More than three million Canadians reported that they did not receive health care when they felt it was needed, according to a new fact sheet released by StatsCan. New analysis from the 2014 Canadian Community Health Survey shows that low income Canadians, Aboriginal people, women, adults aged 20 to 54, individuals without a regular medical doctor, overnight patients at healthcare facilities and individuals with at least one chronic health condition were all associated with higher rates of unmet healthcare needs. There were no major differences between immigrant and non-immigrant groups and urban and rural populations.
People identified a number of reasons for unmet needs including primarily wait times (33 percent), unavailability (14 percent) and cost (11 percent). While physical health problems were the main type of issue that went unaddressed (65 percent), mental health or emotional problems accounted for 11 percent of unmet needs.
For more info and graphic source, visit the StatsCan website.