Accounting for almost two-thirds of the country’s land mass, northern Canada is a vast region, host to rich natural resources and a diverse cultural heritage shared across Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents. In this book, the authors analyse health and health care in northern Canada from a perspective that acknowledges the unique strengths, resilience, and innovation of northerners, while also addressing the challenges aggravated by contemporary manifestations of colonialism. Old and new forms of colonial programs and policies continue to create health and health care disparities in the North. Written by individuals who live in and study the region, Health and Health Care in Northern Canada utilizes case studies, interviews, photographs, and more, to highlight the lived experiences of northerners and the primary health issues that they face. In order to maintain resilience, improve the positive outcomes of health determinants, and diminish negative stereotypes, we must ensure that northerners – and their cultures, values, strengths, and leadership – are at the centre of the ongoing work to achieve social justice and health equity.

This book provides insight into how the Canadian health care system is financed and organized, how it has evolved over time, and how well it performs relative to peer countries.

Canada has been among the world leaders in recognizing the multiple factors that impact health. Focusing on Canada’s health care system, Raisa B. Deber provides brief descriptions of some key facts and concepts necessary to understand health care policy in Canada and place it in an international context. An accessible guide, Treating Health Care unpacks key concepts to provide informed discussions that help us understand and diagnose Canada’s health care system and to clarify which proposed changes are likely to improve it - and which are not. This book provides background information to clarify such concepts as: determinants of health; how health systems are organized and financed (including international comparisons); health economics; health ethics; and roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders, including government, providers, and patients. It then addresses some key issues, including equity, efficiency, access and wait times, quality improvement and patient safety, and coverage and payment models. Using analysis rather than advocacy, Deber provides a toolkit to help understand health care and health policy.

Heated debate surrounds the topic of health care in both the US and in Canada. In each country, these debates are based in some measure on perceptions about health care in their neighboring country. The perceptions held by Canadians about the US health care system, or those held by Americans about Canada, end up having significant impact on health policy makers in both countries. Health Care Policy and Opinion in the United States and Canada examines these perceptions and their effects using an extensive cross-national survey made up of two public opinion polls of over 3,500 respondents from the US and Canada. The book first develops a rigorous and detailed explanation of the factors that contribute to levels of satisfaction among Americans and Canadians with respect to their health care systems. It then attempts to study the perceptions of Canadians vis-à-vis the US health care system as well as the perception of Americans toward Canada’s health care system. The authors examine how these perceptions impact health policy makers, and show how the survey results indicate remarkable similarities in the opinions expressed by Americans and Canadians toward the problems in the health care system, heralding perhaps a measure of convergence in the future. The authors present how perceptions on health care indicate elements of convergence or divergence between the views of Canadians and Americans, and discuss how these citizen opinions should inform health care policy change in both countries in the near future. This book should generate interest in scholars of health care, public opinion, and comparative studies of social policies and public opinion.

Health Care in Canada examines the challenges faced by the Canadian health care system, a subject of much public debate. In this book Katherine Fierlbeck provides an in-depth discussion of how health care decisions are shaped by politics and why there is so much disagreement over how to fix the system. Many Canadians point to health care as a source of national pride; others are highly critical of the system's shortcomings and call for major reform. Yet meaningful debate cannot occur without an understanding of how the system actually operates. In this overview, Fierlbeck outlines the basic framework of the health care system with reference to specific areas such as administration and governance, public health, human resources, drugs and drug policy, and mental health. She also discusses alternative models in other countries such as Britain, the United States, and France. As health care becomes increasingly complex, it is crucial that Canadians have a solid grasp of the main issues within both the policy and political environments. With its balanced and accessible assessment of the main political and theoretical debates, Health Care in Canada is an essential guide for anyone with a stake in Canada's health system.

No health care professional in Canada should be without a clear understanding of the Canadian health care system! Health and Health Care Delivery in Canada, 2nd Edition explores the nation's basic approach to health, wellness, and illness. Set entirely within a Canadian context, this text includes coverage of individual and population health, the role of federal agencies and provincial governments, health care funding, and current issues and future trends in health care. Written by experienced educator and nurse practitioner, Valerie Thompson, this textbook is ideal for all students beginning a career in health care. Clear, easy-to-understand approach to health care in Canada begins with an overview of health, wellness, and illness and proceeds through the fundamentals of the Canadian health care system, such as population health, ethical and legal issues, health care funding and principles, practice settings, and changing trends. Learning Outcomes outline the knowledge that you should gain in each chapter. Key Terms open each chapter and include page references for definitions. Student-friendly learning aids include summary tables and boxes, photographs, figures, and illustrations. Review questions at the end of every chapter test your comprehension of the material. Case examples provide real-world scenarios related to the chapter content. In The News boxes highlight landmark case law, research developments, emerging health issues, and ethical challenges. Thinking It Through questions ask you to critically consider key aspects of health and health care delivery. NEW! Coverage of issues and trends includes expanded information on mental health issues, aboriginal health, privatization, use of electronic health records, and interprofessional health care practice.

Why has health care reform proved a stumbling block for provincial governments across Canada? What efforts have been made to improve a struggling system, and how have they succeeded or failed? In Paradigm Freeze, experts in the field answer these fundamental questions by examining and comparing six essential policy issues - regionalization, needs-based funding, alternative payment plans, privatization, waiting lists, and prescription drug coverage - in five provinces. Noting hundreds of recommendations from dozens of reports commissioned by provincial governments over the last quarter century - the great majority to little or no avail - the book focuses on careful diagnosis, rather than unplanned treatment, of the problem. Paradigm Freeze is based on thirty case studies of policy reform in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador. The contributors assess the nature and extent of healthcare reform in Canada since the beginning of the 1990s. They account for the generally limited extent of reform that has occurred, and identify the factors associated with the relatively few cases of large reform. An insightful new perspective on a problem that has plagued Canadian governments for decades, Paradigm Freeze is an important addition to the field of health policy. Contributors include John Church (University of Alberta), Michael Ducie (Alberta Health and Wellness), Pierre-Gerlier Forest (Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation), Stephen Tomblin (Memorial University), Jeff Braun Jackson (Ontario Professional Firefighters Association, Burlington, ON), Marie-Pascale Pomey (Université de Montréal), John N. Lavis (McMaster University), Harvey Lazar (Queen's University), Elisabeth Martin (Université Laval),Tom McIntosh (University of Regina), Dianna Pasic (McMaster University), Neale Smith (University of British Columbia), and Michael G. Wilson (McMaster University).

A powerful argument for a new health-care system.