Health and well-being of Canadian women and girls impacted by remote living

Mar 21, 2022 | 11:48 AM

A new study has found significant differences in the health and wellbeing of women and girls living in rural and remote areas versus those in more accessible areas.

The study by Statistics Canada was based on the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) from 2015 to 2018, the Canadian Vital Statistics – Death Database from 2015 to 2018, and the updated Remoteness Index Classification.

The study found that three in five (60.9 per cent) of women and girls aged 12 and over reported very good or excellent health in easily accessible in areas. Comparatively, over half (51.7 per cent) of respondents in remote areas reported similar health conditions.

Indigenous women and girls were less like to report very good or excellent general health in very remote areas (43 per cent) than those living in easily accessible areas (53 per cent). StatsCan noted that for many Indigenous peoples and communities, there are a number of other factors that contribute to gaps in health outcomes including availability of traditionally, culturally and spiritually appropriate health services as well as polices and services to promote general and mental health.

Graphic courtesy of Statistics Canada

Beaver Lake and Vernon Creek Watershed Improvements

Lake Country taking action to support water management, flows at area watershed

5h ago

Object On Wires

Power restored for over 3,600 properties

7h ago

Collision on 32nd St/HWY 97

Two people injured in Tuesday night crash

11h ago

The study also found that very rural and remote areas had the lowest concentration of women and girls age 12 and over with very good or excellent mental health (55.8 per cent), while the rates in easily accessible areas was much higher (68.4 per cent). The findings also identified gaps of very good or excellent mental health between Indigenous women and girls living in remote areas (47.2 per cent) compared to accessible areas (56.9 per cent).

Graphic courtesy of Statistics Canada

The survey found that women living in very remote areas reported the lowest physical activity level of all areas.

The results showed that under half (46.7) of women aged 18 and over in remote areas met the recommended 150 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity per week, while more than half (53.5 per cent) of women in accessible communities failed to meet that mark. Less than half (47.6 per cent) of Indigenous women met the 150 minutes of exercise recommendation in remote communities, compared to two thirds (64.1 per cent) of Indigenous women in accessible areas,

The study also found that about one in five (21.4 per cent) of women in accessible areas reported no physical activity minutes, while more than one in four (27.5 per cent) of women in remote communities reported the same. More than one in five (23.5 per cent) of Indigenous women in remote communities reported not participating in physical activities, compared with almost one in ten (13.8 per cent) in accessible communities.

Statistics Canada noted that a majority of women and girls in rural and remote communities did not have a regular health care provider to see or talk to when they needed care or advice.

Approximately nine in 10 women and girls in easily accessible to less accessible areas reported having access to a regular health care provider, and almost eight in 10 women in remote areas reported the same. However, that rate dropped significantly to below six in 10 (55.4 per cent) in very remote areas.

Similarly, more than 80 per cent of Indigenous women and girls in easily accessible to less accessible areas reported having a regular health care provider, with that rate dropping in remote areas (75.2 per cent) and down even further in very remote areas (35.1 per cent).

Graphic courtesy of Statistics Canada

It was also noted that Indigenous women and girls living in remote and very remote areas were less likely to consult a health professional about their emotional or mental health compared with those in easily accessible areas.

The report stated that women and girls living in easily accessible areas had the lowest rate of suicide mortality of all remoteness areas (five deaths per 100,000), while the rate in very remote areas was more than six times higher (31.5 deaths per 100,000). It was noted that, unlike all other communities, suicide was the second leading cause of death in very remote areas.

The study also said that in the 2015-16 cycle of the study more than one in 10 (13.3 per cent) of women and girls aged 15 and older in Canada reported that they had experienced suicidal thoughts in there lifetime. There was no significant difference between women and girls living in communities ranging from easily accessible to very remote.

It was also found that almost three in 10 (29.5 per cent) of Indigenous women and girls had reported having suicidal thoughts in their lifetime. The highest concentration of Indigenous women and girls experiencing suicidal thoughts was in easily accessible areas at about one-third (32.1 per cent) of respondents.

The report noted that the large variations in health outcomes depending on the level of remoteness in a community highlights the relevance of using refined remoteness categories to develop plans and policies that increase, monitor, improve and better understand the health of Canadian women and girls and prioritize the areas that are disproportionately impacted.

The report is part of StatsCan’s Studies on Gender and Intersecting Identities work to bring together and analyze a range of important issues related to gender, age, sexuality, disability, ethnocultural characteristics and other intersecting identies. This information in turn will be used by StatsCan to understand how gender and other identity factors affect the social, economic and financial participation and status of diverse groups of Canadians.

by Liam Verster

View Comments