West Elgin Community Health Centre s Community Wellbeing Survey

Transcription

1 West Elgin Community Health Centre s Community Wellbeing Survey A Profile of the Wellbeing of Residents of the Municipalities of West Elgin and Dutton/Dunwich June 2015 Report prepared by: Ashna Jinah Carolyn Richards

2 Table of Contents List of Figures... 4 Introduction... 1 Section 1: Demographic Profile... 2 Question 24: Age... 2 Question 25: Gender... 3 Question 26: Marital Status... 4 Question 31: Farm households... 5 Question 28: Residence... 5 Section 2: Community Vitality... 6 Question 1: Community Residence... 6 Question 2: Neighbours... 7 Question 3: Close Friends and Relatives... 8 Question 4: Community... 9 Question 5: Sense of Belonging Question 6: Community Trust Question 12: Volunteering Question 19: Care to Seniors Section 3: Democratic Engagement Question 13: Interest in Politics Interest in Federal Politics Interest in Provincial Politics Interest in Municipal Politics Section 4: Education Question 27: Education Question 16: Reading, Writing and Math Skills Section 5: Environment Question 14: Quality of the Environment Question 15: Environmental Concerns Section 6: Healthy Populations Question 7: Physical Health Question 8: Mental Health Question 11: Accessibility to Health care Services Section 7: Leisure & Culture... 38

3 Question 9: Social Leisure Activities Question 10: Physical Activity Section 8: Living Standards Question 18: Disposable Income Question 21: Household Needs Question 29: Total Household Income Question 22: Employment Status Section 9: Time Use Question 20: Time Question 23: Commute to Work References Cited

4 List of Figures Figure 1: Conceptual Framework for the Canadian Index of Wellbeing... 1 Figure 2: Survey Respondents by Age Group Figure 3: Proportion of male and female survey respondents Figure 4: Survey respondents by marital status Figure 5: Respondents who consider themselves farmers and/or part of a farm household... 5 Figure 6: Survey respondents by residence in Dutton-Dunwich and West Elgin... 5 Figure 7: Number of years respondents have lived in their community... 6 Figure 8: Respondents who know their neighbours well enough to ask for a favour Figure 9: Close friends or relatives whom respondents feel comfortable talking to or can call on for support... 8 Figure 10: Respondents feelings about the community as a good place to grow old Figure 11: Proportion of respondents who feel the community is a good place to grow old, by gender Figure 12: Respondents feelings about the community as a good place to grow old, by age group Figure 13: Proportion of respondents who felt a sense of belonging to their community Figure 14: Proportion of males and females who felt a sense of belonging to their community. 13 Figure 15: Proportion of respondents who felt a sense of belonging to their community, by age group Figure 16: Proportion of respondents reporting a sense of community trust Figure 17: Respondents who participated in volunteering activities or contributed unpaid time. 16 Figure 18: Respondents who participated in at least one or more volunteering activities Figure 19: Proportion of respondents who provided care to seniors or chronically ill or disabled adults Figure 20: Average number of hours of unpaid care provided by respondents to seniors or chronically ill or disabled adults Figure 21: Respondents by reported levels of interest in federal, provincial and municipal politics Figure 22: Interest in federal politics by gender Figure 23: Interest in federal politics by age group Figure 24: Interest in provincial politics, by gender Figure 25 Interest in provincial politics by age group Figure 26: Interest in municipal politics, by gender Figure 27: Interest in municipal politics, by age group Figure 28: Highest level of education completed by survey respondents Figure 29: Proportion of respondents with the reading, writing and math skills necessary to complete daily tasks Figure 30: Proportion of respondents by level of satisfaction with the quality of the environment in their Municipality Figure 31: Proportion of respondents by environmental issues of concern in the municipality Figure 32: Proportion of respondents by type of environmental concern within the municipality, by gender Figure 33: Proportion of respondents by type of environmental concern within the municipality, by age group... 29

