MANITOBA’S WELLBEING INDEX SHOWS ROOM TO GROW
BY GEOFF KIRBYSON
A province’s gross domestic product is often used as an indicator of wellbeing – Manitoba’s GDP has grown at an annualized rate of 1.7 per cent over the last five years.
But a new report commissioned by Manitoba Blue Cross goes beyond that number to reveal the many factors, other than economic ones, that truly impact individual and community wellbeing.
This report, the first-ever Manitoba Index of Wellbeing (MIW), analyzes data from 1994 to 2020. It shows that of the eight domains that comprise wellbeing, Manitoba has seen an upward trend in half of them – time use, democratic engagement, living standards and healthy populations.
“There are research results from the report worth celebrating like having healthy populations, which is an acknowledgment of the efforts made by the public health sector,” says Florent Thézard, who organized the report and is responsible for wellness and Employee Assistance Program business development with the health benefits provider.
“And there are results that warrant a closer look to see what we can do to improve outcomes for those whose wellbeing is not at an optimal level.”
Take, for example, the culture and leisure domain. Manitoba is known for its cultural contributions to Canada and the world. The Winnipeg Folk Festival, Folklorama, the Gimli International Film Festival and Festival du Voyageur are all points of pride, but the MIW shows the culture and leisure domain has been declining for the last three decades. Thézard attributes part of this trend to the economic situations of many families where one or more members need to work overtime on a regular basis or hold down multiple jobs to make ends meet.
“It looks like culture and leisure have become undervalued,” says Thézard. “We need to focus on why this is happening because this is the domain that allows us to live beyond mere survival. This domain also demonstrates the interconnectedness of the eight domains and how complex the concept of wellbeing is. Going for a hike influences physical health. Heading out to the park with friends impacts community vitality. Taking in a festival affects balanced time use. We need to nurture the culture and leisure domain to give the other domains a chance to flourish.”
THE report’s results on another domain, community vitality, are thought provoking. There is good news due to a growing sense of belonging to a community but volunteering and charitable donations have been declining, while isolation from friends is also a growing concern for Manitobans. “There are some indicators that community vitality is being affected because Manitobans aren’t personally able to give more of themselves. It’s encouraging to see that the MIW also indicates Manitobans place such great value on community, that even with the challenges they face, their sense of belonging prevails,” says Thézard. When it comes to education, Manitoba had an especially strong showing in this domain, which has outpaced the national average for three decades, highlighting the performance of Manitoba’s educational system.
“Great progress can be attributed to a growing number of people with university degrees, higher investments in public school students and a steady increase in the number of childcare spaces,” the report said.
The report’s findings on health are intriguing. For example, vaccination rates have been going up, albeit slowly, since the early 2000s but less than half of Manitobans are receiving their shots against preventable conditions, such as influenza. Fewer people smoke cigarettes today than did a decade or two ago but the report also found the percentage of people who rate their health as “very good” or “excellent” has declined. The reasons behind this are unclear considering the number of advances made in medical science.
“There are underexplored factors affecting our physical health that we need to make sense of before we attempt to reverse this trend,” says Thézard.
The situation is similar on the mental health front.
“The perception is that the quality of our mental health is decreasing, which is interesting since stress has been going down for 20 years. So it’s not just stress that we can point to for the impacts we’re seeing on mental health. The report shows that something else is brewing that we need to investigate,” he says.
The report also shows many sub-groups of the province’s population are enjoying the benefits of progress in wellbeing to a much lesser degree.
“These research results are a clear call to action for Manitobans as individuals, companies, leaders and government instititutions to significantly improve efforts to tackle inequity. This is an opportunity to improve wellbeing that I know Manitobans are well equipped to act on.”
— Florent Thézard
Women, racialized populations and Indigenous peoples are at a higher risk of lower wellbeing. People in rural and remote regions of the province are not benefitting to the same degree, either. Regardless of location, some Manitobans experience difficulty accessing community resources, fostering social connections and finding opportunities for education and leisure and culture.
“These research results are a clear call to action for Manitobans as individuals, companies, leaders and government institutions to significantly improve efforts to tackle inequity,” says Thézard. “This is an opportunity to improve wellbeing that I know Manitobans are well equipped to act on.”
The ensuing conversations may prove to be challenging but with the report acting as an evidence-based reference point that provides a common language, there is a pervading sense of optimism among those who have engaged with the report. Optimism that Manitoba can not only address gaps in wellbeing, but build on the strengths the report identified to shape a desired future, instead of simply accepting the one that is unfolding.
Visit mb.bluecross.ca/mbwellbeing for the full report, summary and insights from local experts.
