Rationale Underpinning the Development of the Healthy City Indicators
Health indicators are essentially numeric measures of health and well-being. Well-designed and carefully selected indictors can help a community determine where it is, where it is going, and how far it is from chosen goals.4
The objectives of the collection and analysis of indicators of HCIs were to:
Provide a description of health in the city
Provide a baseline of information to make comparisons over time
Compare and contrast cities allowing for the differing socioeconomic and cultural differences between countries in the region
Identify associations between selected indicators
In order to provide a comprehensive picture of health, the indicators covered the areas of health, health services, environment, and socioeconomic conditions. The purpose of collecting such data was to facilitate more evidence-based, rational policy making and priority setting in relation to health. The information was also intended to inform the development of city health profiles (CHPs) and lay the foundations of specific city health plans to improve and sustain the health of citizens. Thus HCIs were a part of a logical sequence, beginning with collection of routinely available data in an attempt to identify those aspects of the city that contribute to or detract from the health of the population. This information could then be built on and expanded by collecting appropriate local data to develop a health profile of the city to stimulate political and administrative action in order to create healthy public policies based on evidence and ultimately action towards these policies.