At 47 pages, the report contains data on most everything that influences the health and wellbeing of Gabriolans, including over 120 data points and illustrations. The report draws on the 2021 Canadian Census of Population, Community Health Service Area data, and data shared by local Gabriola organizations. And for the first time, the report tracks changes in the data over time. Read the report.

This Community Health Service Areas (CHSAs) health profile contains information about the community’s demographics, socio-economic and health/disease status as represented through various community health indicators. Read the BC Community Health 4247 Gabriola Island CHSA Profile.

This included a community planning event and a survey to capture health priorities and assess community resilience. Completed by 435 island residents, the results were compiled into this report - Health and Wellbeing on Gabriola, Mudge and DeCourcy Islands: Looking to the Future.

Within two weeks of COVID being declared a pandemic, Collaborative organizations came together. These organizations covered health care, emergency response, transportation, communications, food security, and local government. Initially meeting weekly to ensure plans were established quickly, the group continued to meet to adjust plans and monitor impacts on the community.

This collaborative effort between Sustainable Gabriola and Gabriola Health and Wellbeing Collaborative networks was established to assess the impact of COVID on the community.

The Gabriola Beyond Recovery Report (2020) was based on a survey of 363 residents between March and July 2020, involving interviews with individuals from underserved populations and electronic communications with primary health care providers.

It provides information about Gabriolans’ experiences during the first eight months of the COVID-19 pandemic, to find out what we have learned from these experiences, and to use what we’ve learned to do things differently in the future.

The research revealed broad insights into the population as a whole and a deeper understanding of the experiences of essential retail and health workers as well as our most vulnerable community members.

Key lessons:

1. The importance of social connections and connections with nature and exercise for wellbeing,

2. The importance of addressing increased anxiety and stress,

3. The magnified impact of the pandemic on workers,

4. The need for adaptation strategies for a vulnerable local health care system,

5. The importance of income stability, and

6. The necessity of increasing community resilience.

Read the Gabriola Health Report (2020) and watch the Gabriola Health Report Video.

Find the 2024 Gabriola Health & Wellbeing Report HERE.

A Gabriola Home Hospice Program provided by People for a Healthy Community (2018).