Overview

The British Columbia Health Atlas is an ongoing initiative to map the health status and health care use of the residents of the province. By displaying this information in its geographic context, the Atlas provides a special perspective on population health and can be a valuable planning tool for health care managers and administrators in BC.

The first edition of the BC Health Atlas was published in January 2002. The second edition focuses on the period just before British Columbia formed six regional health authorities in 2001, marking a major shift in the delivery of health care services for the province. Future editions of the Atlas will compare if and how measures of health status and health care service use have changed under the administration of the health authorities.

Approach

The BC Health Atlas uses data on measures of health status and health care service use from the BC Linked Health Database. Data are mapped at the local health area, health service delivery area, health authority, and province-wide levels in BC.

The second edition of the Atlas uses premature mortality rate (death before age 75) as an estimate of health status and predictor of need for health care services. Health care service use measures, including hospital separations, emergency room visits, physician expenditures, and PharmaCare expenditures, are then examined for their relationship to health status.

Project Team

• Contact: Kimberlyn McGrail
• Charlyn Black

Funding

• BC Ministry of Health