Perceiving Unmet Health Care Needs and Self-initiative in Improving Health

ABSTRACT

Unmet care needs represent perceived deficiencies in health care delivery,1,2 and consist of three major components: perceived problems with availability, accessibility, and acceptability of health care services.3 Long waiting time was the reason most frequently reported for unmet health care needs.4 Relative to other developed countries, overall, unmet health care needs in Canada remain low (5%), although there has been a slight increase across all provinces.5 The prevalence of unmet health care needs of all types was close to the national figure in most provinces.6 There have been concerns that recent limits on health care budgets placed an unequal burden on disadvantaged groups. However, studies1 have shown that the likelihood of reporting unmet needs due to a lack of services did not vary significantly based on factors such as household income, education, employment, Aboriginal status, or immigrant status.