples from catch basins, ditches and storm retention ponds to count how many and what kind of mosquito larvae are present and breeding in our area. Larvae are the immature form of the insect that have not yet become adult mosquitoes capable of biting and transmitting disease. This surveillance data helps to guide local decision making and risk assessments, and to identify areas where an increased risk of exposure to virus may exist.
Source:
Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit
Data Notes:
- Trap sites are selected based on where mosquitoes known to transmit WNV are known to breed (urban areas), and in areas populated by humans. These sites are usually secure locations, such as a homeowner’s backyard.
- Adult mosquito trap site locations are usually in the same spot year over year, but sites may move or new sites may be added in response to the previous year’s mosquito surveillance or to human cases of WNV.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS)
The National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS) contains data for all hospital-based and community-based ambulatory care (day surgery, outpatient and community-based clinics, emergency departments). Information on client visits is collected at the time of service in participating facilities.
Source:
Canadian Institute of Health Information distributed by Ontario Ministry of Health: IntelliHealth Ontario
Data Notes:
- Data are collected based on location of hospital but are generally analyzed by the residence of the patient for health status purposes.
- Client visit data is collected at time of service in participating facilities.
- Unique visits NOT unique individuals are reported.
- Data are influenced by factors that are unrelated to health status such as availability and accessibility of care, and administrative policies and procedures. This may influence comparisons between areas and over time.
- Injury-related hospitalizations are counted using NACRS not DAD. These visits are counted based on the disposition of the visit being coded as admitted to the treating hospital or transferred to another hospital for admission.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Nutritious Food Basket
Since 1998, the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) and other Ontario Public Health Units (PHUs) have been mandated to monitor food affordability using the Nutritious Food Basket (NFB) by relating the cost of the NFB to household incomes. The NFB is a survey tool that measures the cost of basic healthy eating as represented by current national nutrition recommendations and average food purchasing patterns. Survey results are used to calculate the monthly cost of a NFB for households of different compositions and income sources.
In June 2024, Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit staff conducted the NFB survey in Simcoe County and in the District Municipality of Muskoka separately. Surveyors visited a pre-determined sample of 14 grocery stores and recorded the price of the same 61 foods in each store. Every effort is made to include a balance of “regular” and “budget” grocery stores from all the major supermarket chains in the area, and to ensure that stores chosen for the survey come from a balance of lower, middle and higher-level economic areas of the region.
The foods surveyed included a variety of relatively inexpensive and widely consumed choices from Canada’s Food Guide that can be used to prepare a whole week’s worth of healthy meals and snacks. They include:
- Vegetables and fruits
- Breads, cereals and other grain-based foods
- Milk and other dairy products
- Meats, fish and poultry
- Canned beans and other meat alternatives.
Source:
Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit
Data Notes:
- The list of NFB foods that are surveyed is not intended as a “prescriptive” list of items that must be eaten by everyone to maintain health. It only represents one example of a “basket” of foods that can be used to determine benchmark figures for the cost of healthy eating in a region.
- It is important to note that it is NOT appropriate to use local NFB results to calculate what individuals and families should be paying for food. NFB figures are an average of food costs from across the whole region and do not represent food costs in any one community. Food costs and other circumstances can be quite different from one community to another in Simcoe Muskoka.
- The mix of stores and the approach to store selection may differ from one public health unit to another. For this reason, it is inappropriate to make comparisons of the NFB data across PHUs.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Office of the Chief Coroner (OCC)
The Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario is responsible for death investigations and inquests to ensure that no death will be overlooked, concealed or ignored. Data from the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario come from published weekly and monthly updates.
Source:
Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario and the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service
Data Notes:
- Public Health Unit regions are assigned primarily based on location of incident. If data for location of incident is pending, region will reflect location of death. Region will reflect location of death in cases where the incident occurred outside of Ontario.
- Data are preliminary and subject to change until all investigations have been completed. This may take several years from the time the incident occurred.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Ontario Marginalization Index (ON-Marg)
The Ontario Marginalization Index (ON-Marg) is a data tool that combines a wide range of demographic indicators from Ontario-specific census data. The tool allows exploration of multiple dimensions of marginalization and better understanding of inequalities in various measures of health and social well-being between different population groups, or different geographical areas.
Source:
Public Health Ontario in collaboration with MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital.
