Multicultural Factors Influencing Health

Multicultural Factors Influencing Health

A. Healthcare History & Structure

Access to healthcare based on need rather than the ability to pay was the founding principle of the Canadian health system. Medicare was first introduced in one province in 1947 and later spread across the country through federal cost-sharing (Martin et al., 2018). Later, it was harmonized through standards in federal law. Canada’s healthcare system is government-sponsored, with its services provided by private entities (Sawyer et al., n.d.). Healthcare systems tend to follow the The Out-Of-Pocket-Model, The Bismarck Model, The National Health Insurance Model, and Beveridge Model. Canada's health care system uses the National Health Insurance Model (NHI) and the Out-Of-Pocket model (PBS, n.d). The NHI model uses private-sector providers, but payments come from a government-run insurance program that citizens pay. These universal insurance programs tend to be cheaper and much simpler to administer. The out-of-pocket model involves payment of treatment by those who can pay from their own pockets. While the system is not perfect, the Canadian government is working towards improving healthcare by establishing regulations that protect every citizen's right to access the best medical care, whether they are insured or not.

B. Major Cultural & Socioeconomic Groups

Canada is a multicultural country that has excellent ethnic diversity. Just like any other country, Canada has a culture that has been shaped by history. The Canadian culture is mainly influenced by the various European cultures and traditions of its constituent nationalities, primarily British and French cultures (Canadianvisa.org, 2021). According to (Statistics Canada Canada, 2017), 60.5% of the population reported origins from the British Isles, and 31.1% reported French origins. Over the years, the number of British Isles and French origins decreased but remained among Canada's most frequent cultures. Furthermore, there are influences from the cultures of its indigenous peoples and the neighboring USA. Socioeconomic status means an individual’s level of income, education, wealth, and prestige.

Life expectancy and health disparities have increased worldwide, including in Canada. However, these gains are not equally distributed across all population groups. According to (Bushnik et al., 2020), disparities exist, especially according to socioeconomic position. In many countries, it is reported that people with less education or lower-income are disadvantaged in the healthcare industry. Additionally, racial and ethnic minorities tend to receive a lower quality of care than the major cultural groups (Egede, 2006). This biasness causes division among the cultures and the different socioeconomic groups.

C. Religious or Spiritual Foundations

Many developed countries have growing popularity of irreligion, and so is Canada. Nevertheless, Canada remains a Christian-dominated state. Canada also tolerates other faiths and religions since it does not have an official religion. About 67% of the population identifies Christianity, Roman Catholicism, and protestant Christianity being the major religions. Being a multicultural country, Canada faces many challenges in dealing with healthcare because of its distinctive religious beliefs (Stephenson, 2009). For example, Christians believe that abortion, fertility drugs, in-vitro fertilization, and artificial insemination are wrong. However, in healthcare, these practices are allowed if they benefit the patient. Sexuality is associated with questions about circumcisions, birth control, paternity, and infertility. Furthermore, death is linked to health quandaries in which religious view is deeply felt and sharply divided.

Life extension through organ transplants, euthanasia, palliation, and post-mortem examinations are areas where religious views and practices dominate the decision-making process (Stephenson, 2009). Religious beliefs often differ with the healthcare procedures where questions arise about certain instances such as the transformations of pregnancy and birth and death divides through religious practices and beliefs about medicine. When people of different ethnic traditions holding contradictory religious beliefs about the meaning of life gather to make decisions about the care and treatment of those suffering, the experience may be faced with difficulties.

D. Global Health Issues

Good health is a significant resource for social, economic, and personal development and essential for a healthy life. In general, Canada is a healthy country, with overall mortality rates and life expectancy improving significantly over the last few decades. According to (Cook et al., 2017), around 1999/2000 and 2014/2015, Canada's public health agency reported a range of 5.1 to 11.9 per 100,000 deliveries in pregnancy-related mortality. Severe morbidity peaking in 2013/2014 at 16.4 per 1000 hospital deliveries was reported by the Canadian Institute of Health Information's Discharge Abstract Database (Cook et al., 2017).

