Abstract

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Background

The aging of the Canadian population has increased attention on the future need for nursing home beds. Although current projections rely primarily on age and sex, other factors also contribute to the need for long-term care. This study seeks to identify additional factors to age and sex that contribute to Canadians transitioning from living at home to living in a seniors’ residence or nursing home.

Data and methods

As part of a larger record linkage project, three cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) were linked to the 2011 Census of Population: Cycle 3.1 (2005/2006), Cycle 4.1 (2007/2008), and CCHS-Healthy Aging (2008/2009). The sample was limited to successfully linked CCHS respondents who were aged 60 years or older as of Census Day 2011 (May 10, 2011; n=81,411). Sex-specific generalized multinomial logistic regression models were conducted to examine the association between each respondent’s characteristics and dwelling location (private dwelling, private dwelling with additional family, nursing home, or seniors’ residence) on Census Day.

Results

On Census Day, 1.4% of the study sample were living in a nursing home, 1.2% in a seniors’ residence, 7.1% in a private dwelling with additional family, and 90.3% in a private dwelling. Women were more likely than men to be living in a nursing home (1.8% of women vs. 0.9% of men) or seniors’ residence (1.7% of women vs. 0.7% of men). Regression models showed that, aside from age, there were increased odds of living in a nursing home or seniors’ residence among individuals who lost their spouse or who were not married, who did not own their dwelling, who had poor self-rated health, or who had been diagnosed with dementia. The association of other factors with dwelling place differed according to sex and type of dwelling.

Interpretation

Although age is strongly associated with living in a nursing home or seniors’ residence, other demographic and health factors affect the likelihood of an individual transitioning to an institutional dwelling. Such factors could be considered when planning for the future housing and care needs of the Canadian population.

Keywords

Nursing home, seniors’ residence, dwelling place, transition

Findings

In 2016, 16.9% of Canadians were aged 65 years or older, and 2.2% were aged 85 years or older, representing a 20.0% increase in these age groups since 2011. The proportion of the Canadian population aged 65 years and older is expected to increase to 20.0% by 2024. These demographic shifts raise concerns about the future need for nursing home (NH) care, because age is a strong predictor of admission to an NH. According to the 2016 Census, 6.8% of Canadians aged 65 years and older were living in an NH or residence for senior citizens (hereafter referred to as a seniors’ residence, SR): this proportion jumps to 30.0% among Canadians aged 85 years and older. [Full Text]

Authors

Rochelle Garner (rochelle.garner@canada.ca), Claudia Sanmartin, and Douglas G. Manuel are with the Health Analysis Division at Statistics Canada. Douglas G. Manuel is also with the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI). Peter Tanuseputro is with OHRI and the Bruyère Research Institute.

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