Chronic Illness in Nova Scotia – Survey for Advocacy

Over the past couple of days, I’ve been collecting anonymous responses from Nova Scotians living with chronic illness about their experiences navigating the healthcare system here. Things like diagnosis delays, difficulty accessing specialists, dismissal, financial strain, and the overall impact these barriers have had on their lives.

I originally created this survey after making a post about my own experiences trying to navigate chronic, multi-system health issues in this province, and I was honestly shocked by how many people related.

The response has grown far beyond what I expected. We’re now approaching 100 responses in less than 3 days, and there are some very clear recurring themes emerging.

Many of the responses have come from people living with conditions such as hEDS, POTS/dysautonomia, MCAS, autoimmune conditions, chronic pain disorders, and other complex illnesses, but the broader pattern becoming apparent is that many people with chronic illness in general feel like they are falling through the cracks of the healthcare system in Nova Scotia.

A journalist from Global News has also reached out expressing interest in covering this issue and speaking with people who feel comfortable sharing their experiences publicly.

The goal of this survey is to collect real experiences and data that can eventually be shared with MLAs and used to advocate for better access to care, provider education, and support for people living with chronic illness in Nova Scotia.

The survey is completely anonymous, takes about 3-5 minutes, and you can skip any questions you’re not comfortable answering.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScORTfhicYFHLUdN135eZAe-OAl_Vko2ZxpNfnDXVZJJxPv0g/viewform?usp=dialog

Thanks so much to anyone who takes the time to fill this out, I really appreciate it!!

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