5 Figure 34: Self-rated Physical Health of Respondents Figure 35:Self-rated Physical Health of respondents, by sex Figure 36: Self-rated Physical Health of respondents, by age group Figure 37: Self-rated mental health of respondents Figure 38: Self-rated mental health of respondents, by sex Figure 39: Self-rated mental health of respondents, by age group Figure 40: Respondents overall accessibility of health care services (of those who use the service) Figure 41: Respondents accessibility of a doctor or nurse practitioner Figure 42: Respondents feelings about accessing a doctor or nurse practitioner, by sex Figure 43: Respondents feelings about accessing a doctor or nurse practitioner, by age group. 37 Figure 44: Proportion of residents by the number of hours spent in social leisure activities in a typical day Figure 45: Proportion of residents by the number of hours spent in physically active leisure activities in a typical week Figure 46: Proportion of respondents with disposable income available Figure 47: Proportion of respondents reporting different aspects of current household need Figure 48: Proportion of Respondents (who responded to this question) by total annual household income Figure 49: Employment or Current Labour Force Status Figure 50: Proportion of respondents by amount of time they have for themselves. 44 Figure 51: Proportion of respondents by average number of minutes travelled to work each day 45

6 Introduction The West Elgin Community Health Centre s (WECHC) Community Wellbeing Survey was based on the domains that make up the Canadian Index of Wellbeing framework, which looks at social, health, economic and environmental factors that contribute to the quality of life of Canadians. 3 The Canadian Index of Wellbeing framework is made up of 8 core domains that measure the quality of life of Canadians: Community Vitality, Democratic Engagement, Education, Environment, Healthy Populations, Leisure and Culture, Living Standards and Time Use. Indicators within each domain measure many different aspects of life that can have a significant impact on wellbeing such as the environment, engagement with democracy and the community to name a few. 3 The WECHC Community Wellbeing Survey was administered to participants at a number of locations over the span of a few weeks in This report provides a snapshot on the quality of life of 404 residents from West Elgin and Dutton/Dunwich municipalities who provided feedback through this survey. Survey questions were matched with the appropriate indicators from the Canadian Index of Wellbeing framework. This report is structured into 8 sections, representative of the 8 domains of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing. WECHC Community Wellbeing Survey questions that speak to the domains of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing are included in relevant sections. A definition of each domain and its importance for wellbeing is outlined in each section. Original WECHC Community Wellbeing Survey questions are provided and supported by graphs representing respondents answers to the corresponding question. See Figure 1 for a diagram of the Canadian Index for Wellbeing framework. 4 Figure 1: Conceptual Framework for the Canadian Index of Wellbeing 1

7 Section 1: Demographic Profile Section 1 provides a summary of the demographic information collected in survey. Question 24: Age What is your age (in years)? Figure 2: Survey Respondents by Age Group. Most survey respondents were 40 and older (57%) The average age of respondents was 45 years old The youngest survey respondents were 12 years old, while the oldest respondents were 94 years of age 2

8 Question 25: Gender Are you: 1) Male; 2) Female? Figure 3: Proportion of male and female survey respondents. The majority of the survey respondents were female (67%), while only 33% were male 3

9 Question 26: Marital Status Are you: 1) Single (never married); 2) Married; 3) Living common-law; 4) Separated; 5) Divorced; 6) Widowed Figure 4: Survey respondents by marital status. Approximately 45% of survey respondents were married and about 30% were single (never married) 4

10 Question 31: Farm households Do you consider yourself to be a farmer and/or part of a farm household? (Yes/No) Figure 5: Respondents who consider themselves farmers and/or part of a farm household Nearly 37% of survey respondents consider themselves as farmers or as part of a farm household Question 28: Residence Residence based on postal code. Figure 6: Survey respondents by residence in Dutton-Dunwich and West Elgin 57% of survey respondents were residents of West Elgin and 42.9% were residents of Dutton-Dunwich 5

