Unmet health care needs

Proportion of the population reporting unmet healthcare needs (other than for home care).

This indicator is measured in the Canadian Income Survey (CIS), the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), and the Survey on Access to Health Care and Pharmaceuticals During the Pandemic (SAHCPDP).

In the CCHS and the CIS, survey respondents are asked:

During the past 12 months, was there ever a time when you felt that you needed health care, other than homecare services, but you did not receive it?

• Yes
• No

In the SAHCPDP, survey respondents are asked:

You mentioned previously that you needed health care services during the past 12 months. Did you receive all the health care services you needed?

• Yes, received all the health care services needed
• No, did not receive all the health care services needed

This indicator is measured through multiple Statistics Canada surveys. Estimates can vary between data sources due to differences in reference periods, targeted or sampled populations, data collection and other methodology.

• Canadian Income Survey (CIS)
  • Table 13-10-0836-01 – Unmet health care needs by sex and age group
• Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)
• Survey on Access to Health Care and Pharmaceuticals During the Pandemic (SAHCPDP)

This indictor will also be measured through upcoming iterations of the following surveys:

• Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) (Cycle 7 – Fall 2022 to 2024)
• Indigenous Peoples Survey (IPS) (Collected from May to November 2022)

• Primary health care access among First Nations people living off reserve, Métis and Inuit, 2017 to 2020 (Indigenous Peoples Thematic Series, October 6, 2023)
• Health of Canadians – Access to health care (Health of Canadians, September 13, 2023)
• Survey on Access to Health Care and Pharmaceuticals During the Pandemic, March 2020 to May 2021 (The Daily, November 23, 2021)