Factors associated with eye care in Canada

Released: 2022-12-21

From 2016 to 2019, 75% of people diagnosed with diabetes visited an eye care professional during the previous year. While it is well known that diabetes is a condition that requires regular visits to an eye specialist, less is known about the need for visits by people without diabetes. The article "Sociodemographic and endogenous factors associated with access to eye care in Canada, 2016 to 2019" used data from two cycles of the Canadian Health Measures Survey to assess the importance of factors, such as the presence of an eye disease or encouragement by a doctor, and sociodemographic variables to the likelihood of having visited an eye specialist in the previous year.

Rates of eye care visits varied by age, at 57% for those aged 6 to 18 years, 40% for those aged 19 to 64 years, and 63% for those aged 65 to 79 years. For people not diagnosed with diabetes, wearing glasses was a factor associated with having seen an eye care professional in the previous year.

Although wearing glasses or having eye diseases was associated with a visit to an eye care professional, this study revealed additional associated factors—such as access to a family doctor—for people aged 6 to 64 years and an excellent or very good self-perceived quality of life for those aged 65 to 79 years.

In the 19- to 64-year-old age group, those with Indigenous identity were less likely to have visited an eye care professional than those without Indigenous identity. Those living in a household with an income of $100,000 or more also had a greater likelihood of having visited an eye care professional. Indigenous identity and income were not factors in the other age groups.

Products

The article "Sociodemographic and endogenous factors associated with access to eye care in Canada, 2016 to 2019" is now available in the December 2022 online issue of Health Reports, Vol. 33, No. 12 (Catalogue number82-003-X).

This issue of Health Reports also contains the articles "The role of neighbourhood environments in hospitalization risk for diabetes and related conditions: A population-based cohort analysis by remoteness and deprivation indices," "Adolescent social media use and its association with relationships and connections: Canadian Health Behaviour in School-aged Children, 2017/18" and "Sociodemographic disparities in COVID-19 vaccine uptake and vaccination intent in Canada."

Also released today is a video titled "Structural Economic and Lasting Social Changes: Enduring Impact of COVID-19 on the Health of Canadians," available as part of the series Videos - Statistics Canada (Catalogue number11-629-X).

Contact information

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