In 2015, the infant mortality rate was 4.590 deaths per 1000 live births, and in 2019, there was a decline in the mortality rate where the rate was 4.393 deaths per 1000 live births, indicating a 2.49% decline from 2018. The current infant mortality rate is 4.055 deaths per 1000 live births, a 2.71 percent decline from 2021(Macrotrends, n.d).

According to the Chief Public Health Officer’s 2018 report, Canadian youths and young adults are constantly abusing drugs, leading to a decrease in life expectancy. The substance abused most is opioids, whereas (Murray, 2020) over the past five years, there has been a rapid increase in hospitalizations related to opioids amongst young adults. In addition, 25% of youths in grades 7 to 12 exhibit drinking behavior which is very risky. Adoption of healthy behavior is a step to healthy living. However, most of the population in Canada does not engage in physical activities; for instance, less than 10 percent of children aged 5-17 meet a 24-hour movement guideline, and 80 percent of the adult population do not meet physical activity guidelines (Murray, 2020). Many chronic diseases can be delayed or prevented with the appropriate physical activities.

Obesity rates in Canada for the youth have nearly tripled over the last three decades. Obesity puts those affected at a higher risk of developing further health issues, for instance, hypertension. In addition, Canada faces a significant public health challenge in preventing chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes. These diseases cause about 65 percent of all deaths in Canada each year (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2017). Depression and anxiety disorders are also causing health concerns in Canada. Therefore, Canadian citizens should embrace physical activities and better living habits to lead healthier lives and have fewer complications. 

References

Bushnik, T., Tjepkema, M., & Martel, L. (2020, January 15). Socioeconomic disparities in life and health expectancy among the household population in Canada. Statistics Canada. https://www.doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x202000100001-eng

Macrotrends. (n.d). Canada Infant Mortality Rate 1950-2022. Retrieved from Macrotrends: https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/CAN/canada/infant-mortality-rate

Statistics Canada, S. (2017, October 25). Ethnic and cultural origins of Canadians: Portrait of a rich heritage. Retrieved from Statistics Canada: https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/as-sa/98-200-x/2016016/98-200-x2016016-eng.cfm

Cook, Jocelynn L.; Majd, Mina; Blake, Jennifer; Barrett, Jon (Yosef); Bouvet, Sylvie; Janssen, Patricia; Knight, Marian; Lisonkova, Sarka; Scott, Heather; Tough, Suzanne; Wong, Tom (2017). Measuring Maternal Mortality and Morbidity in Canada. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada, 39(11), 1028–1037. doi:10.1016/j.jogc.2017.06.021 

Egede, L. E. (2006). Race, ethnicity, culture, and disparities in health care. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 21(6), 667-669. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.0512.x

Martin, Danielle; Miller, Ashley P; Quesnel-Vallée, Amélie; Caron, Nadine R; Vissandjée, Bilkis; Marchildon, Gregory P (2018). Canada's universal health-care system: achieving its potential. The Lancet, (), S0140673618301818–. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30181-8 

PBS. (n.d). Five countries - health care systems -- the four basic models | Sick around the world | frontline. Retrieved from PBS: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/countries/models.html

Public Health Agency of Canada. (2017, April 11). How healthy are Canadians? Canada.ca. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/how-healthy-canadians.html

Sawyer, M. P., Gao, Q., Dong, Y., & Chen, Z. X. (n.d.). An Overview of the Canadian Health Care System. https://assets.ce.columbia.edu/pdf/actu/actu-canada.pdf

Canadianvisa.org. (2021, May 12). Canadian Culture. Retrieved from Canadianvisa.org: https://canadianvisa.org/life-in-canada/culture

Stephenson, P. H. (2009, January). Health care, religion, and ethnic diversity in Canada. ResearchGate | Find and share research. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303437137_Health_care_religion_and_ethnic_diversity_in_Canada