Population Health and Maternal Mortality in Canada and France

Introduction:

This case study will discuss the major health issues in Canada. Then it will present an elaborative explanation of the healthcare system in Canada and also the sustainable healthcare developed in this country. This case study will also present an advocacy statement regarding current health analysis as well as an evaluation of Canada.

Overview of the overall healthcare in Canada;

Canada is a Northern American country. It has three territories and 10 provinces that are situated from the pacific to the Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean to the Northward. Evidence suggests that in 2021 Canada's population was 38,067,903 which is a 0.86% increase in population in 2020. Canada is considered a high-income country that has a strong industrial economy that supports the health and social care system (canada.ca 2021). In Canada, people suffer from different acute and chronic health conditions such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD), coronary arterial disease (CAD), asthma, pleural effusion, COPD and pancreatitis. This country shows lower life expectancy as compared to that France. Canada shows an average life expectancy of 82.4 years (males: 81.2, females: 84.6) during 2020 as compared to the life expectancy in France is 82.9 (commonwealthfund.org 2021). The report from WHO shows that in Canada people get more ill as compared to in France. Canada has an ageing population (the majority of the population are above 60 years). The WHO reports show that in Canada one in five people (18%) aged above 60 years. The reports also suggest that the number of centenarians has been increased to 13,800 by 2021 (canada.ca 2021). Evidence suggests that Canada sows an average age of 40.8 years as per the records in 2021. Maternal mortality is a major health issue in Canada. Evidence suggests that, more than 3.8 deaths in every 1000,000 live births in Canada as compared to 3.6 deaths in each 100,000 life births in France.

The major health challenges in Canada:

The cardiovascular disease becomes a major health issue for Canadians. People in Canada are more likely to suffer from different kinds of heart disease such as CVD, coronary arterial disease, heart stroke, and ischemic heart disease than other illnesses. As mentioned by Amereh et al. (2020), cardiac illness is referred to the formation of plaques inside cardiac arteries (such as coronary artery) which then restrict the normal blood flow through the arterial to the heart thereby causing the heart stroke. The 2013-14 report from the Public Health Agency of Canada's Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System (CCDSS) presents the fact that more than 12 million (1 in every 12 people) adults Canadians belonging to the age 20 and over suffer from CVD and other heart illness (canada.ca 2021). The report also suggests that more than 12 adults in Canada die due to heart attacks. Several risk factors are associated with the increasing prevalence of CVD in Canada. These risk factors are severe smoking and alcohol addiction at a very early age (16 years and less), irregular lifestyle, high fat and cholesterol diet, lack of exercise and eating junk goods regularly (Arredondo et al. 2018).

The report from CDSS shows Canada sows higher mortality rates due to heart disease as compared to France. The report also shows that the mortality rate due to heart disease is 3 times higher in adult Canadians suffering from CVD and ischemic heart disease (John et al. 2020). The mortality is 4 times higher in the case of adult Canadians of age 20 years and more who have a previous history of heart attack as compared to those who do not have any history of a heart attack. The WHO report shows that the mortality rate is high in Canadians 40 years and above who live with heart illness (Krahn, 2021). The CDSS reports show that in Canada men are more likely to suffer from cardiac illness as compared to women. As compared to Canadian women, men are 2 times more susceptible to have heart disease.

In Canada COVID 19 is a major communication health challenge that poses adverse impacts on the health and wellbeing of people. To WHO (2021) reports it is seen that in Canada the aged people 80 years and more, people with comorbidity and poor people are the social groups that are more affected by the adverse impacts of COVID 19 (WHO, 2021). Although COVID 19 leads to many premature deaths in Canada, then also it must be acknowledged that mortality has been reduced systematically which proves that proper health and social care support are provided to Canadians.

Till date, there are 3,499,115 COVID 109 cases have been registered in Canada. Out of this sheer population, 36,790 deaths are reported. On a positive note, as compared to the deaths rate, the recovery rate is satisfactory with 3,195,753 in Canada (commonwealthfund.org 2021). A recent report from WHO shows that in Canada the number of actives cases of COVID 19 is 164,582. Evidence suggests that early 98% of Canadian have a mild condition due to COVID whereas only 0.2% of people have a higher serious condition (canada.ca 2021). From this report, it can be stated that Canada has successfully dealt with COVID 19 by providing all Canadian with the necessary healthcare facilities to reduce their mortality and morbidity.

In Canada, many risk factors exist that make the above-mentioned social groups susceptible to being affected by COVID 19. These risk factors are the presence of complex health conditions, comorbidity, poor lung conditions presence of chronic pulmonary diseases (COPD), poor living standards, lack of knowledge in n using masks and sanitisers and ability to maintain proper social distance (Efevbera and Bhabha, 2020).

