November 07, 2023
The report shows Canada does better than average on three-quarters of health status indicators, including life expectancy and preventable deaths from lung cancer, heart attacks and strokes but performs comparatively worse on factors including opioid deaths and access to care. Canada also scored well on measures including:
- Smoking prevalence (8.7% compared with OECD average of 16%);
- Fruit and vegetable consumption (five or more servings per day);
- Appropriately low prescribing of antibiotics; and
- Delivering urgent surgery for hip fractures within two days.
Compared to the OECD average, Canada's problems include diabetes being slightly more prevalent, opioid deaths and satisfaction with the availability of quality healthcare.