Map Sources

The Atlas maps are composed of several layers of which there are two broad categories: thematic and base layers. Find below a description of each of the map layers. The layer source is included in the metadata.

Thematic Map Layers

Average Distance to Physician Specialist, 1998 (km)

The average distance to physician specialist is a straight-line measure between the centres of Statistics Canada's Enumeration Areas (EA). In this analysis, a population-to-physician distance was not measured if the physician type or category was not in the same province/territory as the population site or location. Each of these distance measures was then averaged for physicians specialists for each of the 288 census divisions of Canada. Data source: Statistics Canada and 1998 Southam Medical Database of the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Base Map Layers

Atlas of Canada Framework Layers

Base map components are features that provide a geographic context for the thematic data shown on Atlas of Canada maps. These features include rivers, lakes, administrative boundaries, populated places, roads and rail lines. All of the Atlas of Canada base map components are available for immediate free download in five scales and in a number of data exchange formats. The 1:7 500 000 and the 1:1 000 000 scale data are the primary base frameworks used for all Atlas of Canada 6th Edition online maps. You can download Atlas of Canada data from this Web page on GeoGratis.

References

Advisory Council on Health Infostructure. 1999. Health Infoway: Paths to Better Health. Health Canada Cat. H21-145/1999E. Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services.

Angus, D.E. and D.A Brothers. 1976. The supply of physicians: the proximity of population to physicians approach. Canadian Journal of Public Health 67.

Beshiri, R. and R.D. Bollman. 2001. Population structure and change in predominantly rural regions. Rural and Small Town Canada - Analysis Bulletin. Vol. 2, No. 2. Ottawa: Statistics, Canada.

Bollman, R.D. and B. Biggs. 1992. Rural and small town Canada: an overview. pp. 3-44, in Bollman, R.D., ed. Rural and Small Town Canada. Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

Canada. Research Sub-Committee of the Interdepartmental Committee on Rural and Remote Canada. 1995. Rural Canada: A Profile. LM-347-02-95E. Ottawa: Government of Canada.

Canada. Statistics Canada. 2000. Health Regions 2000: Boundaries, Geographic Information and Population Estimates. Catalogue No. 82F0082XCB. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.

Canada. Statistics Canada. Federal, Provincial and Territorial Advisory Committee on Population Health. 1999. Statistical Report on the Health of Canadians. Statistics Canada Catalogue Number 82-570-X1E. Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services.

Canadian Institute for Health Information. 1999. National Consensus Conference on Population Health Indicators. Ottawa: Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Canadian Institute for Health Information. 2000. Health Personnel in Canada, 1988 to 1997. Ottawa: Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Canadian Institute for Health Information. DesMeules, M., Pong, R., et al. 2006. How Healthy Are Rural Canadians? An Assessment of Their Health Status and Health Determinants. Ottawa: Canadian Institute for Health Information.

du Plessis, V. et al. 2001. Definitions of rural. Rural and Small Town Canada Analysis Bulletin. Vol. 3, No. 3. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.

Epp, J. 1986. Achieving Health for All: A Framework for Health Promotion. Ottawa: Health and Welfare Canada.

Evans, R.G., M. Barer and T. Marmor. 1994. Why Are Some People Healthy and Others Not? New York: Aldine De Gryter.

Federal, Provincial and Territorial Advisory Committee on Population Health. 1994. Strategies for Population Health: Investing in the Health of Canadians. Prepared for the meeting of the Ministers of Health, Halifax, Nova Scotia, September 14-15, 1994. Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services Canada.

Federal, Provincial and Territorial Advisory Committee on Population Health. 1996. Report on the Health of Canadians. Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services Canada.

Federal, Provincial and Territorial Advisory Committee on Population Health. 1999. Toward a Healthy Future: Second Report on the Health of Canadians. Health Canada Catalogue Number H39-468/1999E. Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services.

Federal, Provincial and Territorial Advisory Committee on Population Health. 1999. Statistical Report on the Health of Canadians. Statistics Canada. Catalogue Number 82-570-X1E. Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services.

Federal, Provincial and Territorial Advisory Committee on Population Health. 1997. Federal, Provincial and Territorial Advisory Committee on Population Health.

Hayes, Michael V. and James R. Dunn. 1998. Population Health in Canada: A Systematic Review. CPRN Study No. H|01|. Ottawa: Renouf Publishing Co. Ltd.

Lalonde, M. 1974. A New Perspective on the Health of Canadians. Ottawa: Health and Welfare Canada.

Mendelson, R. and R.D. Bollman. 1999. Rural and small town population is growing in the 1990s. Rural and Small Town Canada - Analysis Bulletin. Vol. 1, No. 1. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.

Moore, E. and M. Rosenberg. 1996. Growing Old in Canada. 96-321-MPE96001. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.

Ng, E. et al. 1999. How far to the nearest physician? Rural and Small Town Canada - Analysis Bulletin. Vol. 1, No. 5. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.

Ng, E., R. Wilkins, and A. Perras. 1993. How far is it to the nearest hospital? Health Reports 5:179-188.

Ng, E., R. Wilkins, J. Pole, and O.B. Adams. How far is it to the nearest physician? Health Reports 8:19-31.

Page, S. and K. Cramer. 2001. Maclean's rankings of health care indices in Canadian communities, 2000: comparisons and statistical contrivance. Canadian Journal of Public Health 92:295-298.

Pitblado, J.R. and R.W. Pong. 1999. Geographic Distribution of Physicians in Canada. Sudbury: Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research.

Pitblado, J.R. et al. 1999. Assessing Rural Health: Toward Developing Health Indicators for Rural Canada. Sudbury: Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research.