Data Notes:
- Public Health Ontario renamed the ON-Marg dimensions to move away from deficit-based language towards more strength-based language, and as such the Material Deprivation measure was renamed to Material Resource. At SMDHU, we are continuing to use the original terminology “Material Deprivation”, as we feel it is more intuitive and more easily communicated to the audience.
- The 2021 edition uses the same dimensions as earlier versions of ON-Marg, with updated names:
- Households and dwellings (previously called ‘residential instability’)
- Material resources (previously called ‘material deprivation’)
- Age and labour force (previously called ‘dependency’)
- Racialized and newcomer populations (previously called ‘ethnic concentration’).
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
- ON-Marg is used for the material deprivation analysis included within the sub-populations page for many dashboards.
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Ontario Cancer Registry (OCR)
The Ontario Cancer Registry (OCR) contains information on Ontario residents who have been newly diagnoses with all types of malignant cancer, with the exception of basal cell and squamous cell (non-melanoma) skin cancers. The OCR also contains information on Ontario residents who have died of all types of malignant cancers.
Source:
Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario)
Data Notes:
- Cancer sites were coded using the Third Edition of the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICDO-3).
- Beginning in 2014, the OCR adopted the National Cancer Institute (NCI) SEER standards for counting multiple primaries for cancer cases diagnosed in 2010 and beyond. This standard is more liberal than the previously used case counting rules from the modified version of the International Association of Cancer Registries (IACR).
- Cancer incidence data presented within these dashboards reflect the new rules for counting multiple primary cancers. To ensure consistent interpretation of trends, cancer incidence data is presented from 2010 onward.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Ontario Laboratories Information System (OLIS)
The Ontario Laboratories Information System (OLIS) is a data repository for lab test orders and results from commercial and hospital laboratories including the Public Health Ontario Laboratories.
Source:
Ontario Ministry of Health
Data Notes:
- OLIS has been integrated with the Case and Contact Management Solution (CCM) to provide health units access to SARS-CoV-2 test results among local residents. Not all laboratories performing SARS-CoV-2 tests are reporting through the OLIS system.
- Local residents are defined through OLIS based on the postal code associated with a valid health card number, or by the postal code of an address provided at the time of testing.
- Reported data on testing for COVID-19 provided through OLIS does not represent all COVID-19 tests completed locally, or all COVID-19 tests completed on local residents.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Ontario Medical Services Data
Ontario Medical Services data is obtained from the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) Approved Claims files. These files contain service and payment information for both fee-for service claims submitted by physicians and other licensed health professionals, and some of the "shadow billings" by providers in organization covered by alternate payment arrangements. Information can include patient, provider, procedure performed, number of services/units delivered, and some “diagnostic” information.
Source:
Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) Approved Claims distributed by Ontario Ministry of Health: IntelliHealth Ontario
Data Notes:
- Since only some of the claims from the Ministry of Health’s various alternate payment programs or “shadow billers” are included, there may be undercounting of total volume of selected services.
- Geographic information for residence of patient must be interpreted with extreme caution. OHIP does not collect any geographic information on either the patient or the provider as part of the claim. The location of the patient is based on the address of the person recorded in the Registered Persons Database.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Ontario Mental Health Reporting System (OMHRS)
The Ontario Mental Health Reporting System (OMHRS) contains data on adult mental health hospitalizations in hospitals or in psychiatric hospitals. Records in OMHRS are updated at admission, discharge, for significant changes in health status and quarterly. OMHRS contains a broad array of information from scores and scales for assessment of patients’ mental health and status.
Source:
Canadian Institute for Health Information on behalf of Ontario Ministry of Health: IntelliHealth Ontario
Data Notes:
- OMHRS includes mental health data from Ontario facilities with designated adult mental health beds and from 3 facilities outside of Ontario that submit data on a voluntary basis. It also includes records from child/adolescent mental health beds from 2 psychiatric hospitals, and it may include records for patients younger than 18 who were admitted to an adult mental health bed.
- Reported mental health data from OMHRS should be complemented by child and youth mental health bed access from the Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) and mental-health related emergency department visits from the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS).
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS)
The Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS) is a population survey of Ontario students in Grades 7 through 12. The OSDUHS began in 1977 and is the longest ongoing school survey in Canada, and one of the longest in the world. This self-administered, anonymous survey is conducted across the province every two years with the purpose of identifying epidemiological trends in student drug use, mental health, physical activity, and risk behaviour, as well as identifying risk and protective factors.
