The Canadian Health Clock and health calculators.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Communication
• Data Visualization

Background:

• The Canadian Department of Health was established in 1919, prompting "100 Years of Health" celebrations in 2019.
• A participatory design process was used to develop the 2020 Canadian Health Clock.
• The clock builds upon the concept of the 2004 Chronic Disease Clock, which tracked deaths.

Purpose of the Study:

• To document the participatory design of the 2020 Canadian Health Clock.
• To introduce the 2020 Canadian Health Clock as a health promotion and knowledge translation tool.
• To highlight the integration of online health calculators for personalized health information.

Main Methods:

• A consultative approach was employed, involving Health Portfolio staff in the design process.
• The intervention involved developing an online clock on the Government of Canada website.
• The clock was enhanced with new data visualization concepts and improved technology.

Main Results:

• The 2020 Canadian Health Clock features expanded data to include all causes of death.
• New visualizations include blinking red dots and three clock formats: analogue, digital, and graphical.
• The clock provides direct links to various online health calculators.

Conclusions:

• The online health clock and calculators represent innovations in health risk communication.
• These tools effectively translate and disseminate health statistics and personalized health information.
• The clock engages the Canadian population with national health data, while calculators offer individual health insights.