Analysis

Description:

Cancer surveillance research requires accurate estimates of risk factors at the small area level. These risk factors are often obtained from surveys such as the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) or the Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance Survey (BRFSS). Unfortunately, no one population-based survey provides ideal prevalence estimates of such risk factors. One strategy is to combine information from multiple surveys, using the complementary strengths of one survey to compensate for the weakness of the other. The NHIS is a nationally representative, face-to-face survey with a high response rate; however, it cannot produce state or substate estimates of risk factor prevalence because sample sizes are too small. The BRFSS is a state-level telephone survey that excludes non-telephone households and has a lower response rate, but does provide reasonable sample sizes in all states and many counties. Several methods are available for constructing small-area estimators that combine information from both the NHIS and the BRFSS, including direct estimators, estimators under hierarchical Bayes models and model-assisted estimators. In this paper, we focus on the latter, constructing generalized regression (GREG) and 'minimum-distance' estimators and using existing and newly developed small-area smoothing techniques to smooth the resulting estimators.

Description:

This study takes a look at the modelling methods used for public health data. Public health has a renewed interest in the impact of the environment on health. Ecological or contextual studies ideally investigate these relationships using public health data augmented with environmental characteristics in multilevel or hierarchical models. In these models, individual respondents in health data are the first level and community data are the second level. Most public health data use complex sample survey designs, which require analyses accounting for the clustering, nonresponse, and poststratification to obtain representative estimates of prevalence of health risk behaviours.

This study uses the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a state-specific US health risk factor surveillance system conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which assesses health risk factors in over 200,000 adults annually. BRFSS data are now available at the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) level and provide quality health information for studies of environmental effects. MSA-level analyses combining health and environmental data are further complicated by joint requirements of the survey sample design and the multilevel analyses.

We compare three modelling methods in a study of physical activity and selected environmental factors using BRFSS 2000 data. Each of the methods described here is a valid way to analyse complex sample survey data augmented with environmental information, although each accounts for the survey design and multilevel data structure in a different manner and is thus appropriate for slightly different research questions.

Description:

The objective of this study was to analyse the influence of community on individual health. The new Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) was used to derive individual health variables for Canadian residents aged 18 or older while community-level data were obtained from the Canadian 1996 Census of Population. Weighted logistic multilevel models and principal component analysis were used to analyse these data. After controlling for individual variables, there was little variation between communities. However, the influence of the community was more important for people with low family income than those with higher income.

Description:

This paper examines the simulation study that was conducted to assess the sampling scheme designed for the World Health Organization (WHO) Injection Safety Assessment Survey. The objective of this assessment survey is to determine whether facilities in which injections are given meet the necessary safety requirements for injection administration, equipment, supplies and waste disposal. The main parameter of interest is the proportion of health care facilities in a country that have safe injection practices.

The objective of this simulation study was to assess the accuracy and precision of the proposed sampling design. To this end, two artificial populations were created based on the two African countries of Niger and Burkina Faso, in which the pilot survey was tested. To create a wide variety of hypothetical populations, the assignment of whether a health care facility was safe or not was based on the different combinations of the population proportion of safe health care facilities in the country, the homogeneity of the districts in the country with respect to injection safety, and whether the health care facility was located in an urban or rural district.

Using the results of the simulation, a multi-factor analysis of variance was used to determine which factors affect the outcome measures of absolute bias, standard error and mean-squared error.

Description:

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second cause of cancer deaths in Canada. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) have shown the efficacy of screening using faecal occult blood tests (FOBT). A comprehensive evaluation of the costs and consequences of CRC screening for the Canadian population is required before implementing such a program. This paper evaluates whether or not the CRC screening is cost-effective. The results of these simulations will be provided to the Canadian National Committee on Colorectal Cancer Screening to help formulate national policy recommendations for CRC screening.

