Rationale
Access to health care services for people living in rural locations may be challenged by geographic remoteness, long distances to facilities and inclement weather conditions, among other factors. Studies have also shown that health indicator performance is often worse on average in rural areas than urban areas; for example, rural areas experience higher mortality rates and lower self-reported health.
Understanding the proportion of the rural population can help to contextualize indicator results and is useful for health planning to improve access to and quality of care at the health system level for rural residents.
Interpretation
High values indicate a large proportion of residents living in rural areas.
Comments
The health regions presented in this table are based on boundaries and names in effect as of 2017. For complete Canadian coverage, each northern territory represents a health region.