11 Section 2: Community Vitality Community Vitality is a measure of the strength, activity and inclusiveness of relationships between residents, private sector, public sector and civil society organizations that foster both individual and collective wellbeing. 1 The indicators within this domain inform how people feel within their own neighbourhoods and as part of the larger community. A number of the questions in the WECHC Community Wellbeing survey spoke to the domain for Community Vitality (questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 19); these questions considered the number of close friends and relatives, trust in the community, caring for others, volunteering and group activities. Question 1: Community Residence How long have you been a resident of this community? Figure 7: Number of years respondents have lived in their community On average, survey respondents have lived 26.6 years within their community Most respondents lived their entire lifetime (or more than 25 years) within that community 6

12 Question 2: Neighbours About how many people in your neighbourhood do you know well enough to ask for a favour? Figure 8: Respondents who know their neighbours well enough to ask for a favour. Most respondents knew between 0 and 5 people in the neighbourhood well enough to ask for a favour 7

13 Question 3: Close Friends and Relatives How many close friends or relatives do you feel at ease with, can talk to about what is on your mind, or can call on for support? Figure 9: Close friends or relatives whom respondents feel comfortable talking to or can call on for support The largest group of respondents reported that they had between 6-10 close friends and relatives with whom they felt comfortable seeking social support (35%) 33% of respondents also indicated that they had 5 or fewer people with whom they could rely on for social support 8

14 Question 4: Community Do you feel your community is a good place to grow? 1) Not good; 2) Somewhat good; 3) Good; 4) Very Good; 5) Excellent Figure 10: Respondents feelings about the community as a good place to grow old. The majority of survey respondents felt that the community they live in is a good place to grow old; 85.1% said it was excellent, very good or good 12% felt that the community was only somewhat good and 3% feel it was not good enough 9

15 Figure 11: Proportion of respondents who feel the community is a good place to grow old, by gender 58.3% of males and 63.0% of females felt that their community is an excellent or very good place to grow old 10

16 Figure 12: Respondents feelings about the community as a good place to grow old, by age group. The majority of respondents rated their community as being a very good to excellent place to grow old, with the largest number being 65 and older (73%). However, nearly 30% of respondents between ages 12 to 19 rated their community as being a somewhat good place to grown old, and a slightly higher proportion indicated that the community was a good place to grow old (32.5%) 11

17 Question 5: Sense of Belonging Would you say that you have a very strong or somewhat strong sense of belonging to your community? Options: 1)Yes; 2)No Figure 13: Proportion of respondents who felt a sense of belonging to their community. More than 85% of respondents had a very strong or somewhat strong sense of belonging to their community 12

18 Figure 14: Proportion of males and females who felt a sense of belonging to their community A similar proportion of males and females reported a strong sense of belonging to their community 13

19 Figure 15: Proportion of respondents who felt a sense of belonging to their community, by age group A greater proportion of respondents between the ages of 12 and 19 compared to all other age groups expressed that they did not feel a sense of belonging to their community Compared to all other age groups, respondents aged 65 and over felt the strongest sense of belonging to their community. Over 80% of adults between ages 20 to 34 and between ages 40 to 64 felt similarly. 14

20 Question 6: Community Trust When it comes to dealing with people in your community, generally speaking, which would you say? Option: 1) Most people can be trusted; 2) You cannot be too careful in dealing with people; 3) Don t know Figure 16: Proportion of respondents reporting a sense of community trust 66% of survey respondents said that most people could be trusted in their community and this is a positive sign of community vitality 13.5% of respondents chose the don t know option for this question. This large number who did not know may indicate difficulty with the question or the wording in the response options. 15

21 Question 12: Volunteering During the past year, did you contribute any unpaid time to the following: 1) A union or professional association; 2) A political party or group; 3) A sports organization (e.g. hockey league, soccer club); 4) A cultural or recreational organization (e.g. theatre group, book club); 5) A faith-based group (e.g. church, youth group, choir); 6) A school group, neighbourhood, civic or community association; 7) A service club or fraternal organization; 8) A public interest group; 9) Helping out a neighbor or supporting neighbourhood events Figure 17: Respondents who participated in volunteering activities or contributed unpaid time. The majority of respondents reported that they spent time helping out a neighbourhood or engaged in neighbourhood events in the past year (72%) 42% reported committing time to a faith-based group and 33% reported volunteering time with a sports organization over the past year 16

