Many Canadians feel healthcare needs are not being met.

The Issue There is a growing shortage of healthcare providers in Canada – particularly primary care practitioners. In 2007, it was estimated that 15% of Canadians aged 12 and older did not have a regular family physician (ranging from 6% in Nova Scotia to 26% in Quebec); and in 2008, 9% did not have a regular source of care (Canadian Institute for Health Information 2009). Even those who do have a regular source of care may still have difficulty gaining access to necessary care. In 2008, 13% of Canadians who required routine or ongoing care and 21% of those requiring immediate care experienced difficulty obtaining it (Canadian Institute for Health Information 2009). In 2008, 13% of Canadians who required routine or ongoing care and 21% of those requiring immediate care experienced difficulty obtaining it. Self-perceived unmet healthcare need is commonly used as an indicator of access to healthcare. Research using data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS 1.1) and the National Population Health Survey (NPHS) has shown that the proportion of people reporting unmet healthcare needs rose from 4. In order for policy makers to address a potential worsening in access to care, greater understanding is needed about the reasons healthcare needs are not being met and how these reasons vary by region and segment of the population. Reasons for unmet need can be classified into three categories: availability of services, accessibility to services and acceptability of available services. Because healthcare delivery and planning occur largely at the provincial level, it is useful to evaluate the reasons for unmet need by province. A recent study conducted at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) compared rates of self-perceived unmet need across provinces and assessed how the reported reasons for unmet need varied (Sibley and Glazier 2009). Variation in determinants of unmet need, including demographic factors, health status and socioeconomic variables, were also examined. The Study This study used data from the CCHS 2.1 conducted in 2003. The CCHS sample for this study included 111,258 respondents aged 20 or older living in one of the 10 Canadian provinces. It is estimated that the survey represents approximately 22.6 million people or 69.5% of the Canadian population (Statistics Canada 2005). Each respondent was asked, " During the past 12 months, was there ever a time when you felt that you needed healthcare but didn't receive it? " To learn about reasons for …