Statistics Canada's Population Health Microsimulation Model was updated to incorporate a comprehensive CRC screening module based on Canadian data and RCT efficacy results. The module incorporated sensitivity and specificity of FOBT and colonoscopy, participation rates, incidence, staging, diagnostic and therapeutic options, disease progression, mortality and direct health care costs for different screening scenarios. Reproducing the mortality reduction observed in the Funen screening trial validated the model.

Description:

Categorical outcomes, such as binary, ordinal and nominal responses, occur often in survey research. Logistic regression investigates the relationship between such categorical responses variables and a set of explanatory variables. The LOGISTIC procedure can be used to perform a logistic analysis on data from a random sample. However, this approach is not valid if the data come from other sample designs, such as complex survey designs with stratification, clustering and/or unequal weighting. In these cases, specialized techniques must be applied in order to produce the appropriate estimates and standard errors.

The SURVEYLOGISTIC procedure, experimental in Version 9, brings logistic regression for survey data to the SAS System and delivers much of the functionality of the LOGISTIC procedure. This paper describes the methodological approach and applications for this new software.

Description:

Some of the most commonly used statistical models are fitted using maximum likelihood (ML) or some extension of ML. Stata's ML command provides researchers and data analysts with a tool to develop estimation commands to fit their models using their data. Such models may include multiple equations, clustered observations, sampling weights and other survey design characteristics. These elements are discussed in this paper.

Description:

In 1997, the US Office of Management and Budget issued revised standards for the collection of race information within the federal statistical system. One revision allows individuals to choose more than one race group when responding to federal surveys and other federal data collections. This change presents challenges for analyses that involve data collected under both the old and new race-reporting systems, since the data on race are not comparable. The following paper discusses the problems encountered by these changes and methods developed to overcome them.

Since most people under both systems report only a single race, a common proposed solution is to try to bridge the transition by assigning a single-race category to each multiple-race reporter under the new system, and to conduct analyses using just the observed and assigned single-race categories. Thus, the problem can be viewed as a missing-data problem, in which single-race responses are missing for multiple-race reporters and needing to be imputed.

The US Office of Management and Budget suggested several simple bridging methods to handle this missing-data problem. Schenker and Parker (Statistics in Medicine, forthcoming) analysed data from the National Health Interview Survey of the US National Center for Health Statistics, which allows multiple-race reporting but also asks multiple-race reporters to specify a primary race, and found that improved bridging methods could result from incorporating individual-level and contextual covariates into the bridging models.

While Schenker and Parker discussed only three large multiple-race groups, the current application requires predicting single-race categories for several small multiple-race groups as well. Thus, problems of sparse data arise in fitting the bridging models. We address these problems by building combined models for several multiple-race groups, thus borrowing strength across them. These and other methodological issues are discussed.

Description:

Although the use of school vouchers is growing in the developing world, the impact of vouchers is an open question. Any sort of long-term assessment of this activity is rare. This paper estimates the long-term effect of Colombia's PACES program, which provided over 125,000 poor children with vouchers that covered half the cost of private secondary school.

The PACES program presents an unusual opportunity to assess the effect of demand-side education financing in a Latin American country where private schools educate a substantial proportion of pupils. The program is of special interest because many vouchers were assigned by lottery, so program effects can be reliably assessed.

We use administrative records to assess the long-term impact of PACES vouchers on high school graduation status and test scores. The principal advantage of administrative records is that there is no loss-to-follow-up and the data are much cheaper than a costly and potentially dangerous survey effort. On the other hand, individual ID numbers may be inaccurate, complicating record linkage, and selection bias contaminates the sample of test-takers. We discuss solutions to these problems. The results suggest that the program increased secondary school completion rates, and that college-entrance test scores were higher for lottery winners than losers.

Description:

The census data are widely used in the distribution and targeting of resources at national, regional and local levels. In the United Kingdom (UK), a population census is conducted every 10 years. As time elapses, the census data become outdated and less relevant, thus making the distribution of resources less equitable. This paper examines alternative methods in rectifying this.

