• Sebastian A Srugo, Christina Ricci, Jennifer Leason, Ying Jiang, Wei Luo, Chantal Nelson, and Indigenous Advisory Committee.
• Applied Research (Srugo, Jiang) and Lifespan Chronic Disease and Conditions Divisions (Ricci, Luo, Nelson), Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ont.; Department of Anthropology and Archaeology (Leason), University of Calgary, Calgary, Alta. sebastian.srugo@phac-aspc.gc.ca.
• CMAJ. 2023 Aug 28; 195 (33): E1097E1111E1097-E1111.

BackgroundAccess to primary care protects the reproductive and non-reproductive health of females. We aimed to quantify health care disparities among "off-reserve" First Nations, Métis and Inuit females, compared with non-Indigenous females of reproductive age.MethodsWe used population-based data from cross-sectional cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey (2015-2020), including 4 months during the COVID-19 pandemic. We included all females aged 15-55 years. We measured health care access, use and unmet needs, and quantified disparities through weighted and age-standardized absolute prevalence differences compared with non-Indigenous females.ResultsWe included 2902 First Nations, 2345 Métis, 742 Inuit and 74 760 non-Indigenous females of reproductive age, weighted to represent 9.7 million people. Compared with non-Indigenous females, Indigenous females reported poorer health and higher morbidity, yet 4.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.8% to 6.6%) fewer First Nations females and 40.7% (95% CI 34.3% to 47.1%) fewer Inuit females had access to a regular health care provider. Indigenous females waited longer for primary care, more used hospital services for nonurgent care, and fewer had consultations with dental professionals. Accordingly, 3.2% (95% CI 0.3% to 6.1%) more First Nations females and 4.0% (95% CI 0.7% to 7.3%) more Métis females reported unmet needs, especially for mental health (data for Inuit females not reported owing to high variability).InterpretationDuring reproductive age, Indigenous females in Canada face many disparities in health care access, use and unmet needs. Solutions aimed at increasing access to primary care are urgently needed to advance health care reconciliation.© 2023 CMA Impact Inc. or its licensors.

16 keywords...

hide…