Respondent characteristics | Whole population N=1518 No (weighted %) (95%) | Perceived knowledge of palliative care No (weighted %) (95%) | |||||
Heard of palliative care | Level of knowledge* | ||||||
Yes N=1362 | No N=156 | P value | High N=676 | Low N=686 | P value | ||
Age, years | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | |||||
18–24 | 143 (11.6) (9.8 to 13.4) | 97 (8.7) (7.0 to 10.4) | 46 (34.3) (26.3 to 42.3) | 26 (4.8) (2.9 to 6.6) | 71 (12.5) (9.7 to 15.2) | ||
25–34 | 268 (17.2) (15.3 to 19.2) | 224 (16.0) (14.0 to 18.0) | 44 (26.9) (19.9 to 33.9) | 104 (15.1) (12.4 to 17.8) | 120 (16.9) (14.1 to 19.7) | ||
35–44 | 280 (17.0) (15.2 to 18.9) | 250 (17.1) (15.1 to 19.0) | 30 (16.9) (11.2 to 22.6) | 126 (17.3) (14.5 to 20.2) | 124 (16.8) (14.0 to 19.6) | ||
45–54 | 284 (18.7) (16.7 to 20.8) | 259 (19.2) (17.0 to 21.3) | 25 (15.3) (9.7 to 21.0) | 136 (20.5) (17.3 to 23.6) | 123 (17.9) (15.0 to 20.8) | ||
55–64 | 278 (18.3) (16.3 to 20.3) | 269 (20.0) (17.8 to 22.2) | 9 (5.3) (1.8 to 8.8) | 139 (21.2) (18.0 to 24.3) | 130 (18.9) (15.9 to 21.9) | ||
≥65 | 265 (17.1) (15.2 to 19.0) | 263 (19.1) (17.0 to 21.2) | 2 (1.3) (0 to 3.1) | 145 (21.2) (18.0 to 24.3) | 118 (17.1) (14.2 to 19.9) | ||
Gender | 0.10 | 0.08 | |||||
Female | 790 (50.8) (48.2 to 53.4) | 720 (51.8) (49.1 to 54.5) | 70 (43.1) (35.1 to 51.1) | 379 (54.8) (50.9 to 58.7) | 341 (48.9) (45.1 to 52.7) | ||
Male | 722 (48.9) (46.3 to 51.5) | 638 (48.0) (45.3 to 50.7) | 84 (56.3) (48.3 to 64.3) | 294 (44.9) (41.0 to 48.8) | 344 (51.0) (47.1 to 54.8) | ||
Non-binary | 4 (0.4) (0 to 0.5) | 3 (0.2) (0 to 0.5) | 1 (0.6) (0 to 1.7) | 2 (0.3) (0 to 0.7) | 1 (0.1) (0 to 0.4) | ||
Highest level of education | 0.001 | <0.0001 | |||||
High school or less | 351 (23.4) (21.1 to 25.6) | 299 (21.8) (19.5 to 24.0) | 52 (36.2) (28.1 to 44.3) | 115 (16.7) (13.9 to 19.6) | 184 (26.7) (23.3 to 30.1) | ||
College/technical degree | 608 (40.7) (38.1 to 43.2) | 556 (41.6) (38.9 to 44.3) | 52 (33.1) (25.4 to 40.8) | 273 (41.3) (37.4 to 45.1) | 283 (41.9) (38.1 to 45.8) | ||
University/graduate/professional degree | 542 (36.0) (33.5 to 38.5) | 496 (36.6) (34.0 to 39.3) | 46 (30.7) (23.1 to 38.3) | 285 (42.0) (38.2 to 45.8) | 211 (31.4) (27.8 to 35.0) | ||
Marital status | 0.01 | 0.01 | |||||
Married/common law | 800 (52.0) (49.4 to 54.6) | 732 (53.2) (50.4 to 55.9) | 68 (42.5) (34.5 to 50.6) | 386 (56.6) (52.8 to 60.5) | 346 (49.8) (45.9 to 53.7) | ||
Other† | 709 (48.0) (45.4 to 50.6) | 624 (46.8) (44.1 to 49.6) | 85 (57.5) (49.4 to 65.5) | 289 (43.4) (39.5 to 47.2) | 335 (50.2) (46.3 to 54.1) | ||
