Charting the Future of Healthcare in Canada

We designed this survey to understand your opinions and outlook regarding current access to care and treatments in Canada and to advocate for system-wide improvements across all therapeutic areas.

Canada’s healthcare system is facing serious challenges and changes are long overdue. From limited access to family doctors and essential services, hidden costs of care, and the increasing reliance on online health (mis)information, we are gathering public input to better understand where the biggest problems lie and explore potential solutions to improve care for everyone.

Healthcare includes primary care, specialist care, urgent care, emergency care, hospitalization, long-term care, home care, dental care, mental health care, eyecare, laboratory testing, imaging (X-rays, scopes, CT, etc.), medication coverage, surgery, allied healthcare (care received in pharmacy, physiotherapy, massage therapy, nutrition management, etc.), and more.

We will use this information anonymously and in aggregate to shape future programming and to inform community members, healthcare professionals, and health policy decision-makers.

This survey is open to those who are 16 years of age or older who access healthcare in Canada. It takes approximately 8 minutes to complete.

We thank these collaborators for their oversight of this survey:
Fred Horne, Senior Advisor, 3Sixty Public Affairs and former Alberta Minister of Heath
Terry Lake, former British Columbia Health Minister
Graham Statt, Health and Life Sciences Consultant

Demographics

Question Title

* 1. What is your age in years?

100

Clear

i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

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* 2. What is your sex?

female

male

prefer not to say

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* 3. What is your gender identity?

woman

man

non-binary

transgender

other (please specify)

prefer not to say

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* 4. Do you currently identify with any of these historically marginalized communities?

2SLGBTQI+

Indigenous Peoples

racialized individual

recent immigrant or refugee

person with a disability

person experiencing homelessness

other (please specify)

none of these

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* 5. What is your gross family income?

<$20,000

$20,000-$49,999

$50,000-$74,999

$75,000-$99,999

$100,000-$200,000

>$200,000

prefer not to say

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* 6. Where do you live?

Alberta

British Columbia

Manitoba

New Brunswick

Newfoundland and Labrador

Northwest Territories

Nova Scotia

Nunavut

Ontario

Prince Edward Island

Quebec

Saskatchewan

Yukon

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* 7. In what type of area do you live?

urban

suburban

rural

remote or northern community

on a First Nation reserve, Métis settlement, or Inuit Nunangat

other (please specify)

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* 8. Do you work in healthcare (select all that apply)?

healthcare professional (e.g., doctor, nurse, specialist)

allied health provider (e.g., physiotherapist, dietitian, pharmacist, counsellor, dentist)

government/public health employee

industry

academia/researcher

private drug payer/insurance

caregiver

other (please specify)

Values and Communication in Healthcare

Question Title

* 9. During the past year, on average, how frequently have you needed to access healthcare?

once a year or less

one to four times a year

monthly

a few times a month

weekly

daily

live in long-term care, or assisted living/home care

other (please specify)

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* 10. Do you agree or disagree that your healthcare providers supply all the information and services that you need to maintain your health?

strongly agree

somewhat agree

not sure

somewhat disagree

strongly disagree

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* 11. What more could patient organizations (such as the GI Society) do to support patients and caregivers?

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* 12. Do you feel listened to and respected by healthcare professionals?

always

most of the time

sometimes

rarely

never

not applicable

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* 13. Have you ever avoided discussing a health concern with a healthcare professional due to fear of judgement or not being taken seriously?

yes (please explain why and how recently that occurred)

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* 14. How much do you agree that it would be beneficial to have a chatbot/artificial intelligence app screen your primary concern, family history, and relevant diagnostics before your appointment to help optimize your physician’s time?

strongly agree

somewhat agree

not sure

somewhat disagree

strongly disagree

Hidden Costs and Burdens

Question Title

* 15. Which of these hidden costs have negatively affected your healthcare experiences during the past year?

needing to take time off work

paying out of pocket for lab tests

paying out of pocket for medicines and devices

gas, parking fees, transit, or other fees to travel to healthcare setting

no access to appropriate transportation

extra costs for overnight stays for you and/or your caregiver if healthcare setting is especially far

finding and paying for childcare

time waiting to access care

not able to access care in your own language or appropriate cultural setting

other (please specify)

none

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* 16. How much time do you spend each week managing healthcare logistics for yourself and/or others?

