Social Health

Improving Health Status

Profound improvements in health status have occurred in industrialized nations such as Canada since 1900. It has been hypothesized that access to improved medical care is responsible for these differences, but best estimates are that only 10–15 percent of increased longevity since 1900 in wealthy industrialized nations is due to improved health care.[1] As one illustration, the advent of vaccines and medical treatments are usually held responsible for the profound declines in mortality from infectious diseases in Canada since 1900. But by the time vaccines for diseases such as measles, influenza, and polio and treatments for scarlet fever, typhoid, and diphtheria appeared, dramatic declines in mortality had already occurred.[1]

Improvements in behaviour (e.g., reductions in tobacco use, changes in diet, increased exercise, etc.) have also been hypothesized as responsible for improved longevity, but most analysts conclude that improvements in health are due to the improving material conditions of everyday life experienced by Canadians since 1900.[2][3] These improvements occurred in the areas of early childhood, education, food processing and availability, health and social services, housing, employment security and working conditions and every other social determinant of health.

[edit] Inequalities among Canadians

Despite dramatic improvements in health in general, significant inequalities in health among Canadians persist.[4][5][6][7] Access to essential medical procedures is guaranteed by Medicare in Canada. Nevertheless, access to care issues are common[8] and this is particularly the case in regards to required prescription medicines where income is a strong determinant of such access.[9] It is believed however that health care issues account for a relatively small proportion of health status differences that exist among Canadians.[10] As for differences in health behaviours (e.g., tobacco and alcohol use, diet, and physical...