Household income, CAD$ | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | |||||
<25 000 | 233 (16.9) (14.8 to 18.9) | 188 (14.7) (12.7 to 16.7) | 45 (36.7) (28.0 to 45.5) | 69 (10.2) (7.9 to 12.6) | 119 (19.1) (15.9 to 22.3) | ||
25 000–49 999 | 356 (25.5) (23.2 to 27.9) | 319 (25.2) (22.7 to 27.7) | 37 (28.5) (20.3 to 36.7) | 147 (23.2) (19.8 to 26.6) | 172 (27.2) (23.6 to 30.8) | ||
50 000–74 999 | 278 (20.4) (18.3 to 22.6) | 263 (21.3) (19.0 to 23.6) | 15 (12.4) (6.2 to 18.5) | 131 (21.1) (17.8 to 24.3) | 132 (21.5) (18.2 to 24.9) | ||
75 000–99 999 | 203 (14.9) (12.9 to 16.8) | 193 (15.6) (13.5 to 17.6) | 10 (8.3) (3.2 to 13.4) | 101 (16.3) (13.4 to 19.3) | 92 (14.8) (11.9 to 17.6) | ||
100 000–149 999 | 211 (14.9) (13.0 to 16.8) | 198 (15.5) (13.4 to 17.5) | 13 (9.8) (4.6 to 14.9) | 122 (18.8) (15.6 to 21.9) | 76 (12.2) (9.6 to 14.8) | ||
≥150 000 | 99 (7.4) (6.0 to 8.8) | 94 (7.8) (6.2 to 9.3) | 5 (4.3) (0.5 to 8.1) | 61 (10.4) (7.9 to 12.9) | 33 (5.1) (3.4 to 6.9) | ||
Employment | <0.0001 | 0.0003 | |||||
Employed/self-employed | 847 (56.1) (53.5 to 58.7) | 757 (55.5) (52.8 to 58.3) | 90 (61.0) (52.8 to 69.3) | 392 (57.9) (54.1 to 61.8) | 365 (53.2) (49.3 to 57.0) | ||
Retired/semi-retired | 343 (22.7) (20.6 to 24.9) | 340 (25.2) (22.8 to 27.6) | 3 (2.1) (0 to 4.5) | 186 (27.7) (24.2 to 31.2) | 154 (22.8) (19.5 to 26.0) | ||
Homemaker/on disability/unemployed | 239 (15.8) (13.9 to 17.7) | 201 (14.6) (12.7 to 16.5) | 38 (25.4) (18.2 to 32.6) | 76 (11.2) (8.7 to 13.6) | 125 (17.9) (15.0 to 20.9) | ||
Student | 65 (5.4) (4.1 to 6.7) | 51 (4.7) (3.4 to 5.9) | 14 (11.4) (5.7 to 17.2) | 17 (3.2) (1.7 to 4.7) | 34 (6.1) (4.1 to 8.1) | ||
Ethnic background | <0.0001 | 0.0001 | |||||
European origins | 960 (66.2) (63.7 to 68.7) | 922 (70.4) (67.8 to 72.9) | 38 (29.0) (20.9 to 37.0) | 493 (75.4) (72.0 to 78.8) | 429 (65.4) (61.7 to 69.2) | ||
Other‡ | 470 (33.8) (31.3 to 36.3) | 377 (29.6) (27.1 to 32.2) | 93 (71.0) (63.0 to 79.1) | 158 (24.6) (21.2 to 28.0) | 219 (34.6) (30.8 to 38.3) | ||
Religion | <0.0001 | 0.22 | |||||
Christianity | 775 (53.5) (50.9 to 56.2) | 726 (55.7) (52.9 to 58.4) | 49 (35.8) (27.5 to 44.1) | 375 (58.1) (54.2 to 62.0) | 351 (53.3) (49.3 to 57.2) | ||
Other religions§ | 139 (10.1) (8.5 to 11.7) | 111 (8.9) (7.3 to 10.5) | 28 (20.4) (13.4 to 27.3) | 56 (8.7) (6.5 to 10.9) | 55 (9.1) (6.7 to 11.4) | ||
No religion | 527 (36.4) (33.8 to 38.9) | 463 (35.5) (32.8 to 38.1) | 64 (43.8) (35.4 to 52.3) | 221 (33.2) (29.5 to 36.9) | 242 (37.7) (33.8 to 41.5) | ||
