10/08/2025
Caregivers and those living with a life-limiting illness are the focus of a recent Statistics Canada report.
"Living with a life-limiting illness: A 2024 national crowdsourced study of experiences and access to care." https://bit.ly/42tvQLF
Highlights from the report:
· Among study participants (984), 36% identified as persons living with a life-limiting illness, while 64% identified as unpaid caregivers. Over two-thirds (69%) of persons living with a life limiting illness reported having an unpaid caregiver.
· The top three factors that impacted participants’ ability to access care promptly was the availability of care providers or specialists (71%), difficulty navigating the healthcare system (45%), and availability of services in their preferred care setting (37%).
· The majority of unpaid caregivers (89%) reported that they did not have an assessment to determine their needs for support in their caregiving role. While about half (49%) of unpaid caregivers reported receiving partial support, over a third (39%) stated they received no help at all.
The majority of participants with life-limiting illnesses reported limited access to care outside regular hours but generally received timely care within reasonable wait times.
The most difficult services to access included pain management, specialist referrals and care coordination.
Learn more about the results from the study here: https://ow.ly/2hny50X4ZrT.
Healthy Canadians
Public Health Agency of Canada
Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)