Healthcare In Canada

Angel Xing, Iain Storosko, and Sarah Mawji

Another realm of healthcare biases and discrimination is becoming more prevailent with advancing technology. Medical AI software is used to manage patient information in hospitals. This software is designed to look at the written details of a patient and make diagnoses and administrative decisions based on this. This software design will have huge inherent biases built in since they must be programmed based on a particular perspective on the occurrence of disease, with or without considerations for racial or cultural equities. Over reliance on these software takes away the input and perspectives of the patient themselves and may also supersede the direct diagnostic component of the doctors themselves.

My mom chose to undergo a double mastectomy when she found out she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. It was by no means an easy decision, but ultimately she didn’t want to have to worry about cancer in her future. As a family, we supported her choice, and put our trust in her surgeons.

However, when time came for her surgery, it was an absolute nightmare. As this occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, family members were not allowed to be present in the hospital, and my mom was therefore self-advocating during the entire procedure. Nurses were overwhelmed with patients, all sorts of pharmaceuticals were prescribed, and many did not take her voice into account due to her gender and/or skin color.

Many biases are present in today’s healthcare system, and my mom’s experience is only one example of such. Even when looking at it from a mental health perspective, many women with ADHD go undiagnosed for the majority of their lives, whereas men are subject to earlier diagnosis’ and interventions.

We were taught that painful period cramps were normal. Take a Tylenol, hug a hot water bottle, and continue with your day. I would scream myself hoarse from the stabbing agony knifing through my abdomen, but I was always told “that’s just menstruation.” When I was 16, I felt a pain so severe that I thought I was going to die. My feet and hands froze, my heart jackhammering in my chest, I was gasping for air — so we called the ambulance. I was rushed to the emergency room with half an opioid painkiller dulling my systems. After identifying that I did not have appendicitis and it was a problem with my reproductive system, I was set aside for five hours. For five hours, I could not eat, drink, nor remove the needle from my arm in case the doctor wanted to do more tests. In this Richmond hill’s entire hospital, there were only two ob/gyns. When one finally came, he dismissed me in five minutes with a brief explanation that I had a ruptured ovarian cyst, it might affect my future reproductive functions, and instructions to grab Tylenol or Advil from the nearby pharmacy. He prescribed me seven strong opioid painkillers if it happened again, and that was it.

This drawing encapsulates the frustration and helplessness I felt, that I continued to feel as I was bounced from gynecologist to gynecologist, with one man even prescribing me the wrong medication. Of course, hormonal pills are fickle and the effect varies from person to person, but I was told by a later (female) gynecologist that the medicine he gave me was intended for females after menopause.

In this drawing, the clocks represent the significant amount of time that passed from my first complaints about my symptoms, the waiting time in the ER, and the overall course of treatment. They are shaded like the phases of the moon for two reasons: to symbolize the menstruation cycle, and to stress the amount of time that passed in between. The worst part about this is that I’m not the only one who has these experiences. Evident by the other pieces of the collage, there is a common theme of negligence towards the female body in the healthcare industry. This is one example of healthcare inequity.

Although the Canadian healthcare system is not perfect, the Canadian population is actively and commendably working to make it a safer, more equitable space. The picture below is from a religious community’s blood drive. Over 150 people in the community were involved, and created extended partnerships with other cultures and communities→ similar to the International Partnerships Program at Carleton University!

I am also incredibly fortunate and appreciative of Canada’s healthcare structures. Despite the prolonged wait periods, SickKids hospital was integral in diagnosing and treating my rheumatoid arthritis. The nurses, technicians, and doctors were all incredibly kind and knowledgeable. Even when I woke up, shivering and disoriented from the anesthesia, I knew that I was in a safe place. This drawing depicts what I first saw when I opened my eyes.

I had both negative and positive experiences with Canada’s healthcare system. While there are hospitals that support children, there is lacking attention for the female body. While the Ontario Healthcare Insurance Plan (OHIP) covers most medical expenses, the trade-off is a long wait. It took 4–5 years to diagnose my RA in Canada, but all the MRIs, X-rays, appointments, and medication have been covered to this point.

The Covid-19 pandemic has, without question, greater effect on the marginalized groups in our community, especially the homeless. With the onset of the pandemic, most of the public access washrooms were closed. In addition to this, homeless shelters had to substantially downsize their capacity to serve people in attempts to keep healthy environments inside their doors. These both together took so much away from people who relied on access to these public sanitations for basic hygiene and sanitary measures each day.

In response to this need, the City of Ottawa opened up an emergency “hygienic centre” where homeless people could come to use and have personal care products provided for them. This centre was centrally located in the city.

As seen from this quote taken in a CBC interview with an individual who uses this centre, the access to this support does more than just offer cleanliness, it offers and emotional and psychological support in an extraordinarily difficult time.

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