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Primary health care, 2015 Health Fact Sheets
Primary health care, 2015

In 2015, 16.8% of Canadians aged 12 or older, or roughly 5.0 million people, reported that they did not have a regular health care provider they see or talk to when they need care or advice for their health.^{Note 1} Significantly more males (20.7%) than females (13.1%) reported they were without a regular health care provider.^{Note 2}

Among both sexes, the proportion of those without a primary health care provider was highest among those aged 18 to 34. Males were more likely (35.1%) to report that they did not have a health care provider compared with females (22.3%). The group that had the lowest proportion of people without a health care provider were Canadians aged 65 or older (around 6% for both males and females; Chart 1).

Data table for Chart 1

Data table for Chart 1
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 1. The information is grouped by Age group (years) (appearing as row headers), Percent and Confidence Interval, calculated using Lower 95% and Upper 95% units of measure (appearing as column headers).

Age group (years)	Percent	Confidence Interval
		Lower 95%	Upper 95%
Males
Total (12 or older)	20.7	19.8	21.5
12 to 17	18.6	16.4	20.8
18 to 34	35.1	32.9	37.2
35 to 49	22.2	20.3	24.2
50 to 64	14.1	12.8	15.5
65 or older	5.7	4.8	6.7
Females
Total (12 or older)	13.1	12.5	13.8
12 to 17	16.3	14.0	18.6
18 to 34	22.3	20.5	24.1
35 to 49	11.8	10.5	13.0
50 to 64	9.0	8.0	10.0
65 or older	6.2	5.4	7.0
Note: A regular health care provider is defined as a health professional that a person sees or talks to when they need care or advice about their health. This can include a family doctor or general practitioner, medical specialist, or nurse practitioner. Source: Canadian Community Health Survey, 2015.

The proportion of residents who were without a primary health care provider was lower than the national average (16.8%) in:

• Newfoundland and Labrador (11.9%)
• Prince Edward Island (11.3%)
• Nova Scotia (11.3%)
• New Brunswick (9.2%)
• Ontario (10.4%)

The proportion of residents who were without a primary health care provider was higher than the national average in:

• Quebec (27.8%)
• Alberta (19.5%)

The proportion of residents who were without a primary health care provider was similar to the national average in Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Manitoba.

In 2015, Aboriginals^{Note 3} were more likely to report they did not have a primary health care provider (20.8%) compared to the non-Aboriginal population (16.1%). 

Of the 5.0 million people without a primary health care provider, the most commonly reported reasons were that  they had not tried to find one (27.4%) or that they did not need one, but had a usual place of care (28.0%).^{Note 4}

About primary health care

For many Canadians, the first point of contact for medical care is their regular health care provider. Being without a regular health care provider is associated with fewer visits to general practitioners or specialists, who can play a role in the early screening and treatment of medical conditions.

A regular health care provider is defined as a health professional that a person sees or talks to when they need care or advice about their health. This can include a family doctor or general practitioner, medical specialist, or nurse practitioner.

References

Nabalamba, A., and W. Millar. 2007. “Going to the doctor.” Health Reports. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 82-003. Vol. 18 no. 1. (Accessed January 11th, 2017)

Carrière, G. 2005. “Consultations with doctors and nurses.” Health Reports. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 82-003. Vol. 16 no. 4. (Accessed January 11th, 2017)

Data

Additional data from the Canadian Community Health Survey are available from CANSIM table 105–0508.