A number of small area methods have been developed for producing postcensal estimates, including the Structural Preserving Estimation technique as a result of Purcell and Kish (1980). This paper develops an alternative approach that is based on a linear mixed modelling approach to producing postcensal estimates. The validity of the methodology is tested on simulated data from the Finnish population register and the technique is applied to producing updated estimates for a number of the 1991 UK census variables.

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

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

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: Using data from the Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) and the Census of Population, 2021, this infographic provides information on enrolment in Canadian public postsecondary institutions for transgender and non-binary people.

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

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: This guide is for users of the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform (ELMLP). The data for the products associated with this issue are derived from integrating Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) administrative data with other administrative data on earnings. Statistics Canada has derived a series of annual indicators on the labour market outcomes of public postsecondary graduates including median employment income by educational qualification, field of study, age group, gender and status of student in Canada for Canada, the provinces and the territories combined.

Description: This Juristat article uses data from the 2022/2023 Survey of Residential Facilities for Victims of Abuse (SRFVA) to present results on residential facilities in Canada that are primarily mandated to serve victims of abuse. Results presented in this article refer to two distinct time periods. The first focuses on a 12-month period within 2022/2023, and provides an overview of facility characteristics, touching on shelter admissions, availability of accommodations, and general services provided. The second focuses on information for a predetermined snapshot date of April 13, 2023, and presents a profile of residents using residential facilities on this date.

Description: Using British Columbia Ministry of Education administrative school data within the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform, this study compared the proportions of high school graduates among Grade 12 students with and without special needs across nine cohorts from 2010/2011 to 2018/2019 before and after controlling for several sociodemographic characteristics.

Description: Using data from the 2022 Canadian Social Survey Wave 6 (Well-being and caregiving), this study explores unpaid caregiving in the past 12 months for care-dependent groups (children under 15 years old or adults and youth over 15 years old with a long-term condition or disability). This paper explores: Who are the unpaid caregivers, including "sandwich" caregivers? How much unpaid care is provided and to whom? What are the impacts of this unpaid caregiving on well-being, especially the gendered differences?

Description: In collaboration with the Bank of Canada, this research paper focuses on constructing analytical price index series for Canada, using the main owned accommodation measurement concepts proposed by the International Consumer Price Index Manual and adopted by other countries. This analysis explores these alternative treatments of owned accommodation in the Canadian context, examining their impact on the all-items Consumer Price Index. Additionally, it provides an explanation for the gap between perceived inflation and estimated inflation.

Description: The Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP) draws from a wide variety of data sources to provide information on the school-age population, elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, transitions, and labour market outcomes.

PCEIP products include tables, fact sheets, reports and a methodological handbook. They present indicators for all of Canada, the provinces, the territories, as well as selected international comparisons and comparisons over time.

The Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP) is an ongoing initiative of the Canadian Education Statistics Council, a partnership between Statistics Canada and the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada that provides a set of statistical measures on education systems in Canada.

Description: The agricultural sector in Canada has relied increasingly on temporary foreign workers (TFWs) to fill the longstanding labour shortage. The number of TFWs in crop production, animal production and aquaculture, and support activities for crop and animal production more than tripled between 2005 and 2020. This study examines the transition to permanent residency (PR) of TFWs in primary agriculture and the retention in the sector among those who obtained PR. The study focuses on TFWs whose first employment was in primary agriculture and who entered the sector between 2005 and 2020.

Description: A key component of Canada’s immigration program is to promote the balanced geographic distribution of immigrants and refugees across Canada. This study asks whether there were significant differences in the economic outcomes of government assisted refugees (GARs), based on the size of the city to which they were designated. The analysis was conducted for both those remaining in the designated cities (stayers) and those moving to other locations (movers).

Description: In recent years, more economic immigrants entered Canada via the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) than through any other immigration program. This article examines differences among provinces in the growth and importance of the PNP and the characteristics of provincial nominees and is part of a series examining various aspects of the PNP. The series discusses the expansion of the program, differences among provinces, provincial retention rates, trends in earnings and the occupations of provincial nominees, both nationally and provincially.

