Forestry and Health Revisited: Health Status and Social Well-Being in the NW LHIN
B. Minore, M.E. Hill, H. Gray, and J. Hohenadel

Over the past several years, the NW LHIN has experienced a severe economic downturn due to the rapid decline of the forestry industry. As additional mill closures and lay-offs have occurred, the NW LHIN asked CRaNHR to update a 2008 research report Forestry and Health: An Exploratory Study of Health Status and Social Well-Being Changes in Northwestern Ontario Communities. With a focus on changes occurring since 2008, the present study will examine: (i) immediate and delayed effects of closures in the forestry industry on health status, demographics and health human resources and (ii) possible mediating mechanisms that explain variability in the communities, with an emphasis on community resilience. Working closely with staff from NW LHIN, the researchers will examine demographic and health status changes in formerly forestry-dependent communities, using data from the 2006 census and the 2007-08 Canadian Community Health Survey. CRaNHR staff also will conduct key informant interviews with regional and local health care providers to identify emerging health issues and service delivery challenges, including health human resource issues.



(Names in bold denote CRaNHR investigators and research staff.)