2nd Annual Report Card on Health Care in Canada
Six in Ten Canadians Assign B Grade to Overall Quality of Health Care (63%), Choice of Health Care Services (62%) and Their Most Recent Interaction with the System (68%) Ability to Access Specific Health Care Services in Their Community Receives Mixed Ratings Eight in Ten (82%) Agree Long-term, Sustainable Funding is Needed to Improve the Health Care System
These results are based on the Second Annual Canadian Medical Association Report Card on the Health System in Canada. Ipsos-Reid conducted telephone interviews among 1,500 randomly chosen adult Canadians between June 25 and July 8, 2002. The margin of error for the overall findings is 1772.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. A major portion of the survey was devoted to a national report card in which Canadians were asked to rate a range of dimensions of the health care system using a letter grade (i.e., A, B, C or F with A being the highest grade and F being a failing grade).
Overall Quality of the Health Care System
Canadians continue to assign the overall quality of the health care system a fairly positive rating with at least six in ten Canadians giving the health care system a B grade or better in terms of overall quality (63%), choice of health services (62%), and their most recent interaction with the system (68%).
Community Health Care Services
Canadians express more mixed views when asked to rate their ability to access specific health care services in their community. They are most positive about access to their family doctor, to walk in clinics, and access for children and seniors (at least five in ten assign a B grade or better). Across the other accessibility dimensions tested (e.g., access to medical specialists and diagnostic equipment) the majority assign a C grade or worse.
Long-term Sustainable Funding Needed
Eight in ten (82%, rating of 7,8,9,10) Canadians agree that we need long-term, sustainable funding to improve the health care system in Canada. Only 3% (rating of 0,1,2,3) disagree, while the remaining 14% (rating of 5) were uncertain. Survey participants were asked to respond to this statement using an 11-point scale where `0' means strongly disagree and `10' means strongly agree.
Most Important Improvements to the Health Care System
Respondents were asked the following question on an open-ended basis, "What do you think is the most important thing that can be done to improve the healthcare system in Canada?" Twenty nine percent mention issues related the need for more health care professionals - need more doctors (13%), need more health care professionals (9%), stop the brain (3%), need for more nurses (2%), higher wages/incentives (2%). Twenty three percent mentioned issues related to funding - more funding for the health care system (15%), better management of funds/services (6%), stop abuses (2%).
The Role of Physicians in Providing Access to the Health Care System
Canadians who have had to find a new family physician within the last year are less likely to assign a high grade to the overall quality of the health care system and the accessibility dimensions examined than those who have not had to look for a physician during the past year. Two-thirds (67%) of those who did not have to find a family doctor in the past year gave the overall system a "B" rating or better. However, just one in two (55%) Canadians who had to look for a new physician in the past year gave the overall system an "B" grade or higher.
Government Performance
Canadians remain negative when asked to assess government performance on the health care file. Only 5% give the federal government's performance in dealing with health care in Canada a very positive rating (i.e., an A); over six times as many (32%) give the federal government's performance in this area a failing grade. Similarly only 8% think their provincial government is doing a very good job in dealing with health care in their province (A rating), while fully 32% give their provincial government a failing grade.
Priorities for Annual Provincial Report Cards on Health
September 2002 marks the second anniversary of the federal-provincial agreement on health care at which time, the provinces will release their own reports on the state of health care. Respondents were provided a list of priorities and asked to rate them using an 11-point scale where `0' means not at all important and `10' means very important. Access to first contact health services (84%) and waiting times for key diagnostic and treatment services (80%) were most frequently rated as important areas to be reported upon. Moreover, a majority of Canadians (87%) say that it is a "good idea" to prepare these reports in such a way that the average Canadian can compare the differences between the provinces.
To view the complete english factum and french factum, please open the attached PDF files.
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For more information on this news release, please contact:
Darrell Bricker
President and COO
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900
