Health in Oxford · CCHS 2023/2024, Statistics Canada
Health in Oxford trails 95% of Canadian towns
In the health survey, 42% of adults in the region rate their health very good or excellent, fewer than Nova Scotia’s 48%. For Oxford itself the measure is access, and it lags: 17 km to the nearest hospital, where 3.7 km is typical. The Health grade for Oxford is D.
Around Oxford, 14% of adults smoke daily, part of a smoking rate higher than most Canadian towns’ regions. Conditions and habits ↓
Less upbeat about their health
Adjusted for age, the region’s share in very good or excellent health is 9.6 points below the typical Canadian town’s; as answered, it is 41%. Health survey ↓
Shorter lives in the region
Oxford’s region sits 2.2 years below the typical Canadian town, and those reaching 65 have 19.2 years ahead (2022/2024). The wider area ↓
A long way to hospital
Distance is Oxford’s own health question: 0% of residents live beyond 30 km of a hospital, and the trip from its centre is 17 km. Getting care ↓
From Statistics Canada: the health survey and life expectancy for the health region, the deprivation index for the town; distances from the healthcare facilities database and OpenStreetMap.
Health Grade
Oxford grades D for health
Each input ranked against Canadian towns of 2,500 or more: the region’s four, the town’s distance to a hospital.
Very good or excellent health (42%)Better than 4% of Canadian towns
Chronic conditions (21%)Better than 5% of Canadian towns
Smokers (17%)Better than 17% of Canadian towns
Life expectancy (79.3)Better than 31% of Canadian towns
Distance to a hospital (17 km)Better than 33% of Canadian towns
The region’s four figures and the town’s distance to a hospital are each ranked against Canadian towns of 2,500 or more, then averaged.
How the grade works
Health is graded as a regional score, labelled as such: very good or excellent self-rated health, chronic conditions (arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure averaged) and smoking from the Canadian Community Health Survey, each age-standardised so an older region isn’t marked down for age alone, and life expectancy at birth, all for the health region. The residents’ average distance to a hospital is the one input measured for the town itself, so towns in one region can still differ.
Conditions and habits
29% of the region’s adults have high blood pressure and 13% diabetes
Long-term conditions and habits as the region’s adults reported them; the tick marks the province.
Conditions and weight · 2023/2024
High blood pressure
29%
Arthritis
33%
Diabetes
13%
Obese (self-reported)
43%
Mood disorder
18%
Anxiety disorder
23%
Habits · 2023/2024
Smoke daily or now and then
17%
Smoke every day
14%
Heavy drinking
21%
Flu shot in the past year
51%
Nova Scotia
More adults report obesity than across Nova Scotia: 43%, the province 39%.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (table 13-10-0972), as published, not adjusted for age; obesity from reported height and weight.
Health survey
Fewer people rate their health highly here than in Nova Scotia: 41% to 47%
The survey’s answers for the region as given, each beside the province’s (the tick).
Share of adults, as answered · 2023/2024
Health very good or excellent
41%
Health fair or poor
24%
Mental health very good or excellent
44%
Mental health fair or poor
20%
Most days quite a bit stressful
24%
Strong sense of belonging
65%
Satisfied with life
82%
Nova Scotia
Fewer adults here report very good or excellent mental health than across Nova Scotia (44% against 48%), while 24% call most days stressful.
Canadian Community Health Survey 2023/2024 (Statistics Canada table 13-10-0972), adults 18 and over, as published.
The wider area
Life expectancy across the 4 health regions in Nova Scotia
What Statistics Canada publishes above the town: life expectancy for each health region in Nova Scotia, and the deprivation index for the town’s own areas.
79.3
years at birth, 2022/2024
19.2
more years expected at 65
3rd
longest of 4 regions in Nova Scotia
Life expectancy at birth by health region · 2022/2024
Zone 4 - Central81.4
Zone 1 - Western80.0
Zone 2 - Northern79.3
Zone 3 - Eastern78.8
Of the 4 health regions in Nova Scotia, 3rd place goes to this one, between a low of 78.8 and a high of 81.4.
Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation · national quintile, 1 least to 5 most deprived
Residential instability3.6
Economic dependency4.7
Ethno-cultural composition2.7
Situational vulnerability4.0
These four scores average the national quintile of the areas where Oxford’s residents live; they carry no weight in the grade.
Life expectancy: Statistics Canada table 13-10-0988, three-year estimate 2022/2024, by health region.
Getting care
From Oxford, a hospital is 17 km away on average
Straight-line distances from each part of Oxford, weighted by who lives there.
Hospital
17 km
residents’ average distance
the typical Canadian town: 3.7 km
Clinic
61 km
community health centre or clinic, residents’ average
Pharmacy
0.7 km
residents’ average distance
1.0 within 3 km of a typical home
More than 30 km from a hospital
0%
share of residents
Emergency
911
police, fire, ambulance; 811 for health advice in most provinces
Oxford is further out than the provincial norm of 9.2 km in Nova Scotia, and than the typical Canadian town at 3.7 km. Few clinics are listed in Nova Scotia, so the distance to one reads longer than it is.
A region that outlives its deprivation by 1.4 years
Every town shares its health region’s figures, so this compares 102 regions; the one holding Oxford’s lies above the line.
Situational vulnerability: residents’ average quintile, 1 least to 5 most deprivedLife expectancy at birth (years)
Ranked from least to most deprived on Statistics Canada’s index, regions see lives shorten along the way (correlation −0.83, 102 regions). Scored 3.8, Oxford’s region would be expected to reach 77.9 years; it reaches 79.3. The 10 regions scored most like it mostly do worse (7 of 10), with a median of 78.5.
Life expectancy: Statistics Canada table 13-10-0988, 2022/2024, by health region. Deprivation: Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation 2021 (situational vulnerability), averaged over each region’s towns by their residents; income: 2021 Census median household income, averaged the same way. The averages and the line are TownRatings calculations.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
•
Deprivation is context. Statistics Canada’s 2021 deprivation index describes the town’s own areas for context only, with no index for the territories.
•
Regional figures. Only the distances on this page belong to Oxford alone, because the health survey and life expectancy come for the whole health region.
•
What counts as a hospital. The facilities database merges provincial lists of different vintages; its hospitals include some with no emergency department, and a few are placed by postal code.
•
Distances are straight lines. They run from where residents live, not along roads, so they understate a drive; each dissemination area counts by its 2021 population.
•
Who the survey asks. The health survey leaves out people living on reserves, full-time Canadian Forces members, people in institutions, and Nunavik and the Cree lands of James Bay.
•
Adjusted for age. Self-rated health, chronic conditions and smoking enter the grade adjusted to Canada’s adult age mix, though the survey block prints them as people answered.
Questions about health in Oxford
How healthy is Oxford?
On every regional measure, the region does worse than the typical Canadian town. On arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure, the region’s average share is 21%.
How far is Oxford from a hospital?
For everyday care, Oxford’s residents are 0.7 km from a pharmacy on average.
What is the life expectancy in Oxford?
Life expectancy comes by health region: 81.5 for women, 77.1 for men around Oxford (2022/2024).
How is Oxford’s Health Grade worked out?
Not yet: Health will weigh the region’s survey and life expectancy and Oxford’s distance to a hospital against the typical Canadian town once Canada’s grading run happens.
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0