Supplementary data: Alberta
This page provides data visualizations related to the priorities for Canada’s cancer system, as well as accessible descriptions.
Download data tables for all indicators.
Priority 1 Action 1: Help people to stop smoking or not start in the first place and live healthier lives
Topic: Keeping people smoke-free
Title of image: Percentage of individuals in AB (aged ≥ 12) classified as daily or occasional smokers in 2019
Caveats/limitations:
- This indicator was reported using the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). Overall smoking rates are reported using 2019 data.
- Individuals who did not respond to the required CCHS questions regarding smoking status were not included in the analysis.
Data source: Canadian Community Health Survey
Topic: Maintaining healthy body weight
Title of image: Percentage of individuals (aged ≥ 18) classified as overweight or obese in 2019
Data source: Canadian Community Health Survey
Topic: Maintaining healthy body weight
Title of image: Percentage of individuals (aged ≥ 18) classified as overweight or obese in 2017-2018, by income quintile and sex
Note: The percentage of people classified as obese or overweight was higher for people with higher income compared to those with lower income.
Title of table: Percentage of individuals (aged ≥ 18) classified as overweight or obese in 2017-2018, by income quintile and sex
| Sex | Quintile 1 | Quintile 2 | Quintile 3 | Quintile 4 | Quintile 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 59.3% | 64.1% | 58.1% | 61.4% | 55.9% |
| Male | 68.1% | 68.3% | 72.2% | 77.4% | 75.8% |
Data source: Canadian Community Health Survey
Topic: Maintaining healthy body weight
Title of image: Percentage of individuals (aged ≥ 18) classified as overweight or obese in 2017-2018, by sex
Note: The percentage of people classified as obese or overweight was higher for males compared to females.
Data source: Canadian Community Health Survey
Priority 1 Action 2: Adopt proven practices known to reduce the risk of cancer
Topic: Increasing HPV vaccination
Title of image: Percentage of people who received a full course of HPV vaccination in 2019
Caveats/limitations: Updated schedule for HPV vaccinations in Alberta specifies that children aged 9-14 years who are able to produce a normal immune response and who do not have HIV will receive a 2-dose series.
Data source: Provincial cancer agencies and programs
Topic: Increasing genetic testing
Title of image: Percentage of patients in AB diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer in 2019 who received genetic testing within 9 months of diagnosis
Data source: Provincial cancer agencies and programs
Topic: Increasing genetic testing
Title of image: Percentage of patients in AB diagnosed with breast cancer who received genetic testing in 2019 within 9 months of diagnosis, by sex
Data source: Provincial cancer agencies and programs
Priority 2 Action 1: Prioritize rapid access to appropriate diagnosis for those suspected of having cancer
Topic: Diagnosing cancer earlier
Title of image: Proportion of stage 4 diagnosis in AB in 2019
Data source: Provincial cancer agencies and programs
Topic: Diagnosing cancer earlier
Title of image: Proportion of stage at diagnosis in AB in 2019
Title of table: Proportion of stage at diagnosis in AB in 2019
| Site | Stage 0 | Stage I | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 | Unknown/Occult | N/A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lung | 0 | 22 | 8 | 17 | 45 | 4 | 5 |
| Colorectal | 1 | 17 | 20 | 24 | 22 | 15 | 1 |
| Bladder | 52 | 18 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 1 |
| Melanoma | 1 | 36 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 28 | 0 |
Data source: Provincial cancer agencies and programs
Topic: Diagnosing cancer earlier
Title of image: Proportion of stage 4 diagnosis in AB in 2019, by sex
Title of table: Proportion of stage 4 diagnosis in AB in 2019, by sex
| Sex | Lung | Colorectal | Bladder | Melanoma |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 47.5% | 24.0% | 5.5% | 5.0% |
| Female | 43.1% | 20.4% | 5.9% | 2.1% |
Data source: Provincial cancer agencies and programs
Priority 2 Action 2: Strengthen existing screening efforts and implement lung cancer screening programs across the country
Topic: Increasing participation in colorectal cancer screening
Title of image: Percentage of AB who had FIT test in past two years (2018-2019) and/or sigmoidoscopy/colonoscopy in the past five years (2015-2019), by age group
Caveats/limitations: Participation in the 50-54 age group is expected to be the lowest as those in this age group recently became eligible for screening (e.g., someone aged 51 years would be asked whether they received sigmoidoscopy/colonoscopy in the last five years but has only been eligible for screening for the last two years).
