Extreme concern about loved ones’ health. Fears of Canada’s hospital system becoming overwhelmed. An alarming number of women — one in 10 — afraid of violence erupting in their home.

In just a few weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted seismic changes in Canadian society, already having “a profound effect” on the health and behaviour of Canadians, a new survey released Wednesday by Statistics Canada reveals.

Efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus have touched nearly every aspect of Canadian life: how we work, where we go, what we eat and drink, and how we spend our time. But perhaps the biggest takeaway from the new data, according to a Statistics Canada economist who worked on the survey, is the psychological impact.

“Canadians are concerned — they are anxious,” said Sébastien Larochelle-Côté, assistant director of the Centre for Social Data Insights and Innovation.

“Canadians understand that there is a crisis out there. But they are also worried that it is going to have potentially severe impacts on their lifestyle.”

Perhaps not surprisingly, the survey — which polled 4,600 people in 10 provinces online between March 29 and April 3 — shows a third of Canadians are “very or extremely” concerned about their own health amid the pandemic.

But the health of others is more worrying still: over half of those responding said they were very or extremely concerned about the well-being of someone in their household, and nearly eight out of 10 are very worried about the health of vulnerable people. Eighty-four per cent are concerned the country’s health-care system will be overloaded by cases of the coronavirus.

Pleas made by health professionals and politicians about staying home to limit the spread appear to be working, however. The vast majority of Canadians surveyed — 90 per cent — said they’d avoided leaving the house, while 87 per cent eschewed large crowds and used social distancing when they did go out in public. Ninety-two per cent said they are washing their hands more regularly.

More than a third of those surveyed cancelled travel — 37 per cent — while 29 per cent said they’ve begun working from home. The latter figure may appear low because includes teenagers, students and retirees who participated in the survey, Larochelle-Côté said.

But the consequence of being confined to the house has many Canadians concerned about the potential for family discord — or violence.

One of 10 women surveyed said she was “very or extremely concerned” about the possibility of violence inside the home.

“I think that number highlights how pervasive domestic violence is in our society, and it’s something that we don’t talk about even before a global crisis like a pandemic,” said Petra Molnar, acting director of the International Human Rights program at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, and who researches gender-based violence.

“Often times, we’re told it’s safe to be at home. For people who are experiencing domestic violence, that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

One-third of respondents expressed concern about family stress from being cooped up in the house. Molnar said tension can be caused or exacerbated by factors including job loss, health-care issues, and conflicts about division of household labour — for example, parents having to work full-time while home-schooling or caring for their children.

“We are also seeing the worry that maybe we will return to some of the traditional gender roles when it comes to the division of domestic labour at home,” Molnar said.

“Family discord is definitely something I think we, as a society, are going to increasingly see.”

The survey also revealed broader concerns about societal impacts of the virus and the measures to curb it. Four in 10 of those surveyed said they were “very or extremely concerned” about the possibility of civil disorder.

Published in record time to help public health agencies, the survey, Larochelle-Côté said, also sought to understand how Canadians are spending their time at home. Routines have undoubtedly changed, he said.

Across the board, Canadians are watching more TV and spending more time online. But younger Canadians (ages 15-49) were more likely to have upped television consumption and internet use than those over the age of 50. Younger Canadians also said they are spending more time playing video games or board games.

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Canadians’ relationship to food and alcohol — and to a smaller extent, tobacco and cannabis — has changed, too.

One in five younger Canadians said they have upped their alcohol consumption, while just seven per cent of older Canadians said they were drinking more — and nearly 10 per cent said they were drinking less. A smaller number of younger Canadians said they were using more tobacco (four per cent) and cannabis (10 per cent).

One in four Canadians surveyed said they were eating more junk food and sweets.

The survey also sought to capture where Canadians are getting their news. Half of those surveyed said they were turning to news outlets as their main source of information on COVID-19, and one in three said they sought information from government health agencies or the daily announcements from federal and provincial public health officials and politicians.

Larochelle-Côté said Wednesday’s release is the first of several surveys that will be done in an effort to understand in greater detail the ways COVID-19 is upending and changing Canadians’ lives.