Description:

This report provides statistical information of the federal government's activities in science and technology. It covers expenditures and person-years by type of science, performing sectors, provinces and federal departments and agencies. Technical notes, definitions, bibliography and subject index are included.

Description:

This publication presents capital and repair expenditures on construction and on machinery and equipment for divisions and industries at the Canada level and by division at the provincial level. The report also provides the split between private and public investment. The tabulations focus on capital spending intentions for the coming year, preliminary estimates of actual investment for the current year and the actual investment for the previous year. The investment data are gathered from about 25,000 establishments and establishment groups in Canadian businesses, institutions and governments.

Description:

The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), an initiative of OECD, provides internationally comparable measures of three skills that are essential to processing information: literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving in technology-rich environments (referred to as PS-TRE). Canada is one of 24 countries and sub-national regions participating in this initiative. This study aims to provide a picture of the competencies of the Canadian population aged 16 to 65 in all three skill domains.

Description:

The Aboriginal Peoples Survey is a national survey of Aboriginal peoples (First Nations people living off-reserve, Métis and Inuit) living in urban, rural and northern locations throughout Canada. The survey provides valuable data on the social and economic conditions of Aboriginal children and youth (6-14 years) and Aboriginal people (15 years and over). It was conducted previously in 1991 and in 2001. The survey was designed and implemented in partnership with national Aboriginal organizations. The purpose of the Aboriginal Peoples Survey was to provide data on the social and economic conditions of Aboriginal people in Canada. More specifically, its purpose was to identify the needs of Aboriginal people and focus on issues such as health, language, employment, income, schooling, housing, and mobility. More detailed information about the survey is available in the APS 2006 Concepts and Methods Guide.

Description:

Statistics Canada periodically conducts the Household and the Environment Survey to measure household actions that have, or are perceived to have, positive or negative impacts on the environment. The survey provides baseline information to use in measuring progress towards sound environmental practices at the household level. The subjects examined include consumption and conservation of energy, consumption and conservation of water, indoor environment, use of pesticides and fertilizers, outdoor air quality and consumer decisions.

Description:

Presented in almanac style, the 2012 Canada Year Book contains more than 500 pages of tables, charts and succinct analytical articles on every major area of Statistics Canada's expertise. The Canada Year Book is the premier reference on the social and economic life of Canada and its citizens.

Description:

This article presents employment and unemployment rates, and some information regarding salaries and industrial sectors of employees, for official-language minorities. These data are based on the Labour Force Survey and enable comparisons between official-language minority and majority according to their situation in the labour market for provinces or groups of provinces.

Description:

This series, which consists of about six issues per year, presents a variety of science and technology statistics. Each issue concerns a different topic, for example: research and development expenditures and personnel in business enterprises, science and technology expenditures and personnel in the federal government or provincial governments; and estimates of higher education expenditures on research and development.

Description:

This publication presents Canada's transactions with non-residents on a quarterly basis. These transactions are grouped under two main accounts: the current account which includes goods, services, investment income and current transfers; and the capital and financial account which includes information on a country's investing and financing activities. The transactions are further broken down by major geographical region: United States, United Kingdom, other countries of the European Union, Japan, other countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and all other countries. The data are presented quarterly and annually for the six most recent years.

Each publication includes several pages of data analysis accompanied by graphics, definitions, CANSIM data bank numbers, data quality measures and a list of occasional articles and research papers. The first quarter issue includes revisions to quarterly and annual data for the most recent four years. Statistics are derived from surveys, administrative data and other sources.

Description: This publication brings together and analyzes a wide range of labour and income data. Topics include youth in the labour market, pensions and retirement, work arrangements, education and training, and trends in family income. One section highlights new products, surveys, research projects and conferences. Another section uses charts and text to describe a variety of subjects related to labour and income. Each winter print issue contains an index of all published articles.

To find the latest updates on labour market and household issues such as gambling, minimum wage, retirement and unionization, please visit: Topics of interest on labour and income.