Source:
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, administered by the Institute for Social Research (ISR), York Region.
Data Notes:
- The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) collaborated with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) for the 2015 and 2019 OSDUHS surveys to obtain a representative sample of Simcoe Muskoka students in Grades 7 to 12.
- Participation in the health unit oversample requires available resources from the health unit and approval from the local school boards.
- Data used came from the OSDUHS, its contents and interpretation are solely the responsibility of SMDHU and do not necessarily represent the official view of the CAMH.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Oral Health Information Support System (OHISS)
The Oral Health Information Support System (OHISS) is the database used by public health units to support oral health screening and surveillance, as well as claims administration for dental programs.
Source:
Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit
Data Notes:
- The Ontario Public Health Standards (2021) require that public health units conduct oral health screening and surveillance of children in schools. Oral health school screenings are conducted every year on students in Junior Kindergarten (JK), Senior Kindergarten (SK), and Grade 2 in publicly funded schools at a minimum. Other grades may potentially be screened as well - the Oral Health Assessment and Surveillance Protocol outlines how public health units determine which grades to screen in each school. Children who are absent from school on the day of screening, schooled at home or who refuse are excluded.
- Oral Health surveillance and reporting of decayed, missing and filled teeth is conducted annually for students in SK.
- The objectives of screening are to determine the prevalence of dental disease and the need for preventive and treatment services. In addition, the information collected supports program planning and evaluation and identifies the "at risk" segments of the surveyed population.
- The Oral Health Assessment and Screening protocol replaced the Dental Indices Survey (DIS), as of January 1, 2009.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Panorama
Panorama is a database designed to provide high quality, timely health surveillance data across Ontario. It is currently used by public health units to capture data related to immunizations, vaccine inventory movement and cold chain inspections, and is the public health interface to the Digital Health Immunization Repository (DIHR). Panorama functionality includes tracking student immunizations, exemptions and compliance with the Immunization of School Pupils Act as well as immunizations provided by public health unit staff at schools and clinics as part of the Grade 7 Immunization program. Panorama is also used for accountability and quality assurance for vaccine inventory and storage.
Source:
Ontario Ministry of Health
Data Notes:
- Panorama provides real-time data on current coverage of vaccine in student populations and compliance with the Ontario Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA). Historical data is limited.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Postal Code Conversion File (PCCF)
The Postal Code Conversion File (PCCF) provides a link between the Canada Post Corporation (CPC) six-character postal code and Statistics Canada’s standard geographic areas (such as dissemination area, census subdivision, and census tracts) which are used for census data and other statistics. This link between postal code and standard geographic areas permits the integration of data from various sources.
Source:
Canada Post Corporation and Statistics Canada distributed by the Community Data Program
Data Notes:
- Postal codes do not follow census geographic boundaries and may be linked to more than one standard geographic area. Therefore, one postal code may be represented by more than one record.
- As part of the Simcoe County Data Consortium, SMDHU has access to the PCCF and PCCF + purchased from Environics Analytics through the national Community Data Program.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
- The PCCF+ is used to assign postal code data to census geographies for analysis and mapping in many dashboards.
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Population Estimates
The population estimates are based on the census counts adjusted for net under-coverage. The data used are population estimates by single year of age (up to 90+) and sex for Ontario’s Census Subdivisions (CSD), as of July 1, 1986-2024.
Source:
Demography Division, Statistics Canada, Population estimates, July 1, by census subdivision, 2021 boundaries
Data Notes:
- The latest update to the population estimates are final intercensal up to 2020, final postcensal for 2021, updated postcensal for 2022-2023 and preliminary postcensal for 2024.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
- Unless stated otherwise, population estimates are used as the population denominator in most dashboards.
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Population Projections
Population projections were released by Ontario’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) in the summer of 2023. The projections are an estimate of population growth for the province that help Ontario ministries, municipalities and other users plan and provide future services. Projections are based on assumptions about births, deaths and immigration and relocation over the projection time frame. The assumptions used by MOF are based on the study of past trends, as well as expectations for the future. Projections at the county or district level are for the “most likely to occur" scenario.
Source:
Ontario Ministry of Finance distributed by Ontario Ministry of Health, IntelliHealth Ontario
Data Notes:
- The base population for the projections is taken from Statistics Canada’s 2022 population estimates (released in January 2023 and based on the 2016 Census).