22 Figure 18: Respondents who participated in at least one or more volunteering activities Based on the results of the questions about volunteering, 88.3% of respondents participated or contributed unpaid time towards at least 1 or more volunteer activities in the past year Only 11.7% of respondents did not participate in any volunteer activities 17

23 Question 19: Care to Seniors Do you currently provide any unpaid care to seniors or other adults who many have a chronic illness or disability? Options: 1) Yes; 2) No Figure 19: Proportion of respondents who provided care to seniors or chronically ill or disabled adults About one quarter of respondents reported that they provide some type of unpaid care to seniors or chronically ill or disabled adults 18

24 Question 19- Part 2 Care to Seniors If yes, how many hours of care per week, on average, do you usually provide (in hours per week)? Figure 20: Average number of hours of unpaid care provided by respondents to seniors or chronically ill or disabled adults Among those respondents who reported providing care to seniors or other chronically ill or disabled adults, 64.2% provided between 1 and 5 hours of care per week, while 26% provided between 6 to 10 hours of unpaid care each week 19

25 Section 3: Democratic Engagement Democratic Engagement measures the participation of citizens in public life and in governance; the functioning of Canadian governments; and the role Canadians and their institutions play as global citizens. 1 In the WECHC Wellbeing survey, question 13 corresponded to democratic engagement. This question considered the level of interest in politics among respondents. This information illustrates whether residents of West Elgin and Dutton/Dunwich have an interest in federal, provincial, or municipal politics, and also reveals political confidence and level of satisfaction respondents feel with Canadian democracy. Question 13: Interest in Politics How interested are you in politics? Using a scale from one to ten, where 1 means no interest at all and 10 means a great deal of interest, rate your level of interest in politics for each of the following levels of government. Figure 21: Respondents by reported levels of interest in federal, provincial and municipal politics Among those who were interested in politics, the largest proportion reported an interest in municipal politics 20

26 Interest in Federal Politics Figure 22: Interest in federal politics by gender A larger percentage of males reported an interest in federal politics compared to females. Females were more likely to be somewhat or not interested. Figure 23: Interest in federal politics by age group Respondents aged 65 and over had the greatest interest in federal politics relative to all other age groups (67.1%) 21

27 Interest in Provincial Politics Figure 24: Interest in provincial politics, by gender A larger percentage of males reported an interest in provincial politics compared to females. Females were more likely to be somewhat or not interested. Figure 25 Interest in provincial politics by age group For all age groups, the largest proportion was among those who reported no interest in provincial politics Seniors aged 65+ were the most likely to report being interested 22

28 Interest in Municipal Politics Figure 26: Interest in municipal politics, by gender A larger percentage of males reported an interest in municipal politics compared to females. Females were more likely to be somewhat or not interested. Figure 27: Interest in municipal politics, by age group The majority of seniors aged 65 and older reported being interested or somewhat interested in municipal politics (81.8%) Adults aged 40 to 64 were also more likely to be interested in municipal politics than those who were not interested 23

29 Section 4: Education Education measures the literacy and skill levels of the population, including the ability of both children and adults to function in various contexts and plan for and adapt to future situations. 1 Two questions in the WECHC Wellbeing survey corresponded to the indicator for education (questions 27 and16); these questions considered the highest level of education completed among respondents and also the reading, writing and math skills of respondents necessary to complete essential daily tasks and provide important information. 3 Question 27: Education What is the highest level of education you have completed? 1) Elementary school (up to grade 8); 2) High school (up to grade 12); 3) Post secondary certificate; 4) College diploma; 5) University degree; 6) Graduate degree (e.g. MA, MSc, PhD) Figure 28: Highest level of education completed by survey respondents The largest proportion of survey respondents reported a high school diploma as their highest level of education (26.2%), followed by those who attained a college diploma (25.6%) Disclosure: 22% of respondents were between the ages of 12 to 19 therefore the number of respondents who reported their highest level of education completed as Elementary School and High School may be higher than the general population. 24

