SURVEY TITLE: Canadian Community Health Survey
ACRONYM: CCHS
SPONSOR: Statistics Canada.
SURVEY PURPOSE: The primary objective of the CCHS is to provide timely cross-sectional estimates of health determinants, health status and health system utilization at a sub-provincial level (health region or combination of health regions).
LOCATION SAMPLED: Canada.
YEARS SEXUAL ORIENTATION DATA COLLECTED: 2003, 2005.
SAMPLE SIZE: Each two-year collection cycle is comprised of two distinct surveys: a health region-level survey in the first year with a total sample of 130,000 and a provincial-level survey in the second year with a total sample of 30,000.
METHOD OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION DATA COLLECTION: Both personal and telephone
interviews using computer-assisted interviewing software.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION QUESTIONS:
2003 (see 2003 Questionnaire, Question #SDE_Q7A) and 2005 (see 2005 Questionnaire,
Question #SDC_Q7A): Do you consider yourself to be: 1. Heterosexual? (sexual relations with people of the opposite sex), 2. Homosexual, that is lesbian or gay? (sexual relations with people of your own sex), 3. Bisexual? (sexual relations with people of both sexes)
RESULTS:
ACRONYM: CCHS
SPONSOR: Statistics Canada.
SURVEY PURPOSE: The primary objective of the CCHS is to provide timely cross-sectional estimates of health determinants, health status and health system utilization at a sub-provincial level (health region or combination of health regions).
LOCATION SAMPLED: Canada.
YEARS SEXUAL ORIENTATION DATA COLLECTED: 2003, 2005.
SAMPLE SIZE: Each two-year collection cycle is comprised of two distinct surveys: a health region-level survey in the first year with a total sample of 130,000 and a provincial-level survey in the second year with a total sample of 30,000.
METHOD OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION DATA COLLECTION: Both personal and telephone
interviews using computer-assisted interviewing software.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION QUESTIONS:
2003 (see 2003 Questionnaire, Question #SDE_Q7A) and 2005 (see 2005 Questionnaire,
Question #SDC_Q7A): Do you consider yourself to be: 1. Heterosexual? (sexual relations with people of the opposite sex), 2. Homosexual, that is lesbian or gay? (sexual relations with people of your own sex), 3. Bisexual? (sexual relations with people of both sexes)
RESULTS:
- (see First Information on Sexual Orientation from StatCan): Among Canadians aged 18 to 59, 1.0% reported that they consider themselves to be homosexual and 0.7%
considered themselves bisexual. About 1.3% of men considered themselves homosexual, about twice the proportion of 0.7% among women. However, 0.9% of women reported being bisexual, slightly higher than the proportion of 0.6% among men. The results indicate that, for some health-related measures, there are important differences between the heterosexual population and the gay, lesbian and bisexual population. Among individuals aged 18 to 59, for example, 21.8% of homosexuals and bisexuals reported that they had an unmet health care need in 2003, nearly twice the proportion of heterosexuals (12.7%). Homosexuals and bisexuals are more likely than heterosexuals to find life stressful. In addition, 31.4% of homosexuals and bisexuals reported that they were physically active in 2003, compared with 25.4% of heterosexuals.
