The Daily. Wednesday, March 13, 2002

Changes in unmet health care needs

One in 8 people reported having unmet health care needs in 2000/01, up from 1 in 24 in 1994/95, according to an analysis of data from the new Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) and the first three cycles of the National Population Health Survey (NPHS).

Preliminary CCHS data show that an estimated 12.5% of Canadians aged 12 or older - about 3.2 million people - experienced unmet health care needs in 2000/01, nearly double the proportion of 6.3% in 1998/99.

This statistically significant jump is a continuation of a slow-but-steady rise in self-reported unmet health care needs, from 4.2% in 1994/95 to 5.1% in 1996/97 and to 6.3% in 1998/99.

Several factors may explain the recent substantial increase in reported unmet needs. These may be related to the structures and processes within the health care system, or to characteristics of the population, including individuals' perceptions of the state of health care.

Substantial increase for both sexes and across age groups

The CCHS results show substantial increases in unmet needs for both sexes and across age groups.

In 2000/01, almost 11% of men reported unmet needs, more than double the 5.2% who did so in 1998/99. The increase among women was from 7.4% in 1998/99 to 14.0% in 2000/01.

The greatest increase in self-perceived unmet needs was among 35- to 64-year-olds. However, for each age group the increase from 1994/95 to 2000/01 was statistically significant.

Seniors were the group least likely to report unmet health care needs. Just 8.1% of people 65 or older had unmet needs, compared with over 13% of people 12 to 34 or 35 to 64.

Note to readers This release is based on an article in the March 2002 issue of Health reports. It examines recent trends in self-perceived unmet health care needs and reasons reported for those unmet needs. The analysis is based on the first half of data collection for the first cycle of the Canadian Community Health Survey, conducted from September 2000 to February 2001, and from cross-sectional household components of the National Population Health Survey, conducted in 1994/95, 1996/97 and 1998/99. The analysis examines perceived unmet health care needs and the reasons for them as reported by survey respondents. No information is available to ascertain if people truly are going without necessary care. This article follows up on an analysis of unmet health care needs published in the previous issue of Health reports.

Long waits, unavailability of services most frequently cited reasons

In both 1998/99 and 2000/01, long waits and the unavailability of services when needed were the reasons most commonly reported for unmet health care needs - reasons related to features of the health care system.

Among those reporting unmet health care needs, the proportion indicating waiting time as the reason rose from 23% in 1998/99 to 30% in 2000/01.

By contrast, the percentage of people with unmet needs reporting that service was unavailable when they needed it was stable - around 14% in both 1998/99 and 2000/01.

The percentage of people reporting unmet needs due to personal circumstances declined slightly between 1998/99 and 2000/01. In such cases, individuals who did not receive health care cited reasons such as being too busy, deciding not to bother, believing care would be inadequate, or disliking or fearing doctors. For example, in 1998/99, 13.5% of those with unmet needs had said they were "too busy" to seek care; 9.5% gave the same reason in 2000/01.

Even so, the absolute number of people with unmet needs who did not seek health care for personal reasons increased from 1998/99 to 2000/01.

The full report, "Changes in unmet health care needs," appears in the March 2002 issue of Health Reports, Vol. 13, No. 3 (82-003-XIE, $15/$44; 82-003-XPE, $20/$58), which is now available.

This issue of Health Reports contains three other articles: "Canadian Community Health Survey - Methodological overview," "Fruit and vegetable consumption," and "Community belonging and health." Each of these articles is based on information provided by respondents to the CCHS during its first six months of data collection. These data comprised approximately half of the full data set, and were processed to provide estimates at the national level for variables included in the analyses. In May, key health indicators and custom tabulations at the community level will be available from the full CCHS data set.

For more information about Health Reports, contact Marie P. Beaudet (613-951-7025; beaumar@statcan.gc.ca), Health Statistics Division.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this article, contact Claudia Sanmartin (613-951-6059; sanmcla@statcan.gc.ca) or Jean-Marie Berthelot (613-951-3760; berthel@statcan.gc.ca), Social and Economic Studies Division.