Health

Description:

The classification and identification of locations where persons report to be more or less healthy or have more or less social capital, within a specific area such as a health region, is tremendously helpful for understanding place and health associations. The objective of the proposed study is to classify and map areas within the Zone 6 Health Region (Figure 1) of Nova Scotia (Halifax Regional Municipality and Annapolis Valley regions) according to health status (Dimension 1) and social capital (Dimension 2). We abstracted responses to questions about self-reported health status, mental health, and social capital from the master files of the Canadian Community Health Survey (Cycles 1.1, 1.2 and 2.1), National Population Health Survey (Cycle 5), and the General Social Survey (Cycles 13, 14, 17, and 18). Responses were geocoded using the Statistics Canada Postal Code Conversion File (PCCF+) and imported into a geographical information system (GIS) so that the postal code associated with the response will be assigned to a latitude and longitude within the Nova Scotia Zone 6 health region. Kernel density estimators and additional spatial interpolators were used to develop statistically-smoothed surfaces of the distribution of respondent values for each question. The smoothing process eliminates the possibility of revealing individual respondent location and confidential Statistics Canada sampling frame information. Using responses from similar questions across multiple surveys improves the likelihood of detecting heterogeneity among the responses within the health region area, as well as the accuracy of the smoothed map classification.

Description:

Approaches used to select records for tabulation of national injury hospitalization data were identified. Three of the approaches were based on the principal diagnosis in the hospital separation record; the other three required that the record contain a code for an external cause of injury. Differences within these two main groups resulted in identification of six distinct approaches. Each approach was applied to the same set of hospital separation data. The numbers and types of injury records retrieved with the six approaches are compared and implications of the findings for injury surveillance are discussed.

Description:

Traditionally administrative hospital discharge databases have been mainly used for administrative purposes. Recently, health services researchers and population health researchers have been using the databases for a wide variety of studies; in particular health care outcomes. Tools, such as comorbidity indexes, have been developed to facilitate this analysis. Every time the coding system for diagnoses and procedures is revised or a new one is developed, these comorbidity indexes need to be updated. These updates are important in maintaining consistency when trends are examined over time.

Description:

Using survey and contact attempt history data collected with the 2005 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a multi-purpose health survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we set out to explore the impact of participant concerns/reluctance on data quality, as measured by rates of partially complete interviews and item nonresponse. Overall, results show that respondents from households where some type of concern or reluctance (e.g., "too busy," "not interested") was expressed produced higher rates of partially complete interviews and item nonresponse than respondents from households where concern/reluctance was not expressed. Differences by type of concern were also identified.

Description:

Accurate information about the timing of access to primary mental health care is critically important in order to identify potentially modifiable factors which could facilitate timely and on-going management of care. No "gold standard" measure of mental health care utilization exists, so it useful to know how strengths, gaps, and limitations in different data sources influence study results. This study compares two population-wide measures of primary mental health care utilization data: the Canadian Community Health Survey of Mental Health and Well-being (CCHS, cycle 1.2) and provincial health insurance records in the province of British Columbia. It explores four questions: (1) Is 12-month prevalence of contacts with general practitioners for mental heath issues the same regardless of whether survey data or administrative data are used? (2) What is the level of agreement between the survey data and administrative data for having had any contact with a general practitioner for mental heath issues during the 12 month period before the survey interview? (3) Is the level of agreement constant throughout the 12-month period or does it decline over more distant sub-timeframes within the 12-month period? (4) What kinds of respondent characteristics, including mental disorders, are associated with agreement or lack of agreement? The results of this study will provide useful information about how to use and interpret each measure of health care utilization. In addition, it will contribute to survey design research, and to research which aims to improve the methods for using administrative data for mental health services research.

Description:

National Food and Nutrition Surveys provide critical information to support the understanding the complex relationship between health and diet in the population. Many of these surveys use 24 hour recall methodology which collects at a detailed level all food and beverages consumed over a day. Often it is the longer term intake of foods and nutrients that is of interest and a number of techniques are available that allow estimation of population usual intakes. These techniques require that at least one repeat 24 hour recall be collected from at least a subset of the population in order to estimate the intra individual variability of intakes. Deciding on the number of individuals required to provide a repeat is an important step in the survey design that must recognize that too few repeat individuals compromises the ability to estimate usual intakes, but large numbers of repeats are costly and pose added burden to the respondents. This paper looks at the statistical issues related to the number of repeat individuals, assessing the impact of the number of repeaters on the stability and uncertainty in the estimate of intra individual variability and provides guidance on required number of repeat responders .

