Wide wellness gap between Saskatoon’s rich and poor
We’ve always known that the poorest people living in our communities are much more likely to experience health problems when compared to the broad population base. What may strike some as surprising, even shocking, is the extent of the health gap disparity which apparently exists between the wealthiest and the poorest Saskatoon residents. This mornings Star Phoenix featured a story titled, RICH-POOR HEALTH GAP SHOCKING and gave us a sneak peek at some data which will be published Friday in the Canadian Journal of Public Health. The study’s data reveals that people who reside in some of Saskatoon’s poorest core neighbourhoods like Pleasant Hill, Riversdale, Westmount, Meadowgreen, King George and the Confederation Suburban Centre have significantly higher health and wellness challenges when compared to the city as a whole, and that the disparity is substantially greater when compared to residents of Saskatoon’s wealthiest areas like Erindale, Briarwood, Arbor Creek, Lakeridge and College Park.
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Suicide attempts are 3.8 times higher in these core neighbourhoods when compared against the city as a whole and 16 times higher when compared against Saskatoon’s most affluent areas.
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Mental disorders are 1.9 times higher in these core neighbourhoods when compared against the city as a whole and 35 times higher when compared against Saskatoon’s most affluent areas.
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Hepatitis C rates are 8 times higher in these core neighbourhoods when compared against the city as a whole and 16 times higher when compared against Saskatoon’s most affluent areas.
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Chlamydia rates are 4.3 times higher in these core neighbourhoods when compared against the city as a whole and 14.9 times higher when compared against Saskatoon’s most affluent areas.
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Diabetes rates are 4 times higher in these core neighbourhoods when compared against the city as a whole and 12.9 times higher when compared against Saskatoon’s most affluent areas.
Read the full Star Phoenix story for reactions from the health community.
3 comments so far. We'd love to hear your thoughts.
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Fascinating story really. It will be interesting to see what results from the research in the other 18 cities. I’m curious to know if this is a Saskatoon issue or if it’s prevalent across the country.
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Hi Shari,
Thanks for your post. I suspect that we’ll see similar results in all 18 areas. It’s sad, but it really shouldn’t be such a big surprise. Life is tough for the poor. One can’t help but feel grateful after reading something like this. I hope that we can find ways of dealing with these sad social issues as a community.
April 3rd, 2009 at 11:33 AM
As I follow up to my original post, the Star Phoenix in today’s edition ran a story with the headline “Health Gap Help” some of the immediate efforts which are under way to improve the health disparity situation revealed in a recent study.
The Saskatoon Health Region will divert $800,000 into a community based project targeted at preventing illness. Additionally, the United Way has pledged $50,000 towards inner-city after school programs. The health region added an additional $30,000 to that amount.
While these amounts represent a small amount of money in comparison to what will be needed to fully address these issues, it is encouraging to see some display of leadership and concern to begin dealing with it quickly.
The full Star Phoenix story is here.