Canada's Health Care providers, 2007
Encyclopedia
Canada’s Health Care Providers, 2007 is a reference on the country’s health care
workforce. It looks at how the health provider landscape has evolved, examines the complexities of health human resources
planning and management in the current environment and provides the latest information on supply trends for various health professions.
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
workforce. It looks at how the health provider landscape has evolved, examines the complexities of health human resources
Health Human Resources
Health human resources — also known as “human resources for health” or “health workforce” — is defined as “all people engaged in actions whose primary intent is to enhance health”, according to the World Health Organization's World Health Report 2006. Human resources for health are identified as...
planning and management in the current environment and provides the latest information on supply trends for various health professions.
Health care workforce
- Size: In 2006, just over 1,000,000 people in Canada worked directly in health occupationsHealth professionThe health care industry, or medical industry, is the sector of the economic system that provides goods and services to treat patients with curative, preventive, rehabilitative, palliative, or, at times, unnecessary care...
; this represented 6% of the total Canadian workforce. - Growth: From 1996 to 2005, growth of health professions varied; for example, dental hygienists experienced a growth of 45%, pharmacists 29% and medical laboratoryMedical laboratoryA medical laboratory or clinical laboratory is a laboratory where tests are done on clinical specimens in order to get information about the health of a patient as pertaining to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.-Departments:...
technologists 6%. - Age and sex: Women make up the majority of the health workforce (77% compared to 47% in the general workforce). The health workforce is also slightly older than the general working population, at an average age of 41.9, compared to a Canadian average of 39.6 in 2005.
Health of the workforce
- Health: Those working in health care report levels of good health (96%) similar to the general Canadian workforce (94%). In 2003, 1.1% of health care workers versus 3.8% of the general labour forceLabor forceIn economics, a labor force or labour force is a region's combined civilian workforce, including both the employed and unemployed.Normally, the labor force of a country consists of everyone of working age In economics, a labor force or labour force is a region's combined civilian workforce,...
reported being injured at work. - Absenteeism: Despite reporting that they are in good health, health care workers have had a higher average number of lost workLost workA lost work is a document or literary work produced some time in the past of which no surviving copies are known to exist. Works may be lost to history either through the destruction of the original manuscript, or through the non-survival of any copies of the work. Deliberate destruction of works...
days when compared to the rest of the working population over the last 20 years. On average in 2006, the typical Canadian health careHealth care in CanadaHealth care in Canada is delivered through a publicly-funded health care system, which is mostly free at the point of use and has most services provided by private entities. It is guided by the provisions of the Canada Health Act. The government assures the quality of care through federal standards...
worker aged 25 to 54 missed almost 12 days of work due to his or her own illness or disability. This compares to an average of seven days of work missed for all employed Canadians.
Work environment
- Part-timePart timeA part-time job is a form of employment that carries fewer hours per week than a full-time job. Workers are considered to be part time if they commonly work fewer than 30 or 35 hours per week...
work: In 2005, more members of the health care workforce (24%) than the Canadian labour force (18%) worked part-time. Midwives, dieticians and nutritionists, audiologists, psychologists, RNs and occupational therapistsOccupational therapyOccupational therapy is a discipline that aims to promote health by enabling people to perform meaningful and purposeful activities. Occupational therapists work with individuals who suffer from a mentally, physically, developmentally, and/or emotionally disabling condition by utilizing treatments...
all had a higher proportion of their workforce that worked part-time when compared with all health occupations.
See also
- Canada Health ActCanada Health ActThe Canada Health Act is a piece of Canadian federal legislation, adopted in 1984, which specifies the conditions and criteria with which the provincial and territorial health insurance programs must conform in order to receive federal transfer payments under the Canada Health Transfer...
- Canada Health TransferCanada Health TransferThe Canada Health Transfer is the Canadian government's transfer payment program in support of the health systems of the provinces and territories of Canada...
- Canada Health and Social TransferCanada Health and Social TransferThe Canada Health and Social Transfer was a system of block transfer payments from the Canadian government to provincial governments to pay for health care, post-secondary education and welfare, in place from the 1996-97 fiscal year until the 2004-05 fiscal year...
- Indian Health Transfer Policy (Canada)Indian Health Transfer Policy (Canada)The Indian Health Transfer Policy of Canada, provided a framework for the assumption of control of health services by Aboriginal Canadians and set forth a developmental approach to transfer centred on the concept of self-determination in health. Through this process, the decision to enter into...
- Health care in CanadaHealth care in CanadaHealth care in Canada is delivered through a publicly-funded health care system, which is mostly free at the point of use and has most services provided by private entities. It is guided by the provisions of the Canada Health Act. The government assures the quality of care through federal standards...
- Canadian Institute for Health Information
- Canadian and American health care systems comparedCanadian and American health care systems comparedComparison of the health care systems in Canada and the United States are often made by government, public health and public policy analysts. The two countries had similar health care systems before Canada reformed its system in the 1960s and 1970s. The United States spends much more money on...
- Canada Health ActCanada Health ActThe Canada Health Act is a piece of Canadian federal legislation, adopted in 1984, which specifies the conditions and criteria with which the provincial and territorial health insurance programs must conform in order to receive federal transfer payments under the Canada Health Transfer...
- Medicare (Canada)Medicare (Canada)Medicare is the unofficial name for Canada's publicly funded universal health insurance system. The formal terminology for the insurance system is provided by the Canada Health Act and the health insurance legislation of the individual provinces and territories.Under the terms of the Canada Health...