The Nursing and Residential Care Facility Survey gathers information on Canadian facilities' revenues and expenses, personnel, services, resident demographics, and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The survey will be used to standardize national, provincial, and regional statistics on nursing and residential care facilities in Canada. This will help governments and researchers examine facilities' performance in times of crises, and assess correlations between facility operations and the well-being of personnel and residents. Results from the survey will help identify factors associated with COVID-19 outcomes in facilities and guide policies for safer working and living environments.
Your information may also be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes. In addition, information from partially completed or unsaved questionnaires may be retained and used.
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Block Information Confidentiality
Confidentiality
Data are collected under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter S-19.
By law, Statistics Canada is prohibited from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent, or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Statistics Canada will use the information from this survey for statistical purposes only.
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Block Information on Data sharing agreements and record linkage
Data sharing agreements and record linkage
Data sharing agreements
To reduce respondent burden, Statistics Canada has entered into data-sharing agreements with provincial and territorial statistical agencies and other government organizations, which have agreed to keep the data confidential and use them only for statistical purposes. Statistics Canada will only share data from this survey with those organizations that have demonstrated a requirement to use the data.
Section 11 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with provincial and territorial statistical agencies that meet certain conditions. These agencies must have the legislative authority to collect the same information, on a mandatory basis, and the legislation must provide substantially the same provisions for confidentiality and penalties for disclosure of confidential information as the Statistics Act. Because these agencies have the legal authority to compel businesses to provide the same information, consent is not requested and businesses may not object to the sharing of the data.
For this survey, there are Section 11 agreements with the provincial and territorial statistical agencies of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon.
The shared data will be limited to information pertaining to entities located within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory.
Section 12 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with federal, provincial or territorial government organizations. Under Section 12, you may refuse to share your information with any of these organizations by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician and returning it with the completed questionnaire. Please specify the organizations with which you do not want to share your data.
For this survey, there are Section 12 agreements with the statistical agencies of Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, as well as with Health Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada, the Canadian Institute for Health Information, and provincial and territorial ministries of health. The provincial and territorial ministries of health may make this data available to local health authorities.
For agreements with provincial and territorial government organizations, the shared data will be limited to information pertaining to entities located within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory.
Record linkage
To enhance the data from this survey and reduce response burden, Statistics Canada may combine the information you provide with data from other surveys or administrative sources.
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Block Information on Topics covered in the survey
Topics covered in the survey
The survey asks questions about
- revenue and expenses
- personnel employed and hours worked
- facility operations
- counts of residents
- COVID-19 related questions.
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Block Information on Published data
Published data
Statistics Canada publishes the results of its surveys in many formats. To find all the documents related to this survey, follow the links below and type the name of the survey in the search engine located at the left of your screen to filter the results.
Data: You will find tables, profiles of a community or region, thematic maps, public use microdata files, and data visualization tools.
Analysis: You will have direct access to Stats in brief (e.g., releases from The Daily, fact sheets), articles and reports, and journals and periodicals.
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Block Information on Survey-specific questions
Survey-specific questions
- What are the objectives of this survey?
- How is the survey conducted?
- How was this survey developed?
- How will the data be used? Who will use it?
- How does Statistics Canada protect the confidentiality/privacy of participants?
- Why is this survey being conducted in the midst of a pandemic?
- When will the data be available?
What are the objectives of this survey?
The main objective is to collect comparable data to standardize national, provincial, territorial, and regional statistics on nursing and residential care facilities in Canada. This will allow governments, policy-makers and researchers to understand the links between facility characteristics and operations, personnel, health outcomes of residents, and system-level performance. Data from this survey will also help to identify factors that have affected COVID-19 outbreaks and how facilities have responded.
How is the survey conducted?
This mandatory survey will be sent to approximately 8,000 facilities, public and private, across all provinces and territories. Topics covered include facility characteristics, type of care services offered, personnel employed and hours worked, facility operating revenue and expense totals. A module has been added specifically related to the Covid-19 pandemic, with questions on infection prevention and control, changes made to the facility, and confirmed COVID-19 tests.
How was this survey developed?
This survey is a partnership between Statistics Canada, Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
How will the data be used? Who will use it?
Objective statistical information is vital to researchers, analysts and decision makers across Canada. Data from this survey will help governments and researchers examine the links between facility operations and personnel, health outcomes of residents, and system-level performance during pandemics or other emergencies. Results of the survey will guide policy decisions to improve health outcomes for residents and a safe work environment for employees. The results of this survey will allow for meaningful comparisons between different types of care across the country (such as private vs. shared rooms, publicly vs. privately run care homes, etc.).
How does Statistics Canada protect the confidentiality/privacy of participants?
The Statistics Act ensures that any information you provide to us remains strictly confidential. No unauthorized persons outside of Statistics Canada will ever be permitted to see your individual responses. As with all Statistics Canada surveys, any information provided will remain confidential pursuant to the Statistics Act. Statistics Canada takes the privacy of Canadians very seriously. Published data can never identify you or your facility. To find out more about the measures in place to safeguard the confidentiality of your information, visit Statistics Canada's Trust Centre.
Why is this survey being conducted in the midst of a pandemic?
The nursing and residential care facility industry in Canada has been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Academics and governments have highlighted how vulnerable these facilities and their residents are to the exposure of this virus. Information from this survey will help guide policy decisions that benefit health outcomes for residents and a safe work environment for employees of nursing and residential care facilities.
When will the data be available?
A selection of preliminary data will be released on our website in the spring of 2022, and a full release will be available in the fall of 2022.
- For more information about this survey