Description:

Growth curves are used by health professionals to determine whether the growth of a child or a foetus, for example, is within normal limits. The growth charts currently used in Canada for height, weight and body mass index (BMI) are based on US data. Child growth curves can now be generated from the latest available data in Canada. One way of estimating and drawing growth curves is the Lambda-Mu-Sigma (LMS) method. The method has been used in various studies by the World Health Organization, the United Kingdom and the United States to generate reference growth curves for children. In this article, the LMS method is used to estimate growth curves in BMI percentiles from weighted cross-sectional data provided by cycle 2.2 of the Canadian Community Health Survey. This article is about the child BMI, one of the anthropometric measures most commonly used to assess growth and obesity.

Description:

This study describes the prevalence of chronic pain among seniors living in private households and in long-term health care institutions. Associations between an increase in chronic pain and unhappiness and negative self-perceived health are examined. Data are from the 1994/1995 through 2002/2003 National Population Health Survey and the 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey.

Description:

Based on findings from the 2005 Canadian Internet Use Survey, this article examines adults' use of the Internet to access health information. The study also looks at the type of searches conducted by those who sought health information.

Description:

This article uses a geographic-based approach to estimate life expectancy in areas where at least 33% of residents were Inuit. The data are from the Canadian Mortality Database and the Census of Canada.

Description: Differences in the number and proportions of persons with disabilities who experienced one or more barriers to accessibility, by the type of disability, age group and gender, Canada.

Description: Differences in the number and proportions of persons with disabilities who experienced one or more barriers to accessibility, by the severity of the disability, age group and gender, Canada.

Description: Differences in the number and proportions of persons with disabilities who experienced a barrier to accessibility, Canada, provinces and territories.

Description: This dashboard provides an interactive view of eight indicators from the Quality of Life Framework for Canada: Life satisfaction, sense of meaning and purpose, future outlook, loneliness, someone to count on, sense of belonging to local community, perceived mental health, and perceived health. The data can be organized by province, gender and other characteristics such as age group. This dashboard is based on quarterly data from the Canadian Social Survey.

Description: Percentage of persons aged 15 years and over by level of life satisfaction, by gender, for Canada, regions and provinces.

Description: Percentage of persons aged 15 years and over by level of life satisfaction, by gender and other selected sociodemographic characteristics: age group; immigrant status; visible minority group; Indigenous identity; persons with a disability, difficulty or long-term condition; LGBTQ2+ people; highest certificate, diploma or degree; main activity; and urban and rural areas.

Description: Percentage of persons aged 15 years and over by level of sense of meaning and purpose, by gender, for Canada, regions and provinces.

Description: Percentage of persons aged 15 years and over by level of sense of meaning and purpose, by gender and other selected sociodemographic characteristics: age group; immigrant status; visible minority group; Indigenous identity; persons with a disability, difficulty or long-term condition; LGBTQ2+ people; highest certificate, diploma or degree; main activity; and urban and rural areas.

Description: Percentage of persons aged 15 years and over by frequency with which they have a hopeful outlook, by gender, for Canada, regions and provinces.

Description: Percentage of persons aged 15 years and over by frequency with which they have a hopeful outlook, by gender and other selected sociodemographic characteristics: age group; immigrant status; visible minority group; Indigenous identity; persons with a disability, difficulty or long-term condition; LGBTQ2+ people; highest certificate, diploma or degree; main activity; and urban and rural areas.

Description: This article is the first main release by Statistics Canada based on findings from the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD). It is divided into three sections—demographics, employment, and income—and provides a general snapshot on persons with disabilities to inform on government priorities and community interest in the areas of disability prevalence, labour market participation, and income inequality. Where possible, the report will be compared with results from the 2017 CSD to provide insight into changes over the past five years.

Description: The Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) is a national survey of Canadians aged 15 and over whose everyday activities are limited because of a long-term condition or health-related problem.

Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin

Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin

Description: Over the last several years, recreational screen time has been increasing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, recreational screen time rose among Canadian youth and adults, and those who increased screen time had poorer self-reported mental health. Using data from the 2017, 2018, and 2021 Canadian Community Health Survey, the objective of this study was to compare recreational screen time behaviours before (2018) and during (2021) the pandemic, looking at patterns by sociodemographic subgroups of the Canadian population.

Description: The availability of measures to operationalize allostatic load—the cumulative toll on the body of responding to stressor demands—in population health surveys may differ across years or surveys, hampering analyses on the entire sampled population. In this study, the impacts of variable selection and calculation method were evaluated to generate an allostatic load index applicable across all cycles of the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS). CHMS data were used to compare individual and population-level changes in scores for allostatic load indexes in which other commonly used measures were substituted for waist-to-hip ratio. Associations between the various constructs and indicators of socioeconomic position were then assessed to evaluate whether relationships were maintained across indexes.

Description: This infographic examines the early child care experiences of children with long-term conditions or disabilities using data from the 2023 Survey on Early Learning and Child Care arrangements – Children with Long-term Conditions and Disabilities (SELCCA – CLCD). It explores the types of extra support needed while in child care, the common difficulties they experienced as well as the impacts on the parent or guardian having difficulty finding a child care arrangement.

