Seeking health care during the pandemic

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Release date: April 7, 2022
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Infographic: Seeking health care during the pandemic
Description: Seeking health care during the pandemic

Almost 1 in 3 adults (30%) who reported needing health care said that they delayed contacting a medical professional in the first year of the pandemic.

The percentage of adults who delayed seeking care was lower in Quebec and Atlantic Canada than in the other provinces.


Table 1
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 1. The information is grouped by Province (appearing as row headers), Percentage of adults who delayed seeking care (appearing as column headers).
Province Percentage of adults who delayed seeking care
N.L. 23%
P.E.I. 22%
N.B. 22%
N.S. 27%
Que. 23%
Ont. 34%
Man. 31%
Sask. 30%
Alta. 32%
B.C. 32%

The percentage was higher among younger adults than among seniors.

1 in 3 adults (33%) aged 18 to 64 delayed seeking health care, compared with 1 in 5 adults (22%) 65 years and older.

The reasons for delaying seeking care were often related to taking precautions against COVID-19:

  • Fear of possible exposure to COVID-19 in health care setting (18%)
  • Fear of possible exposure to COVID-19 outside health care settings (7%)
  • Concern about overloading the health care system (13%)

Source: Statistics Canada, Survey on Access to Health Care and Pharmaceuticals During the Pandemic.

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Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Industry, 2022

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Catalogue no. 11-627-M

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