30 Question 16: Reading, Writing and Math Skills Are your reading, writing and math skills good enough for you to do the following: 1) Read medication instructions; 2) Complete a job application; 3) Balance your cheque book Figure 29: Proportion of respondents with the reading, writing and math skills necessary to complete daily tasks The vast majority of respondents can perform all three tasks with their reading, writing and math skills 25

31 Section 5: Environment Environment measures the state of and the trends in Canada's environment by looking at the stocks and flows of Canada's environmental goods and services. 1 Question 14 and 15 in the WECHC Wellbeing survey corresponded to the environment domain. Question 14 indicates whether respondents are satisfied with the quality of the environment within their municipality and question 15 tries to investigate which environmental concerns are most important to respondents. Question 14: Quality of the Environment I am satisfied with the quality of the environment in my municipality: 1) Strongly agree; 2) Agree; 3) Disagree; 4) Strongly disagree; 5) Don t know Figure 30: Proportion of respondents by level of satisfaction with the quality of the environment in their Municipality 68.3% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed that they are satisfied with the quality of the environment within their municipality Nearly17% were unsure about their thoughts towards environment quality. This large proportion of respondents who were unsure raises some concerns about the clarity of the question wording or with respondents familiarity with the question topic. 26

32 Question 15: Environmental Concerns What is the environmental issue you are most concerned about in your municipality? Figure 31: Proportion of respondents by environmental issues of concern in the municipality The largest proportion of respondents had concerns with water quality within their municipality (23%) and a similar proportion was concerned with land use (21%) 6% of respondents were also concerned with other environmental issues within their municipality. Some of the other concerns included a lack of wind turbines, litter, recycling, forest quality, animal abuse, neighbours and children 27

33 Figure 32: Proportion of respondents by type of environmental concern within the municipality, by gender Among females, water quality was the most concerning environmental issue (25.8%) Males expressed most concern with land use (31.0%) and water quality (20.4%) More than 20% of males and females expressed no concern over environmental issues in the municipality 28

34 Figure 33: Proportion of respondents by type of environmental concern within the municipality, by age group Nearly 40% of respondents between the ages of 12 and 19 were not concerned with environmental issues in their municipality compared to 21% or fewer respondents from all other age groups Respondents between the ages of 20 and 39, as well as those between the ages of 40 and 64 were most concerned with water quality. A slightly greater proportion of adults aged 65 and older were concerned with air quality. The leading environmental issues of concern in these municipalities were water quality, land use and air quality 29

35 Section 6: Healthy Populations Healthy Populations measures the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of the population by looking at different aspects of health status and certain determinants of health. 1 Three questions from the WECHC s Community Wellbeing Survey correspond to the Healthy Populations domain from the Canadian Index of Wellbeing framework (questions 7,8 and 11). Questions 7 and 8 consider the respondents perceptions of their own physical and mental health. Self-rated health information is an important way to get a picture of residents feel about their health and what impact this may have on their quality of life. 3 Question 7: Physical Health In general, would you say your physical health is: 1) Poor; 2) Fair; 3) Good; 4) Very Good; 5) Excellent Figure 34: Self-rated Physical Health of Respondents 85.1% of respondents reported being in Excellent, Very Good or Good physical health Only 15% reported fair or poor health physical health 30

36 Figure 35:Self-rated Physical Health of respondents, by sex. Similar proportions of females and males rated their physical health as good or better (85.9% vs. 83.9%). Figure 36: Self-rated Physical Health of respondents, by age group. Across all age groups, the majority of respondents rated their physical health as good or better 19% or fewer respondents across all age groups rated their physical health as fair or poor Adults aged 65 and older had the highest proportion reporting fair or poor physical health 31

37 Question 8: Mental Health In general, would you say your mental health is: 1) Poor; 2) Fair; 3) Good; 4) Very Good; 5) Excellent Figure 37: Self-rated mental health of respondents 59.4% of survey respondents reported a very good or excellent mental health Only 8.3% fair or poor mental health 32

