Transcript Glace Bay Community GPI

Genuine Progress Index for Atlantic Canada
Indice de progrès véritable - Atlantique
Glace Bay Community GPI
Glace Bay, 16 May, 2002
How healthy is Glace Bay?
What kind of community are
we leaving our children?
What kind of world are
we leaving our children?
• Canada’s premier quality of life
• More possessions, longer lives
• But, if we define wellbeing more
broadly, there are disturbing
signs
Warning Signals:
Determinants of
Wellbeing
•Higher stress rates, obesity, childhood
asthma
•Insecurity, job loss in Glace Bay & CBRM
•Greater inequality and more child poverty
•Decline of volunteerism
•Natural resource depletion, species loss
•Global warming
“The more the economy grows, the
better off we are” - Sending the
wrong message?
 Crime, sickness, pollution, resource
depletion make economy grow
 GDP can grow even as poverty and
inequality increase.
 More work hours make economy grow;
free time has no value.
 GDP ignores work that contributes directly
to community health (volunteers, work in
home).
We Need Better Indicators of
Progress and Wellbeing. In the
GPI:
 Health, livelihood security, free time,
unpaid work, natural resource, &
education have value
 Sickness, crime, disasters, pollution are
costs
 Reductions in crime, poverty, greenhouse
gas, ecological footprint are progress
 Growing equity signals progress
Indicators are
Powerful
What we measure:
 reflects what we value as a society;
 determines what makes it onto the
policy agenda;
 influences behaviour (eg students)
A good set of indicators
can help communities:
 foster common vision and purpose;
 help us learn about ourselves;
 identify strengths and weaknesses;
 change public behavior;
 hold leaders accountable at election time
 initiate actions to promote wellbeing
Glace Bay Community GPI
Partnerships include:
• East Cape Breton Community Health Board, Cape
Breton Wellness Centre (UCCB), NS Citizens for
Community Development Society, CB DHA,
CBCEDA, CB regional police (Sgt Barry Gordon),
Glace Bay Citizens Service League, UCCB (Dr.
MacIntyre), Dalhousie University, SMU, ACEWH
• Canadian Population Health Initiative, National
Crime Prevention Centre, HRDC (Glace Bay),
CEIP
The Means:
• 1,700 surveys - random, 15+, confidential
• CI 95% +/- 3%; 2 cross-tabulations
• Detailed: 2 hrs; Glace Bay: 82% response
• Survey covers health, care-giving, time
use, voluntary work, security, income
employment, environmental issues
• Data entry
What’s in the Glace Bay Survey?
1) Demographics & Employment
• Age, sex, household, marital, education,
income
• Employment, unemployment, out of work
• Job characteristics - types of jobs (p-t, f-t,
etc), benefits, work from home, occupation
• Work schedule, hours, shifts, job security,
underemployment, job sharing - work
reduction
2) Health and Community
• Core values, caregiving, volunteer work,
community service
• Stress, mental health, social supports,
children’s health
• Weight, smoking, physical activity,
screening (Pap, mammogram, blood
pressure)
• Pain, disability, disease, medications,
health care use
3) Peace and Security
• Victimization and costs of crime
• Neighbourhood safety, fear, self-protection
• Opinions about police, courts, prisons
• Identify Glace Bay problems - drinking?
bullying? domestic violence? drugs? Etc.
4) Time Use Diary
• Work: Household work, paid work,
voluntary work, caregiving, education
• How we spend free time - TV, reading,
socializing, spiritual practice, sport,
exercise
• Travel, personal activities, child care
• Window on quality of life
5) Environment
• Energy use
• Transportation patterns
• Water quality
• Recycling and waste
• Food consumption - food diary and
nutrition
Community Action
• Community access to results - special
software packages, news stories, etc.
• Deliberative dialogue, work groups to
discuss and analyze results, and
identify policy priorities / actions
• Community prioritizes indicators for
annual benchmarks of progress
• Community training - adaptations
Emphasis on practical
action eg:
• Teenage smoking; overweight; exercise e.g. promote school-based programs
• Screening rates - mammography, pap
smears -- notify health officials of needs
• Identify counselling needs - employment,
domestic violence, mental health
• Education - nutrition, recycling, energy use
New directions for the future:
• Learn about ourselves, create new
partnerships, experiment with new
solutions
• Measure our progress towards shared goals
• Model for other communities - template for
adaptation - learn from mistakes
• Improve methodologies, survey tools - never
a final product
Genuine Progress Index for Atlantic Canada
Indice de progrès véritable - Atlantique
www.gpiatlantic.org
GPI Glace Bay: Town House
[email protected]