Data sources, methods and definitions

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Data sources

This article is based on data from the 2012 General Social Survey (GSS) – Caregiving and Care Receiving. The analysis covers the population 15 years and older and living in a private household (23,093 respondents representing 28.7 million Canadians). Special attention was given to 3,144 respondents, representing 2.16 million Canadians, who received care or help. These were the persons who, in the previous 12 months, had received help or care because of a long-term health condition, a physical or mental disability or problems related to aging.

Seniors living in a collective dwelling or institution, some of whom could have unmet needs for help or care, are not part of the GSS target population.

Interviews were conducted by telephone. Respondents were selected using a random-digit-dialling sampling method.

Definitions

Persons whose needs for help or care are met

The persons whose needs for help or care were met are those who

1. responded ‘Yes’ to one of the following two questions: “Have you received help or care for a long-term health condition or a physical or mental disability?”; “During the past 12 months, have you received help for problems related to aging?”
2. responded ‘Yes’ to the question “In general, did you receive the care or help you needed during the past 12 months? Please think of both professional care, and care from family and friends.”

Partially met needs for help or care

Persons whose needs for help or care were partially met are those who

1. responded ‘Yes’ to one of the following two questions: “Have you received help or care for a long-term health condition or a physical or mental disability?”; “During the past 12 months, have you received help for problems related to aging?”
2. responded ‘No’ to the question “In general, did you receive the care or help you needed during the past 12 months? Please think of both professional care, and care from family and friends.”

Unmet needs for help or care

The 461,000 persons with unmet needs for help or care are those who

1. responded ‘No’ to both of the following two questions: “Have you received help or care for a long-term health condition or a physical or mental disability?”; “During the past 12 months, have you received help for problems related to aging?”
2. responded ‘Yes’ to the question “During the past 12 months, did you need help or care for a long-term health condition, physical or mental disability, or problems related to aging?”

Distribution of population 15 years of age and older

Persons not receiving help and not needing help: 26.0 million (90.9% of persons 15 and older).
Persons receiving help or care whose needs for help are met: 1.8 million (6.3% of persons 15 and older).
Persons not receiving help or care, but who need help or care (unmet needs): 461,000 (1.6% of persons 15 and older).
Persons receiving help or care, but whose needs for help are only partially met: 331,000 (1.2% of persons 15 and older).

Loneliness

Questions in the GSS for assessing loneliness included the following: “I experience a general sense of emptiness,” “There are plenty of people I can rely on when I have problems,” “There are many people I can trust completely,” “There are enough people I feel close to,” “I miss having people around,” and “I often feel rejected.”. Possible answers were “Yes”, “More or less” or “No”. Based on respondents’ answers to the 6 questions, a 0 to 6 loneliness scale was created. Respondents with a score of 2 and above on that scale were considered as experiencing loneliness.