38 Figure 38: Self-rated mental health of respondents, by sex. A similar proportion of both females and males rated their mental health as good or better (92.6% vs. 91.5%) Figure 39: Self-rated mental health of respondents, by age group. Those in the youngest age group, 12 to 19 had the smallest proportion reporting excellent or very good health (47.6%) compared to 61.7% for those aged 20 to 30, 68.9% for those aged 40 to 64 and 59% for seniors aged 65 and older 33

39 Question 11: Accessibility to Health care Services How easy is it for you to get the services you need? Rate the overall accessibility of health care services: 1) Your doctor or nurse practitioner; 2) Diagnostic services such as x-ray, ultrasound or lab; 3) Rehab services such as physiotherapy; 4) Complementary health practitioners such as: naturopaths, chiropractors; 5) Programs to help manage a chronic condition such as diabetes or arthritis; 6) Dental care; 7) Mental health and addiction services; 8) Family violence prevention support Figure 40: Respondents overall accessibility of health care services (of those who use the service) The majority of respondents indicated they had good or very good access to most health care services with the highest proportion indicating good or better access to a doctor or nurse practitioner (78.5%) Accessibility to program geared toward managing chronic conditions were the most challenging to access with 37.1% indicating poor or fair accessibility Respondents also indicated difficulties accessing dental care (30.8%) and mental health and addiction services (26.1%) 34

40 Figure 41: Respondents accessibility of a doctor or nurse practitioner The majority of survey respondents reported good or better access to a doctor or nurse practitioner o 22% reported excellent accessibility, 56.2% said their accessibility as good or very good and 17.7% said it was poor or fair 35

41 Figure 42: Respondents feelings about accessing a doctor or nurse practitioner, by sex. Accessibility to a doctor or nurse practitioner was similar for males and females with 78.2% of females and 79.9% of males reporting good or better access 36

42 Figure 43: Respondents feelings about accessing a doctor or nurse practitioner, by age group. Similar proportions of respondents across all age groups reported good or better access to a doctor or nurse practitioner. The exception was respondents between the ages of 12 and 19 who were less likely to say their accessibility was excellent and more likely to say it was only fair 37

43 Section 7: Leisure & Culture Leisure & Culture is a domain that measures activity in the very broad area of culture, which involves all forms of human expression; the more focused area of the arts; and recreational activities. 1 Two questions in the WECHC Wellbeing survey related to the Leisure & Culture domain of the Community Index for Wellbeing framework (questions 9 and 10). These questions considered the number of hours respondents spent participating in social leisure activities in a typical day and the number of hours spend on physically active leisure activities in a typical week. The Leisure and Culture domain is an important measure of wellbeing because it informs how people spend their time outside of the workplace including a comparison between time spent participating in physical activities versus social leisure and arts & culture activities. This information also can draw attention to whether or not residents experience a good work-life balance as many people experience a time crunch that doesn t allow them to enjoy leisure and culture activities with family and friends. 3 Question 9: Social Leisure Activities Approximately how much time (in hours and minutes) do you spend in social leisure activities on a typical day (e.g. visiting with a friend, talking on the phone, having a meal with someone)? Figure 44: Proportion of residents by the number of hours spent in social leisure activities in a typical day The majority of survey respondents reported spending 2 to 4 hours in a typical day on social leisure activities (50.6%) Data quality note: responses to this question were rounded to the nearest hour. Responses were only included in the analysis if they could be clearly identified, all others were removed. 38

44 Question 10: Physical Activity Approximately how much time (in hours and minutes) do you spend in physically active leisure activities in a typical week (e.g. going for a walk, taking an exercise class, playing a sport, gardening)? Figure 45: Proportion of residents by the number of hours spent in physically active leisure activities in a typical week More than 60% of respondents reported spending between 0 and 7 hours per week on physically active leisure activities Data quality note: responses to this question were rounded to the nearest hour. Responses were only included in the analysis if they could be clearly identified, all others were removed. 39