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Rabies Surveillance Data
By law, all dogs, cats and ferrets must be vaccinated against rabies, even pets that are indoor only. Livestock (e.g., cows, sheep) that are exposed to the public such as those at petting zoos and pony rides must also be vaccinated. The health unit collects information about vaccination status of animals involved in potential rabies exposure investigations, but it is unknown what proportion of all pets are vaccinated against rabies.
When an animal that has been involved in a biting incident is suspected to be infected with and is potentially at risk of transmitting the rabies virus, the health unit may arrange for the animal to be tested for rabies through the Canadian Food Inspection Agency laboratory. Animal testing may also be arranged by veterinarians with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA) in cases where the animal has not bitten or potentially exposed a human to rabies, and wildlife rabies surveillance may be conducted by wildlife organizations such as the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative. Regardless of which agency submits an animal for testing, all animals with positive rabies test results are to be reported to the health unit. This information is used for surveillance purposes and to understand risks to human health.
The health unit also tracks the administration of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis to humans as part of potential rabies exposure investigations.
Source:
Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System (RRFSS)
The Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System (RRFSS) is a monthly telephone survey to gather information regarding awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours about key or emerging public health topics. Topics include smoking, cannabis, climate change, food insecurity, immunization, and many others. This survey occurs in participating public health unit areas across Ontario. The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit has been participating in RRFSS since 2001.
Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System (RRFSS) data is provided by the Institute for Social Research (ISR), York University. Funding is provided by the participating Health Units. The Institute for Social Research is not responsible for the analysis and interpretations presented here.
Source:
Institute for Social Research (ISR) at York University on behalf of participating public health units.
Data Notes:
- All information reported from this survey is for the complete survey year (January to December), unless otherwise specified.
- Every month, a random sample of between 60 and 100 adults aged 18 years and older are interviewed.
- Starting in 2017, survey methods were updated to include both landline and cell phone numbers.
- Post-stratification weights are used in the analysis to account for differences between the population reached by the telephone survey and the make-up of the general population, for example by age and sex.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Taxfiler
Known colloquially as “Taxfiler data”, these data are collected primarily from income tax returns submitted to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Taxfiler data provides income and demographic information for smaller geographic areas.
Source:
Statistics Canada
Data Notes:
- These data cover all persons who completed a T1 tax return for the year of reference, who received CCTB (Canada Child Tax Benefits), their non-filing spouses (including wage and salary information from the T4 file), their non-filing children identified from three sources (the CCTB file, the birth files, and an historical file) and filing children who reported the same address as their parent.
- As part of the Simcoe County Data Consortium, SMDHU has access to custom data sets purchased from Statistics Canada through the national Community Data Program. These include Taxfiler datasets at custom and smaller geographic levels not publicly available through Statistics Canada. Taxfiler data accessed through the Consortium are available at the Simcoe County and District of Muskoka Census Division level.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Therapeutic Abortion Summary
The Therapeutic Abortion Summary identifies all therapeutic abortions performed only in Ontario over a specified period. This includes those performed in hospitals, free-standing abortion clinics and private physician offices.
Source:
Hospital Therapeutic Abortions (TAs): Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), Clinic and Private Physicians' Office (PPO) TAs: Ontario Ministry of Health distributed by IntelliHealth Ontario
Data Notes:
- Data are based on the client’s residence, not where the procedure was performed.
- The summary does not include therapeutic abortions performed out-of-province, which may include a large number of abortions, particularly those over 20 weeks gestation.
- Excludes the following, which are not captured in hospital and clinic data: incomplete procedures; pay direct patients; patients uninsured for any other reason; and medically/pharmacologically-induced abortions.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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The Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR) was designed to measure the incidence of crime in Canadian society and its characteristics. UCR data reflect reported crime that has come to the attention of police, and includes the number of criminal incidents, the clearance status of those incidents and persons-charged information. There are more than 1,000 separate police departments responding to the survey, comprising of 196 different forces.
