The emerging patchwork of information does not support an understanding of population health across Canadian settings. In addition, most of the information sources focus on health status and the determinants of health. Thus, aspects of utilization of medical care and the elaboration of the contribution of medical care to population health remain underdeveloped in all but a few initiatives. Most of the 18 initiatives selected for analysis were at an early stage in the process of developing links to support decision-making, and it is clear that much remains to be learned about how to make health information sources relevant to the policy process. There has been a concern among policy makers that many of the current initiatives may fall short in identifying appropriate policy levers.
Several characteristics are central to a source s ability to support decision-making.
Another characteristic is the linkage of information with current funding and delivery data. This paper provides strong support for a national initiative to assess population health and provide information to support important policy decisions at the national, provincial, territorial and regional levels of jurisdiction. Cooperation and partnerships will be required to move such an initiative forward. The initiative should draw on the strengths of the sources reviewed in this study. Initially, there should be a focus on comparative analyses of indicators, analyses that highlight similarities and differences across populations, using relevant geographic jurisdictions.