In Canada, another major health challenge that most aged Canadian face is a recurrent failure in the elderly. Recurrent falls in the elderly accounts for more than 84% of the hospital due to injury in Canada (canada.ca 2021). Falls lead to several health conditions in aged people such as bone breakage, tear in ligaments and tendons, hip fractures, bruises, collar bones fractures, severe brain injury and death. It is shown that 1 in every 3 Canadian experiences falls each year which poses adverse impacts on their physical and psychological health. As mentioned by John et al. (2020), falls create unintentional injury which not only impacts the physical well-being of people but also poses adverse impacts on people’s emotional wellbeing. Several risk factors are associated with the recurrent falls in elderly Canadians such as immobility, poor eye vision, dementia, poor brain functioning and fragility.

Healthcare system in Canada;

Canada's healthcare system is publicly funded. This healthcare system is a less true nationalized system but a more decentralised collection of territorial and provincial plans that cover the narrow basket of service that is free at the moment of care (Lidani et al. 2019). The Canadian healthcare system offers universal healthcare to citizens and the fund for this healthcare is arranged from the taxes of the common people of Canada. Territories and provinces of Canada have different insurance plans and based on these plans federal government provide health care facilities to citizen according to the per-capita expenditure.

Canada’s publicly funded healthcare framework is termed Medicare. This Medicare does not have a single nationalised plan rather it has 13 different provincials and territorial insurance plans (Marcellin and Kutala, 2018). Under Medicare, all citizens of Canada must be provided with the power to access the necessary healthcare facilities to meet their health needs. Under this healthcare framework, all Canadians have reasonable and justified access to the necessary physician and hospitalisation services for which they do not need to pay anything.

WHO (2019) mentioned that a nationalised healthcare system must deliver fair and justified healthcare assistance to all citizens irrespective of citizens' personal characteristics. Although Canada has a universal and free healthcare system for all citizens, there are health inequalities regarding the delivery the health and social care resources to the citizen. Evidence shows that Canadians are reported to experience a poor standard of services delivery which is unable to meet the healthcare needs of the citizen. In Canada, there is a reduction in the number of hospital beds, a lack of healthcare infrastructure in the suburban areas and poor skills as well as knowledge of healthcare staff, which interfere with healthcare outcomes.

All the healthcare responsibilities and roles are shared fairly between the territorial, provincial and federal governments. The territorial, as well as the provincial government, are held responsible for effective organisation, management and delivery of health and social care facilities to residents (Patel et al. 2018). The Federal Government of Canada plays a crucial role in administering and setting all the national standards in the healthcare system by complying with all principles of the Canada Health Act. The deferral government provides the necessary fund support to the territorial and provincial healthcare system by using Canada Health Transfer (Peres et al. 2019). Canadians most often receive primary healthcare which serves as the first point of contact of the services users to the healthcare framework. Primary healthcare in Canada provides the first contact of devices, coordinated care to patients, best possible and person-centred care to people and socialised services to people with special health needs.

Sustainable development goals in Healthcare in Canada:

Under United Nations' (UN) developmental programs a total of 17 sustainable development goals are set. UN’s SDG-3 is ensuring healthy lives and promoting and health as well as the well-being of people. in Canada, an effective and supportive healthcare system exists that provides the necessary health and social care assistance to the citizen. Canadian Healthcare System includes Medicare which has different insurance plans for the 13 different territories and provinces. In Canada, the average life expectancy is 82.4 years which is lower than that in France (82.9 years) (data.worldbank.org 2021). Although the healthcare system is strong in Canada, the increasing rate of the ageing population makes the population more vulnerable to mortality and morbidity. The evidence suggests that 1 in 5 citizens in Canada is aged over 560 years which enhances their risk of a different illness. Therefore, in Canada, modernised and innovative healthcare services are necessary which will support the holistic well-being of people thereby promoting their positive holistic health.

In terms of meeting the SDG-3, the Canadian government has taken and implemented different healthcare initiatives and programmes. Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has developed health awareness programs and initiatives for raising awareness among educators, parents and early year practitioners regarding how to promote health wellbeing in children. Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research is a non-profit organisation that aims to promote equal and fair health opportunities to all citizens thereby promoting their health and wellbeing. Health Canada in the healthcare plan set by the healthcare department of Canada aims to protect the rights of citizens to health and social care resources.

Advocacy statement:

By analysing the healthcare system and the health challenges in Canada, it can be stated that the Canadian government must emphasize improving the healthcare infrastructure by enhancing the number of beds, the number of nurses and health staff and the standard of care delivered to poor people. moreover, specialised elderly care needs to be formulated and implanted in Canada which will allow the elderly people to receive specialised treatment and healthcare support to reduce their risk of falls, comorbidity and mortality.

From the discussion it can be stated that Canada's healthcare system must achieve the following thee smart objectives:

1. To improve the lifestyle and dietary routine of people to reduce vulnerability to cardiac arrest:

2. To provide health education to Canadian people to improve their self-management skills to overcome illness:

3. To reduce health inequality in Canada

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