Title of table: Percentage of AB who had FIT test in past two years (2018-2019) and/or sigmoidoscopy/colonoscopy in the past five years (2015-2019), by age group
| Age: Overall (50-74) | Age 50-54 | Age 55-59 | Age 60-64 | Age 65-69 | Age 70-74 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55.9% | 48.2% | 53.3% | 58.0% | 62.7% | 63.4% |
Data source: Provincial cancer agencies and programs
Priority 3 Action 2: Eliminate low-benefit practices and adopt high-value practices
Topic: Optimizing care at end of life
Title of image: Percentage of patients who died of cancer in 2019 and received any systemic therapy in the last two weeks of life
Data source: Provincial cancer agencies and programs
Topic: Optimizing care at end of life
Title of image: Percentage of patients who died of cancer in 2019 and received any systemic therapy in the last two weeks of life, by health zone and age group
Title of table: Percentage of patients who died of cancer in 2019 and received any systemic therapy in the last two weeks of life, by health zone and age group
| Health zone 1 | Health zone 2 | Health zone 3 | Health zone 4 | Health zone 5 | Age 18-59 | Age 60-69 | Age 70-79 | Age 80+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.9% | 2.2% | 2.5% | 1.6% | 3.1% | 3.9% | 3.2% | 1.9% | 0.5% |
Data source: Provincial cancer agencies and programs
Topic: Optimizing screening and appropriate follow-up
Title of image: Percentage of individuals in AB aged 40-49 who completed at least one screening mammogram in 2019 (breast cancer by age)
Data source: Provincial cancer agencies and programs
Topic: Optimizing screening and appropriate follow-up
Title of image: Annual return to screen recommendation by radiologist rate in AB in 2019 (breast cancer by frequency)
Data source: Provincial cancer agencies and programs
Topic: Optimizing screening and appropriate follow-up
Title of image: Percentage of people with a cervix in AB aged 18-24 who received at least one Pap test in 2019, by age group
Data source: Provincial cancer agencies and programs
Priority 3 Action 3: Design and implement new models of care
Topic: Expanding models of care
Title of image: Percentage of new-to-institution patients attending a first consult who completed the patient reported outcomes tools at the time of the consult in 2019, by cancer type
Data source: Provincial cancer agencies and programs
Topic: Expanding models of care
Title of image: Percentage of new-to-institution patients attending a first consult who completed the patient reported outcomes tools at the time of the consult in 2019, by health zone and age group
Caveats/limitations: One facility in health zone 4 switched from paper charts to electronic format in September 2019. For this facility, only data for September onward were included for both the denominator and numerator.
Title of table: Percentage of new-to-institution patients attending a first consult who completed the patient reported outcomes tools at the time of the consult in 2019, by health zone and age group
| Health zone 1 | Health zone 2 | Health zone 3 | Health zone 4 | Health zone 5 | Age 18-59 | Age 60-69 | Age 70-79 | Age 80+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 79.8% | 83.0% | 74.1% | 69.7% | 69.1% | 76.7% | 77.7% | 78.3% | 77.9% |
Data source: Provincial cancer agencies and programs
Priority 4 Action 1: Provide better services and care adapted to the specific needs of underserved groups
Topic: Increasing support to help patients navigate the system
Title of image: Percentage of patients with cancer living in rural/remote area in AB who utilized nurse navigator service in 2019
Caveats/limitations:
- The data presented reflects only the nurse navigator support in rural/remote geographies. Indigenous and AYA Nurse Navigators for patients residing in non-rural/non-remote are not included. Cancer patient navigation support is assigned based on the needs of the patient.
- Not all patients require direct care provided by a patient navigator. Navigation support at the two tertiary centres (Tom Baker Cancer Centre and Cross Cancer Institute) is provided by tumour triage coordinators and other health care providers and is not captured in these data.
Data source: Provincial cancer agencies and programs
Priority 5 Action 2: Address the limited and unequal access to palliative and end-of-life care across Canada
Topic: Improving access to quality end-of-life care
Title of image: Cumulative length of stay for cancer patients (overall) who were in or admitted to an acute care hospital 30 days prior to death across AB for fiscal years 2015, 2017, and 2019
Title of table: Cumulative length of stay for cancer patients (overall) who were in or admitted to an acute care hospital 30 days prior to death across AB for fiscal years 2015, 2017, and 2019
| Year | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile | 90th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 6 | 15 | 29 | 48 |
| 2017 | 7 | 15 | 28 | 50 |
| 2015 | 6 | 16 | 31 | 52 |
Data source: Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), Discharge Abstract Database (DAD)
Topic: Improving access to quality end-of-life care
Title of image: Cumulative length of stay for cancer patients (rural/remote) who were in or admitted to an acute care hospital 30 days prior to death across AB for fiscal years 2015, 2017, and 2019
Title of table: Cumulative length of stay for cancer patients (rural/remote) who were in or admitted to an acute care hospital 30 days prior to death across AB for fiscal years 2015, 2017, and 2019
| Year | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile | 90th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 7 | 17 | 32 | 53 |
| 2017 | 7 | 17 | 32 | 53 |
| 2015 | 7 | 17 | 33 | 55 |
Data source: Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), Discharge Abstract Database (DAD)
Topic: Improving access to quality end-of-life care
Title of image: Cumulative length of stay for cancer patients (urban) who were in or admitted to an acute care hospital 30 days prior to death across AB for fiscal years 2015, 2017, and 2019
Title of table: Cumulative length of stay for cancer patients (urban) who were in or admitted to an acute care hospital 30 days prior to death across AB for fiscal years 2015, 2017, and 2019
| Year | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile | 90th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 6 | 14 | 27 | 44 |
| 2017 | 6 | 14 | 27 | 49 |
| 2015 | 6 | 15 | 30 | 50 |
Data source: Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), Discharge Abstract Database (DAD)