Background
The 2011 Health Analyst’s Toolkit is an updated, expanded version of the original toolkit that was designed in 2006 for analysts working in, or for, Ontario’s Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs). That version, like this one, was intended for use by people who had some data analysis experience and familiarity with basic technical language and concepts. The creation of the LHINs in 2005 had led to the need for an understanding of new geographic levels of analysis in Ontario. Because LHIN boundaries differ from historical geographies, there was considerable demand for recalculation and for new analyses that would conform to the LHIN boundaries. In January 2006, the Health Analyst’s Toolkit was created to support analysts to meet this demand. The toolkit was divided into two sections, Knowledge and Data, with much of the former devoted to a variety of topics relevant to LHIN-level analyses. For the Data section, contributors identified and described highly relevant data sources that would support the needs of LHIN analysts. All contributors to the original toolkit had experience manipulating data to provide local area estimates, health status measures, and healthcare utilization indicators. When asked to describe a resource guide that would inform their own work, the content they identified is that which is covered in the toolkit.