This includes arranging and attending appointments, filling prescriptions, taking or administering medications, following prescribed diet or exercise plans, researching issues relating to healthcare or your condition, making notes and reporting on treatment effects/health status, etc.

less than 1 hour

1-3 hours

4-7 hours

8-15 hours

15-40 hours

40+ hours

unsure

not applicable

Question Title

* 17. How much of a burden do you find managing healthcare logistics for yourself or others to be?

Consider aspects such as time, money, emotional effects, and how difficult or easy it is to operate in our healthcare systems.

Systemic Change

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* 18. Thinking of our current healthcare systems in Canada, consider which of the following areas currently need the most attention, resources, or changes to meet our needs.

Rank them from most to least important.

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* 19. Which of the following would make the most positive impact to improving healthcare?

fully public: move toward a system where all care is government-funded and publicly delivered

mostly public system: keep most services publicly funded and delivered, but allow some care in private clinics and internationally, if the patient chooses

hybrid public and private system: maintain the public system, but allow for more services to be delivered in private clinics, with some care covered by public funding and others paid by individuals out-of-pocket or through private insurance, if the patient chooses

other (please specify)

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* 20. Do you agree or disagree that increasing the availability of private healthcare services will improve access and reduce wait times in the healthcare system?

strongly agree

somewhat agree

not sure

somewhat disagree

strongly disagree

Conclusion

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* 21. If you have any additional comments, including your experiences or ideas for improving the healthcare system, you can enter them here:

Thank you for taking part in this survey!

To see the results of this survey when they are available, please sign up for the GI Society’s e-newsletter.

We did not receive any external funding to conduct this survey.

Charting the Future of Healthcare in Canada

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* 1. What is your age in years?

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* 2. What is your sex?

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* 3. What is your gender identity?

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* 4. Do you currently identify with any of these historically marginalized communities?

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* 5. What is your gross family income?

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* 6. Where do you live?

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* 7. In what type of area do you live?

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* 8. Do you work in healthcare (select all that apply)?

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* 9. During the past year, on average, how frequently have you needed to access healthcare?

Question Title

* 10. Do you agree or disagree that your healthcare providers supply all the information and services that you need to maintain your health?

Question Title

* 11. What more could patient organizations (such as the GI Society) do to support patients and caregivers?

Question Title

* 12. Do you feel listened to and respected by healthcare professionals?

Question Title

* 13. Have you ever avoided discussing a health concern with a healthcare professional due to fear of judgement or not being taken seriously?

Question Title

* 14. How much do you agree that it would be beneficial to have a chatbot/artificial intelligence app screen your primary concern, family history, and relevant diagnostics before your appointment to help optimize your physician’s time?

Question Title

* 15. Which of these hidden costs have negatively affected your healthcare experiences during the past year?

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* 17. How much of a burden do you find managing healthcare logistics for yourself or others to be? Consider aspects such as time, money, emotional effects, and how difficult or easy it is to operate in our healthcare systems.

Question Title

* 18. Thinking of our current healthcare systems in Canada, consider which of the following areas currently need the most attention, resources, or changes to meet our needs. Rank them from most to least important.

Question Title

* 19. Which of the following would make the most positive impact to improving healthcare?

Question Title

* 20. Do you agree or disagree that increasing the availability of private healthcare services will improve access and reduce wait times in the healthcare system?

Question Title

* 21. If you have any additional comments, including your experiences or ideas for improving the healthcare system, you can enter them here:

* 17. How much of a burden do you find managing healthcare logistics for yourself or others to be?

Consider aspects such as time, money, emotional effects, and how difficult or easy it is to operate in our healthcare systems.

* 18. Thinking of our current healthcare systems in Canada, consider which of the following areas currently need the most attention, resources, or changes to meet our needs.

Rank them from most to least important.