Description: Using data from the 2023 Survey on Early Learning and Child Care arrangements – Children with Long-term Conditions and Disabilities (SELCCA – CLCD), this American Sign Language video examines the early child care experiences of children with long-term conditions or disabilities.

Description: Oral health is a crucial component of overall health, influencing both physical and mental well-being. Yet, despite the important role that access to and use of oral health care services play in maintaining optimal oral health, substantial disparities remain in access to oral health care services across population groups in Canada. Using data from the 2022 Canadian Community Health Survey, this study examines the association of dental insurance with oral health care access and use in Canada while accounting for income and sociodemographic factors. It contributes to a baseline of oral health care disparities before the implementation of the Canadian Dental Care Plan.

Description: Children’s oral health can affect functional capacities, psychological well-being, and social integration. Additionally, health behaviours established in childhood extend into adulthood and can influence oral health outcomes later in life. Using data from the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth, this study investigates the association between dental insurance, income, and dental care access for Canadian children and youth aged 1 to 17 years. It contributes to a baseline understanding of oral health care use before the implementation of the Canadian Dental Care Plan.

Description: Health regions are defined by the provinces and represent administrative areas or regions of interest to health authorities. This product contains correspondence files (linking health regions to latest Census geographic codes) and digital boundary files. User documentation provides an overview of health regions, sources, methods, limitations and product description (file format and layout).

In addition to the geographic files, this product also includes Census data (basic profile) for health regions.

Description:

This report deals with Indigenous identity, Indigenous ancestry, Indigenous group, Registered or Treaty Indian status, Membership in a First Nation or Indian band, Membership in a Métis organization or Settlement, and Enrollment under an Inuit land claims agreement, and contains explanations of concepts, data quality, historical comparability and comparability with other sources, as well as information on data collection, processing and dissemination.

Description:

Created in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), this user guide with appended data dictionary provides Canadians and researchers with required information to be able to utilize the Detailed preliminary information on confirmed cases of COVID-19 (Revised) table.

The user guide with appended data dictionary describes background information of COVID-19 as well as objectives, coverage, content, limitations and data quality concerns of the table.

Description: The Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD) is a national survey of Canadians aged 15 and over whose everyday activities are limited because of a long-term condition or health-related problem. The 2022 CSD Concepts and Methods Guide is designed to assist CSD data users by providing relevant information on survey content and concepts, sampling design, collection methods, data processing, data quality and product availability.

Description: The Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation (CIMD) is an area-based index which uses Census of Population microdata to measure four key dimensions of deprivation at the dissemination area (DA)-level: residential instability, economic dependency, situational vulnerability and ethno-cultural composition.

The CIMD allows for an understanding of inequalities in various measures of health and social well-being. While it is a geographically-based index of deprivation and marginalization, it can also be used as a proxy for an individual. The CIMD has the potential to be widely used by researchers on a variety of topics related to socio-economic research. Other uses for the index may include: policy planning and evaluation, or resource allocation.

Description:

The Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation (CIMD) is an area-based index which uses Census of Population microdata to measure four key dimensions of deprivation at the dissemination area (DA)-level: residential instability, economic dependency, situational vulnerability and ethno-cultural composition. The CIMD allows for an understanding of inequalities in various measures of health and social well-being. While it is a geographically-based index of deprivation and marginalization, it can also be used as a proxy for an individual. The CIMD has the potential to be widely used by researchers on a variety of topics related to socio-economic research. Other uses for the index may include: policy planning and evaluation, or resource allocation.

Description: This electronic publication presents the methodology underlying the production of the life tables for Canada, provinces and territories.

Description:

The User Guide for the Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation (CIMD) outlines uses for the index, as well as it provides a brief description of the methodology behind the development of the index. This User Guide also provides instructions on how to use the index, and lists considerations when using the CIMD data.

Description:

The mandate of the Analytical Studies Branch (ASB) is to provide high-quality, relevant and timely information on economic, health and social issues that are important to Canadians. The branch strategically makes use of expert knowledge and a large range of statistical sources to describe, draw inferences from, and make objective and scientifically supported deductions about the evolving nature of the Canadian economy and society. Research questions are addressed by applying leading-edge methods, including microsimulation and predictive analytics using a range of linked and integrated administrative and survey data. In supporting greater access to data, ASB linked data are made available to external researchers and policy makers to support evidence-based decision making. Research results are disseminated by the branch using a range of mediums (i.e., research papers, studies, infographics, videos, and blogs) to meet user needs. The branch also provides analytical support and training, feedback, and quality assurance to the wide range of programs within and outside Statistics Canada.

Description:

This paper describes the process that led to the creation of the new Disability Screening Questions (DSQ), jointly developped by Statistics Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada. The DSQ form a new module which can be put on general population surveys to allow comparisons of persons with and without a disability. The paper explains why there are two versions of the DSQ—a long and a short one—, the difference between the two, and how each version can be used.