Pong, R.W. 2000. Rural health research in Canada: At the crossroads. Australian Journal of Rural Health 8:261-265.

Pong, R. W. and J.R. Pitblado. 2001. Don't take 'geography' for granted! Some methodological issues in measuring geographic distribution of physicians. Canadian Journal of Rural Medicine 6: 103-112.

Pong, R.W., A. Salmoni, and S. Heard. 1999. Aging in a hurry: Changing population profile in Elliot Lake. In A.M. Mawhiney and J. Pitblado, eds., Boom Town Blues. Elliot Lake: Collapse and Revival in a Single-Industry Community. Toronto, Ontario: Dundurn Press.

Pong, R.W., A. Salmoni, and S. Heard. 1999. Physician visits by older persons in Elliot Lake: Issues and challenges. In A.M. Mawhiney and J. Pitblado, eds. Boom Town Blues. Elliot Lake: Collapse and Revival in a Single-Industry Community. Toronto, Ontario: Dundurn Press.

Pong, R.W., et al. 1999. Rural Health Research in the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Sudbury: Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research.

Salmoni, A., S. Heard, V. Sahai, R.W. Pong, and J. Lewko. 1996. Predicting future long-term care needs in a community. Canadian Journal of Public Health 87(6): 418-421.

Tremblay, J. 2001. Rural youth migration between 1971 and 1996. Rural and Small Town Canada - Analysis Bulletin. Vol. 2, No. 3. Ottawa: Statisitics Canada.

Valanis, B. 1992. Epidemiology. Norwalk (Connecticut): Appleton & Lange (Prentice Hall).

Vann, P. 2000. Parting shots: strategic investment needed in rural health. CMA News 10:6.

Young, T. Kue. 1998. Population Health: Concepts and Methods. New York: Oxford University Press.

Web Sites

Federal Government

Canadian Institutes of Health Research

CIHR is Canada's major federal funding agency for health research.

Government of Canada. Canadian Rural Partnership

The Partnership is about operating within the federal government to ensure that federal programs, policies and activities provide support to rural communities.

Health Canada: Aging and Seniors

Health Canada. Canadian Health Network

CHN is Canada's national network of health information providers. This site gives you easy access to health information you can trust from over 600 organizations across Canada.

Health Canada: Office of Rural Health

Health Canada. Population Health

Information and the nature of population health are provided.

Statistics Canada

Homepage for Statistics Canada.

Provincial/Territorial Government

Government of Alberta. Department of Health. Health and Wellness

Government of Manitoba. Health Department

Government of New Brunswick. Health and Wellness

Government of Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan Department of Health

Health & Social Services

Northwest Territories

Health and Social Services

Nova Scotia

Nunavut

Health and Social Services

Ontario

Health and Long-term Care

Quebec (available in French only)

Health and Social Services

Yukon

Health and Social Services

Other

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)

ASH is a registered charitable society headquartered in Edmonton; it is one of western Canada's leading tobacco control agencies

Airspace Action on Smoking and Health

This site is of a British Columbia citizens organization working towards the reduction of tobacco use

Brandon University. Rural Health Research Group. Determinants of Health of Rural Populations and Communities

This three-year project is an innovative, interdisciplinary research project coordinated through the Rural Development Institute at Brandon University in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada.

British Columbia Ministry of Health: Tobacco Facts

You'll find lots of resources, tools, information, downloadable posters, and graphic pictures on this site

Calgary Health Region Tobacco Reduction Web Site

Smoking and Tobacco information

Canadian Dental Association

The Canadian Dental Association is the authoritative national voice of dentistry, dedicated to the representation and advancement of the profession, nationally and internationally, and to the achievement of optimal oral health

Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions

Information of the health of patients and our national health system

Canadian Institute for Health Information

Home page for nonprofit organization whose mandate is to improve the health of Canadians.

Canadian Nurses Association (CNA)

CNA is a federation of 11 provincial and territorial nursing associations representing more than 110,000 registered nurses

Canadian Public Health Association

This website includes several articles and position papers which examine income and health relationships

Canadian Study of Health and Aging (University of Ottawa)

Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research (Lakehead University site)

Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research (Laurentian University site)

Dalhousie University. Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre

The AHPRC is currently supported by the Faculties of Health Professions, Medicine, and Dentistry at Dalhousie University, NHRDP, the Departments of Health in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & Labrador, and Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Manulife Financial.

Health Services Utilization and Research Commission of Saskatchewan

Information about the Saskatchewan's health system

Le Groupe de recherche interdisciplinaire en santé (GRIS) (available in French only)

McMaster University. Faculty of Social Sciences. Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population

SEDAP is a multi-disciplinary research program funded primarily by SSHRC and centered at McMaster University. It involves 28 academics from five universities. The program runs from Jan 1, 1999 to Dec 31, 2003.

Nursing Practice in Rural and Remote Canada

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada

Organization of Canadian physicians who share the reduction of tobacco-caused illness through reduced smoking and reduced exposure to second-hand smoke

Society of Rural Physicians of Canada

The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD)

The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) is one of Canada's most authoritative voices promoting better social and economic security for all Canadians.

United States Government. United States National Institutes of Health

Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults

University of Manitoba. Faculty of Medicine. Department of Community Health Sciences. Aging in Manitoba Longitudinal Study

University of Northern British Columbia. British Columbia Rural & Remote Health Research Institute

The British Columbia Rural & Remote Health Research Institute at the University of Northern British Columbia was established in 2001, in response to accumulating evidence of compromised health status and quality of life among rural, remote and northern populations.

University of Victoria. Centre on Aging

The Centre on Aging at the University of Victoria is a multidisciplinary social science research centre established in 1992. Our mandate is to promote and conduct basic and applied research throughout the lifespan.