Caveats and Limitations
This indicator is calculated based on 2 years of pooled data.
Data for the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) is collected yearly from a sample of approximately 65,000 respondents. Table 13-10-0113-01 presents estimates from 2-year combined data and features estimates for all provinces and territories as well as for health regions. The 2-year combined data has higher precision (less variability) than annual estimates; annual CCHS estimates are not available at the health region level.
Some values have data quality flags that indicate "use with caution" or "suppressed" due to high coefficients of variation: health regions with small populations and results disaggregated by age group or sex within small regions.
The CCHS covers the population age 12 and older living in the 10 provinces and 3 territories. Excluded from the survey's coverage are the following:
- Persons living on reserves and in other Indigenous settlements in the provinces
- Full-time members of the Canadian Forces
- The population of institutionalized persons
- Persons living in 2 Quebec health regions: Nunavik Region and Terres-Cries-de-la-Baie-James Region
Altogether, these exclusions represent less than 3% of the Canadian population age 12 and older.
Trending Issues
As a result of a redesign in 2015, the CCHS has a new collection strategy and sample design. For this reason, Statistics Canada does not recommend making comparisons with CCHS data from 2001 to 2014.
In addition to the 2015 CCHS redesign, a definition change was implemented in 2013 to conform to World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Canada guidelines for heavy drinking. The number of drinks for women changed from 5 to 4.
In the CCHS, a "drink" refers to 1 of the following:
- A bottle or small can of beer, cider or cooler with 5% alcohol content, or a small draft
- A glass of wine with 12% alcohol content
- A glass or cocktail containing 1.5 oz. of a spirit with 40% alcohol content
The COVID-19 pandemic had major impacts on the data collection operations for the 2020 CCHS. Users are advised to use the 2020 CCHS data with caution, especially when creating estimates for small sub-populations or when comparing with other CCHS years.
Comments
Data for Ontario's local health integration networks and British Columbia's regional health authorities was received from Statistics Canada through custom tabulation requests: