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OECD reports health care improving in most countries, but calls for better management of
chronic diseases
WHAT: Health at a Glance 2007 OECD Indicators
A new international report shows that while Canadians are more likely to report that they are in good health than people in many other developed countries, no single country has the best performance on all health and health care indicators. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report indicated that in 2005, 88% of Canadians over the age of 15 said they were in good health, similar to New Zealand (90%) and the United States (89%); all three were higher than the OECD average. Health at a Glance is a biennial report comparing health data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) and Statistics Canada with information from other member countries of the OECD.
International comparisons are always challenging and should be interpreted with caution, given the variation in data collection and other differences across countries. However, OECD data do offer an opportunity to explore Canadian health information generally in an international context. Highlights from this year’s OECD data include:
- Flu vaccines: In 2005, 66.5% of Canadians aged 65 or over were vaccinated for influenza. This is higher than the OECD average of 55.3%.
- Diabetes: Less than half (48.6%) of Canadians between the ages of 18 and 75 who had diabetes said that they had had an annual eye exam in 2005. The OECD average was 57.3%.
- Asthma: In 2004–2005, Canada’s rate of adult asthma hospitalizations was 3.7 per
10,000 population, lower than the OECD average of 5.8 per 10,000 population. Asthma
is a chronic condition that is often successfully treated in the community, outside of a hospital setting.
- AMI and stroke: Health at a Glance 2007 reports that while Canada’s 30-day AMI (acute myocardial infarction, or heart attack) case fatality rate was slightly lower than the OECD average in 2005, the 30-day stroke case fatality rate (the rate of patients dying in hospital within 30 days of being admitted for a stroke), was higher than the OECD average that
same year.
- Cancer: At 145 per 100,000 in 2004, Canadian cancer mortality rates for women were slightly higher than the OECD average; however, the male cancer mortality rate, 213 per 100,000 population, was slightly lower than the average.
When: November 16, 2007
To review this year’s OECD data, visit the OECD website at http://www.oecd.org/document/50/0,3343,en_2649_201185_39614
578_1_1_1_1,00.html.
About CIHI
The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) collects and analyzes information on health and health care in Canada and makes it publicly available. Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments created CIHI as a not-for-profit, independent organization dedicated to forging a common approach to Canadian health information. CIHI’s goal: to provide timely, accurate
and comparable information. CIHI’s data and reports inform health policies, support the effective delivery of health services and raise awareness among Canadians of the factors that contribute to good health.
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