Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-5g6vh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T12:22:10.684Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Research Note: Describing Canada's Residential Continuing Care Population through an Analysis of a National Mortality Dataset and a Provincial Hospital Dataset*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2010

Donna M. Wilson  and
Corrine D. Truman
Donna M. Wilson*
Affiliation:
University of Alberta
Corrine D. Truman
Affiliation:
Sherwood Park, Alberta
*
Requests for offprints should be sent to: / Les demandes de tirés-a-part doivent être adressées à: Donna M. Wilson, RN, PhD, Faculty of Nursing, Third Floor Clinical Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2G3. donna.wilson@ualberta.ca
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

While there are 157,000 designated continuing care (CC) beds in Canada – beds that are only used by a rather distinct group of individuals – no comprehensive description of the CC resident population exists. An analysis of 1974–1997 Statistics Canada mortality data and 1992/93–1996/97 Alberta hospital utilization data was undertaken to provide a description of one segment of this population, those at the end of life. Statistics Canada data indicate that only a small (<3%) proportion of deaths take place each year in CC facilities, with these persons 84.5 years of age on average, and most often female (62.5%), widowed (61.9%), and Canadian born (61.8%). The primary cause of death/diagnosis varied considerably, as it did for CC residents in Alberta who were transferred to acute care hospitals before dying there. The average hospital stay for transferred persons was 14.0 days in length, with these hospitalizations normally characterized by few diagnostic tests or treatments (mean=0.9).

Résumé

Quoique l'on retrouve 157000 lits de soins permanents au Canada, et que ces lits soient utilisés pour un groupe précis d'individus, il n'y a aucune vue d'ensemble de cette population. Une analyse des données de mortalité de Statistique Canada datant de 1974 à 1997, en plus des données de l'utilisation d'hôpitaux de l'Alberta datant de 1992–1993 à 1996–1997 a été entreprise afin de fournir une description d'une partie de cette population, soit ceux à la fin de la vie. Les données de Statistique Canada démontrent que seulement une faible proportion (<3%) de décés surviennent chaque année dans les installations de soins permanents, et ce à des personnes d'âge moyenne de 84,5 ans, souvent de sexe féminin (62,5%), veuves (61,9%) et nées au Canada (61,8%). La cause premiére du décés/diagnostic varie considérablement, de même pour les résidents de l'Alberta qui ont été transférés à des hôpitaux de soins intensifs où ils sont subséquemment décédés. La durée moyenne du séjour des personnes transférées était de 14,0 jours; ces séjours étaient caractérisés de trés peu d'examens diagnostics ou de traitements (médiane=0,9).

Keywords

agingcontinuing careresident population descriptionhospital utilizationvieillissementsoins permanentsdescription de la population résidentiellemise en valeur des hôpitaux
Type
Research Note
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , Spring/Printemps 2003 , pp. 127 - 131
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

This study is based in part on data provided by Alberta Health and Wellness. The interpretation and conclusions contained herein are those of the researchers and do not necessarily represent the view of the Government of Alberta. Neither the Government nor Alberta Health and Wellness expresses any opinion in relation to this study.

References

Refferrencces

Alberta Health and Wellness. (1999). Accessing data for research purposes. A researcher's handbook. Edmonton: Author.Google Scholar
Anderson, G.M., Pulcins, I.R., Barer, M.L., Evans, R.G., & Hertzman, C. (1990). Acute care hospital utilization under Canadian national health insurance: The British Columbia experience from 1969 to 1988. Inquiry, 27, 352–358.Google ScholarPubMed
Barer, M.L., Evans, R.G., Hertzman, C., & Lomas, J. (1987). Aging and health care utilization: New evidence on old fallacies. Social Science and Medicine, 24(10), 851–862.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bergman, H., Beland, F., Lebel, P., Contandriopoulos, A., Tousignant, P., Brunelle, Y., Kaufman, T., Leibovich, E., Rodriguez, R., & Clarfield, M. (1997). Care for Canada's frail elderly population: Fragmentation or integration? The Canadian Medical Association Journal, 157(8), 1116–1121.Google ScholarPubMed
Black, C., Roos, N.P., Havens, B., & MacWilliam, L. (1995). Rising use of physician services by the elderly: The contribution of mortality. Canadian Journal on Aging, 14(2), 225–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burke, M.A., Lindsay, J., McDowell, I., & Hill, G. (1997). Dementia among seniors. Canadian Social Trends, Summer, 24–27.Google Scholar
Canadian Healthcare Association. (1998). Directory of hospitals and long term care facilities in Canada. Ottawa: Author.Google Scholar
Canadian Institute for Health Information. (1999). Abstracting manual. Toronto: Author.Google Scholar
DeCoster, C., Roos, N.P., & Bogdanovic, B. (1995). Utilization of nursing home resources. Medical Care, 33(12), DS73–DS83.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hertzman, C., Pulcins, I.R., Barer, M.L., Evans, R.G., Anderson, G.M., & Lomas, J. (1990). Flat on your back or back in your flat? Sources of increased hospital services utilization among the elderly in BC. Social Science and Medicine, 30(7), 819–828.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lindsay, C. (1999). Seniors: A diverse group aging well. Canadian Social Trends, 52, 24–26.Google Scholar
McKie, C. (1993). Population aging. Baby boomers into the 21st century. Canadian Social Trends, Summer, 2–6.Google Scholar
Roos, N.P., Havens, B., & Black, C. (1993). Living longer but doing worse: Assessing health status of elderly persons at two points of time in Manitoba, Canada, 1971 and 1983. Social Science and Medicine, 36(3), 273–282.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenberg, M.W., & Moore, E.G. (1997). The health of Canada's elderly population: Current status and future implications. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 157(8), 1025–1032.Google ScholarPubMed
Shapiro, E., Tate, R., & Roos, N.P. (1987). Do nursing homes reduce hospital use? Medical Care, 25(1), 1–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Statistics Canada. Statistics Canada relies on many groups and individuals to carry out virtually all its programs. Retrieved February 6, 2003 from http://www.statcan.ca/english/about/ensur.htm.Google Scholar
Tully, P., & Mohl, C. (1995). Older residents of health care institutions. Health Reports, 7(3), 27–30.Google ScholarPubMed
Wilkins, K., & Park, E. (1998). Home care in Canada. Health Reports, 10(1), 29–37.Google ScholarPubMed
Wilson, D.M., Anderson, M.C., Fainsinger, R.L., Northcott, H.C., Smith, S.L., & Stingl, M.J. (1998, December). Social and health care trends influencing palliative care and the location of death in twentieth-century Canada. Final Report. Edmonton: University of Alberta.Google Scholar
Wilson, D.M., Northcott, H.C., Truman, C.D., Smith, S.L., Anderson, M.C., Fainsinger, R.L., & Stingl, M.J. (1998). Location of death in Canada: A comparison of 20th-century hospital and non-hospital locations of death and corresponding population trends. Evaluation and the Health Professions, 24, 385–403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar