Health Workforce Database metadata

Overview

The Health Workforce Database (HWDB) contains information on more than 30 groups of health care professionals in Canada. It provides comprehensive national, provincial and territorial portraits, including information on

• Supply
• Distribution
• Migration
• Education
• Employment

Find out more about Canada’s health workforce, including reports and analyses based on HWDB data.

Data source 

The HWDB receives data from

• National professional societies and associations
• Provincial/territorial regulatory bodies
• Provincial/territorial governments

Data elements 

Key data elements for record-level data in the HWDB cover demographic and geographic characteristics, as well as education and employment details. 

See the following document for more information, including definitions, permissible values and rationales for each data element. It also includes additional information and examples that will help users analyze and interpret record-level data in the HWDB:

• Health Workforce Information Minimum Data Set — Data Dictionary, 2025 (PDF)

For previous versions of HWDB data elements (including data submission guidelines prior to 2022), refer to historical database manuals

• HWDB data elements prior to 2022 (ZIP)

Information on professional groups with aggregate-level data in the HWDB varies depending on its availability. At a minimum, data includes the number of members of voluntary professional associations. Data on registered health care professionals — along with age breakdown and gender — is provided by the appropriate regulatory authority where possible.

Data submission 

See the following document for details on technical and data submission specifications for the professional groups who submit record-level data to CIHI’s HWDB:

• Health Workforce Information Minimum Data Set: Data Submission Manual, 2025 (PDF)

Additional resources 

See below documents for more information on the 2022 update of CIHI’s Health Human Resources Minimum Data Set (HHR MDS) Data Standard:

• What’s New with Health Human Resources at CIHI, 2022 Bulletin
• 2022 Health Human Resources Minimum Data Set Data Standard: Points of Interest  Bulletin (PDF)
• Preparing to Adopt the 2022 Health Human Resources Minimum Data Set Data Standard  Bulletin (PDF)
• About the 2022 Health Human Resources Minimum Data Set Data Standard (PDF)

Data coverage and data availability 

The HWDB contains administrative information such as practice setting, and supply, demographic, education and employment characteristics. Jurisdictional coverage varies by professional group.

The HWDB contains 2023 record-level data for the professional groups listed below. The next release will be in November 2025 (2024 data).

The HWDB also contains 2021 aggregate-level data for the professional groups listed below. The next release will be in February 2025 (2023 data). 

If you are interested in data on these groups of providers, email the Health Workforce Information team at hwi@cihi.ca.

Data on physicians is available on the Physicians web page.

Classification 

Record-level health workforce data is collected using profession-specific data standards developed by CIHI in consultation with key stakeholders, including the data providers.

Collection of aggregate-level health workforce data varies depending on data availability by each professional group. 

Data quality 

CIHI ensures that the quality of the information in our data holdings is suited to its intended uses and that data users are provided with accurate information about data quality. Read more about our Data and Information Quality Program.

For data quality documentation, refer to the methodology notes in these guides:

• Nursing in Canada, 2023 — Methodology Notes (PDF)
• Occupational Therapists in Canada, 2023 — Methodology Notes (PDF)
• Pharmacists in Canada, 2023 — Methodology Notes (PDF)
• Physiotherapists in Canada, 2023 — Methodology Notes (PDF)
• Health Workforce in Canada, 2019 to 2023: Overview — Methodology Notes (PDF)
• Personal Support Workers in Alberta, 2023 — Methodology Notes (PDF)

For data quality information on the HWDB, contact us at hwi@cihi.ca.

Privacy impact assessment 

Privacy impact assessments (PIAs) evaluate and address the privacy impacts of programs and systems. 

Go to the Privacy and security page to view the PIA, which contains further information about the purposes, data elements and data sources for this data holding.

Contact us 

For further information, please email

hwi@cihi.ca