Health-Care Utilization in Canada: 25 Years of Evidence

Lori Curtis and William J. MacMinn

Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers from McMaster University

Abstract: An abundance of literature links socio-economic status to health and health care in Canada and other countries. Recent anecdotal evidence indicates that Canadians believe their access to health care is diminishing over time. This study provides a brief description of utilization patterns in health-care services provided under public health insurance (physicians, specialists and hospitals) in Canada between 1978 and 2003. The relationships between socio-economic status (SES) and utilization, controlling for demographic characteristics are examined to investigate whether changes in the equity of utilization have occurred over time. Results indicate that SES inequities in utilization are apparent in publicly insured services, appearing to be more relevant in initial contact with the system rather than in the number of visits. Specialist’s services are particularly problematic and becoming more so over time.

Keywords: health-care utilization; socio-economic status; Canada (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 I11 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 48 pages
Date: 2007-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mcm:sedapp:190

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