The economic downturn is delivering a beating to Canadians' health as well as their wealth, a new poll shows.
The survey, commissioned by the Canadian Medical Association, shows that while 57 per cent of Canadians are worried about their financial security, an almost equal number, 52 per cent, are worried about their health.
That is almost twice as many as 27 per cent of those polled who were worried about losing their jobs.
The CMA's report card shows that these tough economic times could also be a serious health hazard for Canadians
And many Canadians, especially those in lower income brackets, are cutting corners with their health to make ends meet.
“Emerson said famously that the greatest wealth is health,” said Dr. Robert Ouellet, president of the CMA. “This year, the CMA's report card shows that these tough economic times could also be a serious health hazard for Canadians.”
The poll, which will be released Monday at the CMA convention in Saskatoon, shows that nationwide, two in five Canadians say are feeling overwhelmed or stressed by financial concerns.
Respondents also revealed that their financial worries have led them to spend less time, energy and money on staying healthy. To wit:
- 32 per cent said they are spending less on food;
- 25 per cent said they have cancelled or delayed a dental appointment to save money;
- 23 per cent said they are sleeping less than normal because of financial worries;
- 22 per cent said they had eschewed recreation or sporting activities to pinch pennies;
- 16 per cent of those polled said they had gone as far as to skip meals to save money;
- 14 per cent said they had delayed or stopped buying their prescription medications because money was too tight;
- 10 per cent said they had delayed or cancelled a doctor's appointment.
In every one of the examples cited, there was a clear gradient based on household income, the pollster noted. Similarly, the less education a person has, the harder hit he appears to absorb by the recession.
For example, 28 per cent of those with annual income under $30,000 said they had skipped meals, compared to 8 per cent of those with family income above $90,000.
Likewise, 22 per cent of low-income respondents had failed to fill a prescription for lack of money compared to 7 per cent of those in the high-income group.
Overall, 41 per cent of Canadians rated their health as excellent or very good, 38 per cent said it was good, and 20 per cent rated their health as fair or poor.
The poll examining the links between the recession and health was conducted by Ipsos-Reid, which surveyed 3,223 Canadian adults online between June 25 and July 11. The results are considered accurate within 1.73 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
A second poll, also conducted by Ipsos-Reid, consisted of a telephone survey of 1,002 adults conducted June 7 to 9. Those results are considered accurate within 3.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The telephone survey focused on Canadians' perceptions of the health system and of governments' handling of the health file. The CMA has asked similar questions for nine years running and published the results in the form of a report card.
The overall quality of the health system is deemed to be about the same as last year, according to the poll results.
Twenty-six per cent of respondents gave “overall care” a grade of A, while 41 per cent accorded it a B, 26 per cent a C and 7 per cent a failing F grade.
Residents of Ontario, Alberta and B.C. gave the highest number of A grades, while those in Manitoba and Saskatchewan doled out the fewest As.
In 2009, survey respondents gave governments slightly higher marks than in 2008. Thirty-nine per cent of those polled gave the federal government either an A or B grade, compared to 34 per cent last year.
The provinces, for their part, garnered 43 per cent A or B grades, up from 40 per cent in 2008. Again, Ontario and Alberta residents were the most pleased with the performance of their governments, while Quebeckers were the least pleased.
Canadians are almost evenly divided between pessimists and optimists when it comes to predicting the future of health care delivery. According to the poll, 51 per cent of think services will improve, while 46 per cent believe they will deteriorate. (Three per cent are unsure.)
The full results of the CMA Report Card are available at www.cma.ca/report-card.htm
