Shared Health Priorities
As the population ages, more Canadians need home care or services in the community to help them manage their health conditions and live safely at home. As well, Canadians of all ages need timely access to mental health and substance use services, which is an identified area of concern.
Federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) governments recognized these challenges as shared priorities to improve Canadians’ access to home and community care, and to mental health and substance use services. In 2017, FPT governmentsFootnote i endorsed A Common Statement of Principles on Shared Health PrioritiesFootnote ii, accompanied by an $11 billion federal investment over 10 years to lead to improvements in these areas. The following year, they endorsed a common set of 12 pan-Canadian indicators to measure progress on improving access to these areas of health care.
AVÐÇÇò worked with FPT governments, sector stakeholders, measurement experts and the public to develop and report on these indicators. 2019 marked the first year of indicator reporting, and in 2022, AVÐÇÇò released the full set of 12 indicators.
Indicator results are updated annually, and indicators are refined as more and better data becomes available. Over time, these indicators will tell a clearer story about access to care across the country and will help identify where there are gaps in services. Understanding where gaps exist will help improve care at the front lines and better meet the needs of Canadian patients and their families. Indicator results reflecting data from the COVID-19 pandemic, and trends over time, should be interpreted in the context of the pandemic.
Latest releases
Overview and update
Want to know more about the latest Shared Heath Priorities?
Explore indicator results
Indicators of access to mental health and substance use services
Indicators of access to home and community care
Explore past releases
Past stories
- Find out more about wait times for community mental health counselling
- Find out more about hospital stays and ED visits for substance use harms
- Find out about hospital stays for and deaths from intentional self-harm
- Explore the topic of distress among unpaid caregivers across Canada
- Take a closer look at new long-term care residents who potentially could have been cared for at home
How we work
Our role
We have long-standing programs of work that measure health system performance. Given our experience, AVÐÇÇò is well-positioned to facilitate the selection and development of indicators to measure access in these areas.
This work aligns with our mandate to deliver meaningful, comparable information that will accelerate improvement in health care, the performance of health systems and the overall health of the population. The focus on home and community care and on mental health and substance use also aligns with AVÐÇÇò’s strategic plan.
Shared Health Priorities Advisory Council
The Shared Health Priorities Advisory Council provides strategic guidance on indicator development, in order to represent jurisdictional interests and to support public messaging and outreach.
- Council members include representatives from provinces, territories, Health Canada, Statistics Canada and AVÐÇÇò.
- Council observers include representatives from the Canadian Home Care Association, the Mental Health Commission of Canada and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction.
Related resources
- Early Intervention for Mental Health and Substance Use Among Children and Youth Survey (PDF)
- Navigation of Mental Health and Substance Use Services Survey (PDF)
- Shared Health Priorities Survey-Based Data Collection — Frequently Asked Questions (learn about survey-based data collection for 2 new mental health and substance use–related Shared Health Priorities indicators)
- How is an indicator developed at AVÐÇÇò?
- Indicator library (learn about the definitions and methodologies for the indicators)
- Health system performance
- Working with patients and families
Contact us
If you have any questions or would like more information, email
Footnotes
i.
The federal government agreed to an asymmetrical arrangement with Quebec, distinct from the Common Statement of Principles.
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