Region | 0.003 | 0.03 | |||||
British Columbia | 182 (12.7) (11.0 to 14.4) | 149 (11.6) (9.9 to 13.4) | 33 (21.1) (14.5 to 27.7) | 62 (9.7) (7.4 to 12.0) | 87 (13.5) (10.8 to 16.1) | ||
Ontario | 512 (38.2) (35.7 to 40.8) | 453 (38.0) (35.3 to 40.7) | 59 (39.7) (31.7 to 47.6) | 240 (40.9) (37.0 to 44.7) | 213 (35.2) (31.5 to 39.0) | ||
Quebec | 348 (23.4) (21.3 to 25.6) | 321 (24.3) (21.9 to 26.6) | 27 (17.0) (11.0 to 23.1) | 161 (24.7) (21.3 to 28.0) | 160 (23.8) (20.6 to 27.1) | ||
West (except British Columbia)¶ | 271 (18.7) (16.6 to 20.7) | 243 (18.7) (16.5 to 20.8) | 28 (18.6) (12.2 to 25.1) | 109 (16.8) (13.9 to 19.7) | 134 (20.5) (17.4 to 23.6) | ||
Atlantic** | 205 (7.0) (6.0 to 8.0) | 196 (7.4) (6.4 to 8.5) | 9 (3.5) (1.1 to 6.0) | 104 (7.9) (6.4 to 9.5) | 92 (6.9) (5.5 to 8.4) | ||
Born in Canada | <0.0001 | 0.16 | |||||
Yes | 1235 (80.8) (78.8 to 82.9) | 1149 (83.9) (81.9 to 86.0) | 86 (56.3) (48.3 to 64.4) | 579 (85.4) (82.6 to 88.2) | 570 (82.5) (79.5 to 85.5) | ||
No | 275 (19.2) (17.1 to 21.2) | 206 (16.1) (14.0 to 18.1) | 69 (43.7) (35.6 to 51.7) | 95 (14.6) (11.8 to 17.4) | 111 (17.5) (14.5 to 20.5) | ||
Years living in Canada (N=275) | <0.0001 | 0.01 | |||||
0–10 | 76 (28.3) (22.8 to 33.9) | 47 (23.2) (17.2 to 29.2) | 29 (44.0) (31.5 to 56.6) | 14 (13.5) (6.6 to 20.5) | 33 (31.0) (21.9 to 40.1) | ||
11–20 | 46 (17.9) (13.2 to 22.7) | 30 (15.1) (10.1 to 20.2) | 16 (26.6) (15.1 to 38.1) | 12 (13.4) (6.2 to 20.5) | 18 (16.5) (9.4 to 23.7) | ||
21–30 | 46 (17.0) (12.5 to 21.6) | 32 (15.9) (10.8 to 21.1) | 14 (20.3) (10.4 to 30.3) | 20 (22.0) (13.3 to 30.7) | 12 (11.0) (5.0 to 16.9) | ||
31–40 | 30 (10.8) (7.0 to 14.5) | 27 (12.8) (8.2 to 17.5) | 3 (4.5) (0 to 9.6) | 16 (16.9) (9.0 to 24.7) | 11 (9.6) (4.0 to 15.1) | ||
>40 | 71 (25.9) (20.6 to 31.3) | 68 (32.9) (26.4 to 39.5) | 3 (4.6) (0 to 9.7) | 32 (34.2) (24.3 to 44.2) | 36 (31.9) (23.0 to 40.8) | ||
Healthcare professional | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | |||||
Yes | 129 (8.3) (6.9 to 9.7) | 127 (9.2) (7.7 to 10.8) | 2 (1.2) (0 to 2.9) | 100 (14.5) (11.8 to 17.2) | 27 (4.1) (2.6 to 5.6) | ||
No | 1389 (91.7) (90.3 to 93.1) | 1235 (90.8) (89.2 to 92.3) | 154 (98.8) (97.1 to 100) | 576 (85.5) (82.8 to 88.2) | 659 (95.9) (94.4 to 97.4) | ||
Live with a healthcare professional | 0.23 | 0.87 | |||||
Yes | 105 (7.3) (5.9 to 8.6) | 97 (7.5) (6.1 to 9.0) | 8 (5.0) (1.6 to 8.5) | 51 (7.7) (5.6 to 9.7) | 46 (7.5) (5.3 to 9.6) | ||