In Simcoe Muskoka, data is collected from the following police detachments:
- Barrie, Ontario, municipal
- Barrie, Ontario, Ontario Provincial Police, rural
- Bracebridge/Bala, Ontario, Ontario Provincial Police, rural
- Collingwood, Ontario, Ontario Provincial Police, municipal and rural
- Huntsville, Ontario, Ontario Provincial Police, municipal and rural
- Huronia West (Clearwater, Springwater, Wasaga Beach), Ontario, Ontario Provincial Police, rural
- Nottawasaga (New Tecumseth, Essa, Adjala-Tosorontio), Ontario, Ontario Provincial Police, municipal
- Orillia, Ontario, Ontario Provincial Police, municipal and rural
- Oro-Medonte, Ontario, Ontario Provincial Police, rural
- Rama, Ontario, municipal
- Ramara, Ontario, Ontario Provincial Police, rural
- Severn, Ontario, Ontario Provincial Police, rural
- South Simcoe (Innisfil), Ontario, municipal
- Southern Georgian Bay (Georgian Bay, Penetanguishene, Tay, Tiny), Ontario, Ontario Provincial Police, municipal
Source:
Statistics Canada
Data Notes:
- All data presented in the HealthSTATs page is based on calculations by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit. To determine aggregate data and calculation for Simcoe Muskoka, a police service boundary file provided from Statistics Canada was used to understand the total coverage of the above police services for Simcoe Muskoka. Based on this file, the following detachments were excluded from the overall data due to the police areas not having any permanent population:
- Orillia (Headquarters), Ontario, Ontario Provincial Police
- New Tecumseth, Ontario, Ontario Provincial Police, rural
- Overall, the UCR aggregate data covers 99% of the total population for Simcoe Muskoka. 22% of the total population of Essa is covered by the Canadian Military Police, which do not participate in the survey. The entire population for Christian Island 30/30A is covered under Anishinabek Police Services which covers 19 First Nations reserves across Ontario, therefore this police service was excluded as well.
- The UCR CMA’s have been modified from the Official Statistics Canada CMAs to fit police boundaries. The Barrie CMA includes the City of Barrie, the Town of Innisfil and the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury (instead of Springwater). The Barrie CMA corresponds to Barrie Police, municipal and South Simcoe police services. See Statistics Canada CMA Methodology.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Vital Statistics – Live Birth Data
The Office of the Registrar General (ORG) obtains information about all live births within 30 days of birth in Ontario, as per the Vital Statistics Act (1990). A birth is registered when the ORG has received the Notice of Live Birth or Stillbirth (completed by the birth attendant within two business days), and the Statement of Live Birth (completed by the parent within 30 days.)
Source:
Ontario Office of Registrar General (ORG), Service Ontario distributed by Ontario Ministry of Health: IntelliHealth Ontario
Data Notes:
- Data are analyzed by the residence of the mother, not where the birth occurred.
- Births occurring outside of the province to Ontario mothers are not available.
- Stillbirths are not included in the live birth data but are provided in a separate data source (Vital Statistics Stillbirth Data).
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Vital Statistics – Mortality Data
The Office of the Registrar General (ORG) obtains information about mortality from death certificates in Ontario, as per the Vital Statistics Act (1990), which are completed by physicians.
Source:
Ontario Office of Registrar General (ORG), Service Ontario distributed by Ontario Ministry of Health: IntelliHealth Ontario
Data Notes:
- The cause of death reported is the occurrence that starts the sequence of events leading to death.
- There may be some uncertainty in classifying deaths when there are multiple causes. Determining true cause of death may be influenced by the social or legal conditions surrounding the death and by the level of medical investigation, e.g. AIDS and suicide.
- Data are analyzed by the residence of the deceased, not where the death occurred. Records for Ontario residents who die outside of the province are not available and are therefore excluded. Otherwise, due to legal reporting requirements, registration of deaths is considered to be virtually complete.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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Vital Statistics – Stillbirth Data
The Office of the Registrar General (ORG) obtains information about all stillbirths in Ontario, as per the Vital Statistics Act (1990). A stillbirth is defined as a product of conception weighing 500 grams or more or of 20 or more weeks gestation which, after being completely delivered, shows no sign of life. A stillbirth is based on the Notice of Stillbirth completed by the birth attendant, the Statement of Stillbirth completed by parents, and the Medical Certificate of Stillbirth completed by the birth attendant.
Source:
Ontario Office of Registrar General (ORG), Service Ontario distributed by Ontario Ministry of Health: IntelliHealth Ontario
Data Notes:
- Data are analyzed by the residence of the mother, not where the stillbirth occurred.
- Therapeutic abortions that meet either criterion are also classified as stillbirths in Ontario.
Data Used in the Following Dashboards:
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