Canada’s doctor shortage drives 37% online for medical advice: poll
Global News
Twenty-three per cent of those surveyed said following health advice they found online resulted in a bad reaction or had a negative impact on their health.
A new poll suggests more than a third of Canadians say they have no choice but to seek health information online because they don’t have access to a doctor, further highlighting challenges posed by an ongoing physician shortage.
The online survey by the Canadian Medical Association and Abacus Data conducted last November found that 37 per cent of respondents used medical advice they found online because they couldn’t access a doctor or a medical professional for help.
Twenty-three per cent of those surveyed said following health advice they found online resulted in a bad reaction or had a negative impact on their health.
The survey of 3,727 adult Canadians can’t be assigned a margin of error because online surveys are not considered truly random samples.
The CMA says the number of Canadians turning to online sources for medical help emphasizes the lack of accessible health care across the country, as an estimated 6.5 million people – one in five Canadians – do not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner they see regularly.
CMA president Dr. Joss Reimer called the survey results “extremely concerning.”
“There is no other generation that’s been exposed to so much misinformation, but also had to face the hardship of a health-care system that is overtaxed and not meeting their needs,” Reimer said in a phone interview.
Employment and Social Development Canada says the country currently has fewer doctors per capita than most countries that are part of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development.
Some experts say that a cyberwar through 'proxies' may be the next stage of the Iran war, with civilian infrastructure also coming under threat.
The study is being billed by the university as "the first to study a wide range of factors which link ADHD symptoms and mental ill health symptoms over time."
The group says MAGA Energy hasn't paid its lease for three years, and therefore the company is no longer allowed on their land in Edmonton.
The analysis by the Canadian Climate Institute says oilsands producers will pay an average of about 50 cents per oil barrel, if the minimum carbon price rises to $130 per tonne.
Between November 29 and February 27, authorities recorded 406 outbreaks of bird flu in domestic birds in 32 European countries and 2,108 outbreaks in wild birds, they said.
Dr. Michael Domeier, director of the Marine Conservation Science Institute, told Global News that they tag the adult females as they are the most interesting.
Regina’s recycling contamination is currently triple the limit and city is urging resident to change sorting habits now to avoid citywide fines and higher resident fees.
The study found that higher ultra-processed food intake at age three years was associated with adverse behavioural and emotional symptoms at age five years.
Edmonton's single-use waste rules were controversial and unpopular when introduced in 2023 — but new data shows the changes are having the intended effect of reducing garbage.
Carney's speech to Australia's parliament highlighted a soon-to-launch Canadian low earth orbit satellite network that experts say could soon compete with Elon Musk's Starlink.
The Pentagon said in a statement Thursday that it has “officially informed Anthropic leadership the company and its products are deemed a supply chain risk, effective immediately.”
Opioid overdose deaths in Canada are falling, but there's growing concerns on a certain veterinary tranquilizer being cut into fentanyl and other opioids.
The product is being recalled in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan due to 'undeclared almonds' being found.