45 Section 8: Living Standards Living Standards measures the level and distribution of income and wealth, including trends in poverty; income; and economic security, including the security of jobs, food, housing and the social safety net. 1 A number of questions in the WECHC Wellbeing survey corresponded to the indicator for Living Standards (questions 18, 21, 29, 22). These questions pertained to disposable income available for the pursuit of leisure activities, perceptions about living arrangements and household demographic information, total annual household income from all sources, and employment status. The information provided in this section assesses how respondents feel about their housing situation, and gives some perspective with respect to socioeconomic difficulties they may be facing. Question 18: Disposable Income Does your income allow you enough opportunity to engage in the activities that you and your family wish to do? 1) All of the time; 2) Most of the time; 3) Some of the time; 4) Seldom; 5) Never Figure 46: Proportion of respondents with disposable income available More than 60% of respondents reported having disposable income available all of the time or most of time 12.6% reported seldom or never having disposable income available 40

46 Question 21: Household Needs Please respondent to the questions: Do you own your own home? (Y/N); Do you feel your home is in good repair? (Y/N); Have you struggled to pay your bills in the past 6 months? (Y/N); Is your current home appropriate for your needs? (Y/N); During the past year, have you ever skipped meals or eaten less due to a lack of money to buy food? (Y/N); During the past year, have you had trouble getting to where you need to go such as: appointments, grocery store, employment? (Y/N) Figure 47: Proportion of respondents reporting different aspects of current household need The majority of survey respondents owned felt their home was in good repair (84.2%) and that it was appropriate for their needs (89.8%) 22.6% of respondents reported that they have struggled to pay their bills in the past 6 months and 9.3% said they could not afford to buy food or eat due to poor income 41

47 Question 29: Total Household Income What is your total annual household income from all sources? Question 30: How many people are supported by this income? Figure 48: Proportion of Respondents (who responded to this question) by total annual household income A large number of respondents (110 or 31.4% of the sample) did not respond to this question The largest group earned $20,000 to $39,999 On average, 3 dependents are supported by the total annual household income of survey respondents; however responses ranged from as low as 1 and as high as 10 dependents (data not shown) 42

48 Question 22: Employment Status Which of the following categories would you say best describes your current situation? 1) Employed full-time; 2) Employed part-time; 3) Non-standard employment (e.g. self-employed, contract, seasonal, temporary, multiple jobs); 4) Unemployed, looking for work if checked; for how long have you been unemployed; 5) Retired; 6) Household work/caring for children; 7) On leave from work (e.g. illness, parental leave); 8) Going to school Figure 49: Employment or Current Labour Force Status. 27.6% of survey respondents were employed full time and 16.2% were employed part time 26.6% reported that they are retired 3.6% of respondents reported that they are currently unemployed and looking for work 43

49 Section 9: Time Use Time Use measures the use of time, how people experience time, what controls its use, and how it affects wellbeing. 1 A couple of questions in the WECHC Wellbeing survey corresponded to the indicator for Time Use (questions 20,23). These questions pertained to the amount of time respondents have for themselves and the average amount of time it takes you to travel to and from work each day. Question 20: Time Thinking about how much time you have for yourself, on a scale from one to ten, where 1 means not enough at all and 10 is always enough, to what extent is there enough time during the day to do everything you need to do at work and at home? Figure 50: Proportion of respondents by the amount of time they have for themselves The majority of respondents reported having somewhat enough time (or a rank of between 4 and 7 out of 10) 44

50 Question 23: Commute to Work What is the average amount of time it takes you to travel to and from work each day? (in minutes per day) Figure 51: Respondents by average number of minutes traveled to work each day The majority of respondents indicated they have a commute of 15 minutes or less each day (42.9%) 45

51 References Cited 1. Canadian Index of Wellbeing Backgrounder Report Waterloo Region Community Wellbeing Survey; A preliminary report for the Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation. Bryan Smale, Margo Hilbrecht, Robbie Shifman and Lisa Wenger. July Canadian Index of Wellbeing. (2012). How are Canadians Really Doing? The 2012 CIW Report. Waterloo, ON: Canadian Index of Wellbeing and University of Waterloo. 46