The north-south gradient in health: analytic applications for public health.

Health in the northern territories does not reach that of national standards. Investigations in these areas are hampered by small population size, which limits both the identification of local health problems as well as the planning and prioritizing of prevention and interventions. We report on health deficiencies of the northern territories and illustrate how our analytic applications supplement traditional approaches to benefit public health objectives. We reveal that life expectancy in Northern Canada has increased such that health deficiencies between the North and South have decreased substantially, although they still persist at a high level. The current health status of Northwest Territories residents approximates that of Canadians 15 to 25 years ago. In addition, while chronic diseases were previously less of a concern for Northwest Territories residents, they show increasing trends in importance. This is of particular significance in light of an aging population in the northern territories.