Island measures its health
In small communities like Bermuda it can be easy to make assumptions about health care and illnesses across the Island.Chief Medical Officer, John Cann said often people believe Bermuda has a higher cancer mortality rate than elsewhere because everyone above a certain age knows someone who has been diagnosed and later died.But yesterday's report ‘Health in Review: An International Comparative Analysis of Bermuda Health System Indicators' will dispel those myths he said.Bermuda's cancer mortality rate is actually below the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average.The report is the first of its kind in Bermuda. It presents trend data on 76 indicators of healthcare quality and compares them to 29 other affluent members of the OECD.Health Minister Zane DeSilva said: “The benchmarks which set Bermuda against other high-income countries in the report allows for us to see, for the first time, how Bermuda compares to other developed countries around the world.“No report on healthcare of this breadth and depth has been seen in Bermuda before.“The purpose of this report is to enable more informed debates on healthcare; to enable evidence-based policy decision making by Government and other health system stakeholders; and, finally, to enable the Ministry of Health to identify areas where our health system needs improving, and what strengths we can build on.”Bermuda's results in the report were varied.Heart disease continues to be a major issue on the Island; only three countries had a higher mortality rate.While Bermuda's overall cancer mortality was well below the OECD average with 21 countries reporting more cancer deaths the Island has the highest rate of deaths from prostate cancer.When it comes to prostate cancer and lung cancer Bermuda has the one of the highest mortality rates; in both instances only the Slovak Republic, Poland and Hungary had a higher death rate for both diseases.However, when it comes to breast cancer mortality Bermuda was on the lower end of the scale. Twenty-three other countries have higher rates including the US, UK and Portugal.One of the authors of the report, Jennifer Attride Stirling, said: “Two areas of specific concern are road fatalities, where our mortality rates are significantly higher than other countries and, literally, off the chart. And our rate of diabetes, is also of concern, as it is much higher than in other countries.”The data was based on mortality rates per 100,000 population in all 29 countries.The report also looked at the issue of access to healthcare. Dr Attride Stirling, who is the CEO of the Bermuda Health Council, said it showed the strong correlation between income and unmet healthcare needs locally. “Unfortunately, in comparison to other countries Bermuda shows the greatest level of inequality,” she added. “Lastly, the report illustrates clearly the finding that we, at the Bermuda Health Council, have been concerned about for some time: That our health system is the second most expensive in comparison to OECD countries, even after adjusting for the cost of living.”Dr Attride Stirling said it was important that this report used data from OECD countries.“In Bermuda we often look for comparison only to the United States and the Caribbean,” she said. “But in this essential matter of healthcare, it is fundamental that we take a global perspective and look to other relevant international contexts to get a better sense of how we perform, and where to look for best practice.“The OECD provides this global perspective, and includes countries like Switzerland, Australia, and Japan. As well as the usual suspects: the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.”l The report can be read in full online at www.bhec.bm/resources/reports_pub.html
Bermuda's Health in Review revealed there has been an overall decline in cancer mortality rates between 2000 and 2007.
The report compares Bermuda's performance to other high-income countries that are members of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In total statistics from 29 countries, such as the UK, Greece, Japan and Australia are outlined in the report.
Bermuda has the eighth lowest cancer mortality rate out of the 29 OECD countries. Bermuda's rate in 2006 was 192 cancer mortalities to the OECD average of 212 per 100,0000 population.
Hungary reported the most cancer deaths with 307 in 2006, while the Slovak Republic was not far behind with 286.
Meanwhile the US reported 191 cancer deaths per 100,000 population, while the UK reported 208.
The report also outlined where Bermuda stood when compared to other affluent countries in terms of screening and mortality for certain types of cancer.
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Prostate CancerBermuda has the highest rate of prostate cancer mortality with 37 deaths per 100,000 people. The OECD average is 22.8. The US has 18.1 deaths, while the UK has 24.4 deaths per 100,000 people.The report stated: “There are few known risk factors for prostate cancer but one is race/ethnicity. Black men have a much greater risk of being diagnosed of dying from prostate cancer than men of other races/ethnicities.“As Bermuda has a higher proportional population of black men than most other countries this could account for the very high rate comparison.”l
Lung Cancer Bermuda has one of the higher rates of deaths from lung cancer with 70 people per 100,000 dying from the disease. The OECD average is 55, while the US reported 61 and the UK reported 51. Only Hungary, Poland and Slovak Republic reported higher lung cancer deaths per 100,000 people.l
Colorectal CancerBermuda has one of the lowest colorectal cancer mortalities per 100,000 people in the OECD. Only Greece and Mexico have a lower rate of deaths.
Breast CancerMammography screening is also very common in Bermuda with 88.3 percent of women aged 50-69 being screened. The only country with a higher screening rate was the Netherlands with 89 percent. The OECD average was 62 percent.“Mortality rates for breast cancer have generally declined in Bermuda,” the report said. “Although they remain above the OECD average, the rate of decline appears to be more rapid in Bermuda than in other OECD countries.l
Cervical CancerBermuda has one of the highest rates of cervical cancer screening with 80 percent of females aged 20 to 69 having been screened. Only the US has a higher rate with 83.5 percent, the OECD average was 64 percent.
