Navigating Canada's Health Care: A User Guide to Getting the Care You Need

Ian W. Toal is a registered nurse in Winnipeg.

Billed as a guide to navigating Canada’s health-care system,
Navigating Canada’s Health Care comprises facts, tips, advice, and
resources ostensibly aimed at helping the reader do just that. Overall,
it is a somewhat curious book. It is loosely structured around the
early, middle, and later stages of life, but generally seems to be a
hodgepodge of information that may or may not be useful. For example,
the first sections of the chapter titled “Coping with Cancer”
describe cancer-avoiding strategies; it is not clear how such
information can help someone who already has cancer.

The text is generally well written and accessible, if somewhat
fragmented by a surfeit of tips and sidebar information. Some of the
information presented is not particularly helpful. Occupying less than a
page, “Managing Mental Illness,” for example, comprises mostly
statistics; no information about diagnosis, medications, or supports is
given.

The authors are to be applauded for taking on this important and
difficult subject. The end result, however, may leave some readers
disappointed.