No | 1413 (92.7) (91.4 to 94.1) | 1265 (92.5) (91.0 to 93.9) | 148 (95.0) (91.5 to 98.4) | 625 (92.3) (90.3 to 94.4) | 640 (92.6) (90.4 to 94.7) | ||
Participant or loved one diagnosed with a serious or life-threatening illness | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | |||||
Yes | 827 (56.2) (53.6 to 58.8) | 775 (58.5) (55.8 to 61.2) | 52 (37.0) (28.8 to 45.3) | 447 (67.6) (63.9 to 71.2) | 328 (49.5) (45.6 to 53.4) | ||
No | 646 (43.8) (41.2 to 46.4) | 555 (41.5) (38.8 to 44.2) | 91 (63.0) (54.7 to 71.2) | 221 (32.4) (28.8 to 36.1) | 334 (50.5) (46.6 to 54.4) | ||
Main source of information about palliative care (N=1362) | – | <0.0001 | |||||
Friends, family, colleagues | 514 (41.9) (39.0 to 44.7) | – | – | 250 (37.9) (34.0 to 41.7) | 264 (46.5) (42.2 to 50.8) | ||
Healthcare professional/MD | 359 (30.3) (27.6 to 33.0) | – | – | 247 (38.7) (34.8 to 42.5) | 112 (20.6) (17.1 to 24.1) | ||
Traditional media | 190 (15.9) (13.8 to 18.1) | – | – | 69 (10.5) (8.1 to 13.0) | 121 (22.2) (18.6 to 25.7) | ||
Social media | 32 (2.9) (1.9 to 4.0) | – | – | 11 (2.0) (0.8 to 3.2) | 21 (4.0) (2.3 to 5.8) | ||
Social services/agencies/programmes | 59 (5.0) (3.7 to 6.2) | – | – | 41 (6.4) (4.5 to 8.4) | 18 (3.3) (1.8 to 4.8) | ||
Other†† | 48 (4.0) (2.9 to 5.2) | – | – | 30 (4.5) (2.9 to 6.2) | 18 (3.4) (1.9 to 5.0) |
Number missing or preferred not to answer: gender 2, education 17, marital status 9, household income 138, employment 24, ethnic background 88, religion 77, born in Canada 8, participant or loved one diagnosed with a serious or life-threatening illness 45, main source of information about palliative care 160.
*High level of perceived knowledge: ‘I know what palliative care is and could explain it to someone else’; Low level of perceived knowledge: ‘I know a little bit about palliative care but could not explain it’; or ‘I have only heard the words palliative care, but do not really know what it is.’
†Other marital status includes single, separated, divorced, widowed/widower.
‡Other ethnic backgrounds include African, Asian/Pacific Island, Latin American, Middle Eastern, North American Aboriginal, other not specified.
§Other religions include Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, other not specified.
¶West includes Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
**Atlantic region includes New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.
††Other main sources include insurance company, politicians, religious leaders at place of worship, other not specified.