The health of Canada's children. Part I: Canadian children's health in comparative perspective

Canada performs poorly with regard to infant mortality rates and somewhat less so for low birth weight rates, but for other health indicators and measures of the quality of the social determinants of children's health, Canada's performance suggests that there are numerous areas for improvement.

Abstract

In the present article, the state of Canadian children's health is provided through an examination of scores on a set of key health indicators. National and provincial infant mortality rates show little recent improvement, and in the case of low birth weight rates, a worsening trend is evident. These health indicators are strongly related to income, and studies documenting these associations are reviewed. Compared with other wealthy nations, Canada performs poorly with regard to infant mortality rates and somewhat less so for low birth weight rates. For other health indicators and measures of the quality of the social determinants of children's health (such as poverty) and children's well-being, Canada's performance suggests that there are numerous areas for improvement.