Health Reports
A Canadian peer-reviewed journal of population health and health services research
March 2025
Trends and inequalities in multimorbidity from 2001/2002 to 2019/2020: A population-based study in British Columbia
by Jennifer K. Ferris, Amy Prangnell, Brandon Wagar, Alex Choi, Jonathan Simkin, Ryan R. Woods, Hind Sbihi, Kari Harder and Kate Smolina
Multimorbidity is the co‑occurrence of two or more chronic diseases—a common reality for many patients. Co‑occurring chronic diseases are associated with an outsized negative impact on patient mortality, complexity of patient management, and health care costs. Multimorbidity is highly prevalent and is projected to rise with aging population demographics and the increasing prevalence of single chronic diseases across high-income nations. Canadian multimorbidity prevalence estimates range from 25% to 45% of adults, with variations by data source and the number of diseases included in the analyses. However, it is consistently reported that more than 50% of the Canadian population aged 65 and older have multimorbidity.
Full article PDF versionAvoidable hospitalizations among racialized groups in Canada: Results from the 2016 Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort
by Anita Brobbey, Vijata Sharma and Maegan Mazereeuw
Reducing health disparities is a health sector priority in Canada. Racial disparities in hospitalization rates predate the COVID-19 pandemic, and the disparities may have worsened or broadened during the pandemic because of unequal access to ambulatory care. In this paper, ambulatory care refers to medical services provided without admission to a hospital, including those offered in clinics, physician offices, community health centres, and urgent care centres. Ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) are health conditions, such as asthma and diabetes, for which adequate management, treatment, and interventions delivered in the ambulatory care setting could potentially prevent hospitalization. For instance, one study showed that pharmacy ambulatory services reduced the number of emergency visits for acute exacerbations of asthma.
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Avoidable hospitalizations among racialized groups in Canada: Results from the 2016 Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort
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- Carrière G, Bougie E. Changes to acute-care hospitalizations among Indigenous children and youth: Results from the 2006 and 2011 Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohorts. Health Reports. 2023; 34(1) DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x202300100002-eng
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