8. Canadian Indicators for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) - article 25: health
On this page
- 8.1 Unable to buy prescriptions due to cost
- 8.2 Self-reported good to excellent general health
- 8.3 Self-reported good to excellent mental health
- 8.4 Unmet needs for physiotherapy, massage therapy or chiropractic treatments
- 8.5 Unmet needs for counselling services
- 8.6 Receiving help or care for a long-term health condition or disability
Alternate formats
A PDF version of the Canadian Indicators for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is available on the index page.
8.1 Unable to buy prescriptions due to cost
Figure 8.1 – Text description
| Age group | Milder disabilities | More severe disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| 15 to 64 years | 8% | 19% |
| 65 years and over | 5% | 5% |
- Notes: Respondents were asked if in the past 12 months they were ever unable to get prescription medications they were supposed to take because of the cost.
- “Milder” disability combines those with “Mild” or “Moderate” disabilities. “More Severe” disability combines those with “Severe” and “Very Severe” disabilities.
- Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).
Among persons with disabilities aged 15 to 64 years, those with more severe disabilities were more than twice as likely as those with milder disabilities to be unable to buy their prescriptions due to cost (19% versus 8%).
Among persons with more severe disabilities, those aged 15 to 64 years were more likely than those aged 65 years and over to be unable to buy their prescriptions because of cost (19% versus 5%).
8.2 Self-reported good to excellent general health
Figure 8.2 – Text description
| Gender | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 78% | 97% |
| Women | 77% | 97% |
- Notes: Respondents were asked to rate their general health on a scale from 1 to 5, one being excellent, and in descending order the categories being very good, good, fair, and poor. The percentages above refer to those who described their general health as good to excellent.
- Gender refers to an individual’s personal and social identity as a man, woman, or non-binary person (a person who is not exclusively a man or a woman). Non-binary respondents constitute a very small sample. To protect their data confidentiality, non-binary respondents have been redistributed into the men and women categories in the survey data used in this report.
- Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey - Social Identity, 2020 (Social Research Division calculations).
Persons with disabilities were less likely than persons without disabilities to rate their general health as “good”, “very good”, or “excellent”. Among persons with disabilities, 78% of men and 77% of women reported good to excellent general health. This compares to 97 % of men and 97% of women without disabilities.
8.3 Self-reported good to excellent mental health
Figure 8.3 – Text description
| Gender | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 76% | 96% |
| Women | 76% | 96% |
- Notes: Respondents were asked to rate their mental health on a scale from 1 to 5, one being excellent, and in descending order the categories being very good, good, fair, and poor. The percentages above refer to those who described their mental health as good to excellent.
- Gender refers to an individual’s personal and social identity as a man, woman, or non-binary person (a person who is not exclusively a man or a woman). Non-binary respondents constitute a very small sample. To protect their data confidentiality, non-binary respondents have been redistributed into the men and women categories in the survey data used in this report.
- Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey - Social Identity, 2020 (Social Research Division calculations).
Persons with disabilities were less likely than persons without disabilities to rate their mental health as “good”, “very good”, or “excellent”. About 76% of men and 76% of women with disabilities reported good to excellent mental health. This compares to 96 % of men and 96% of women without disabilities.
8.4 Unmet needs for physiotherapy, massage therapy or chiropractic treatments
Figure 8.4 – Text description
| Gender | Milder disabilities | More severe disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 68% | 77% |
| Women | 69% | 79% |
- Notes: The data refers to unmet needs among persons with disabilities who required physiotherapy, massage therapy, or chiropractic treatments in the last 12 months. Within this group, those who did not receive these supports, or received them but not in the appropriate amount, are defined as having their needs unmet.
- “Milder” disability combines those with “Mild” or “Moderate” disabilities. “More Severe” disability combines those with “Severe” and “Very Severe” disabilities.
- Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).
Regardless of sex or disability severity, the majority of persons with disabilities who required physiotherapy, massage therapy, or chiropractic treatments did not receive all of the treatments they needed in the last 12 months. Among persons with milder disabilities, 68% of men and 69% of women reported having unmet needs for physiotherapy, massage therapy, or chiropractic treatments in the last 12 months. This compares to 77 % of men and 79% of women with more severe disabilities.
8.5 Unmet needs for counselling services
Figure 8.5 – Text description
| Gender | Milder disabilities | More severe disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 59% | 74% |
| Women | 66% | 74% |
- Notes: The data refers to unmet needs among persons with disabilities who required counselling services from a psychologist, psychiatrist, psychotherapist, or social worker in the last 12 months. Within this group, those who did not receive these supports, or received them but not in the appropriate amount, are defined as having their needs unmet.
- “Milder” disability combines those with “Mild” or “Moderate” disabilities. “More Severe” disability combines those with “Severe” and “Very Severe” disabilities.
- Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).
Among persons with milder disabilities, women were more likely than men to have unmet counselling needs (66% versus 59%). This compares to 74% of men and 74% of women with more severe disabilities.
8.6 Receiving help or care for a long-term health condition or disability
Figure 8.6 – Text description
| Gender | Persons with disabilities | Persons without disabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 22% | 3% |
| Women | 22% | 3% |
- Notes: Respondents were asked if they received help or care for a long-term health condition or a physical or mental health-related disability in the last 12 months. A long-term health condition refers to a condition that is expected to last 6 months or longer.
- The data in the chart refers only to non-institutionalized persons receiving care. The target population for the 2018 General Social Survey is all non-institutionalized persons 15 years of age or older, living in the 10 provinces of Canada.
- Receiving help or care for a condition refers to, indoor household chores such as cleaning, washing, or ironing, outdoor chores such as cutting grass, shovelling or home repairs, driving to appointments or to do errands such as shopping, banking, or financing, coordinating care needs, or administering medication.
- Differences described below are statistically significant (p<0.05).
- Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey - Caregiving and Care Receiving, 2018 (Social Research Division calculations).
Both men and women with disabilities were over 7 times more likely than men and women without disabilities to report having received care or help for a long-term health condition or disability in the last 12 months (22% versus 3%).