What determines health? To where should we shift resources? Attitudes towards the determinants of health among multiple stakeholder groups in Prince Edward Island, Canada

The population health perspective has become significant in academic and po licy discourse. The purpose of this paper is to assess its significance amo ng health care practitioners and administrators as well as the general publ ic. Respondents in Prince Edward Island, Canada were asked to rank the broa d determinants of health and comment on to where resources should be shifte d to improve the health of the population. Important variations are noted b etween the groups with family physicians and front-line staff being similar in perceptions to the general public on most determinants than other group s. The paper concludes with discussion on the relevance of the findings for population health research and health policy. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Lt d. All rights reserved.