Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T15:06:12.188Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Use of Home Care Services among the Elderly in Eastern Canada*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Sandra J. Crowell
Affiliation:
Dalhousie University
Kenneth Rockwood
Affiliation:
Dalhousie University
Paul Stolee
Affiliation:
University of Waterloo
Sharon K. Buehler
Affiliation:
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Bonnie M. James
Affiliation:
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Albert Kozma
Affiliation:
Memorial University of Newfoundland
John M. Gray
Affiliation:
Dalhousie University

Abstract

Objective: To compare demographic and functional characteristics of elderly users and non-users of home care services in urban Nova Scotia (n = 533) and Newfoundland (n = 449) using a cross sectional study design.

Results: More Nova Scotians (24%) than Newfoundlanders (11%) received home care services. In both provinces, most ADL-dependent people do not receive home care services, and most home care users are not ADL dependent. In Newfoundland, home care users were more likely to be ADL dependent and to have dementia; this was not the case in Nova Scotia. In Nova Scotia being over age 85 without a supporter in the same residence, not being married, and having an IADL limitation significantly increased the likelihood of home care use. IADL impaired subjects in Newfoundland were also more likely to receive home care.

Conclusions: If home care is to substitute for institutional care, existing home care programs must be prepared to adapt to a new type of user.

Résumé

But: Comparer au moyen d'un plan d'étude transversale les caractéristiques démographiques et fonctionnelles des utilisateurs âgés et des non-utilisateurs de services de soins à domicile dans les centres urbains de la Nouvelle-Écosse (n = 533) et de la Terre-Neuve (n = 449).

Résultats: Plus de Néo-Écossais et Néo-Écossaises (24%) que de Terre-Neuviens et Terre-Neuviennes (11%) reçoivent des services de soins à domicile. Dans les deux provinces, la plupart des gens dépendants par rapport aux activités de la vie quotidienne (AVQ) ne reçoivent pas des services de soins à domicile, et la plupart des utilisateurs de soins à domicile n'ont pas de dépendence par rapport aux AVQ. À Terre-Neuve, la dépendence et la démence sont plus fréquentes chez les utilisateurs de soins à domicile, contrairement aux utilisateurs en Nouvelle-Écosse ou le fait d'avoir 85 ans ou plus, de ne pas avoir de soutien dans la même habitation, de ne pas être marié et d'être limité par rapport aux activitiés instrumentales de la vie quotidienne (ATVQ) a pour conséquence une augmentation importante de la probabilité d'utilisation de soins à domicile. À Terre-Neuve, la tendance à recourir à des soins à domicile est plus forte chez les gens ayant une dépendence par rapport aux AIVQ.

Conclusions: Si les soins à domicile doivent se substituer à des soins en établissement, il faut être prêt à adapter à un nouveau type d'utilisateur les programmes existants de soins à domicile.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Analytical Software Inc. (1992). Statistix, v. 4.0, St. Paul, MN.Google Scholar
Canadian Study of Health and Aging Working Group. (1994). The Canadian Study of Health and Aging: Study Methods and Prevalence of Dementia. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 150, 899913.Google Scholar
Fillenbaum, G.G. (1988). Multidimensional functional assessment of older adults: the Duke Older Americans Resources and Services Program. Hillsdale, NJ: L. Erilbaum Associates Inc.Google Scholar
Fredericks, C.M.A., et Wierik, M.J.M., vanRossum, M.J.L., Visser, A.Ph., Volovics, A., & Sturmans, F. (1992). Why do elderly people seek professional home care? Methodologies compared. Journal of Community Health, 17, 131141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glazebrook, K., Rockwood, K., Stolee, P., Fisk, J., & Gray, J.M. (1994). A case control study of the risks for institutionalization of elderly people in Nova Scotia. Canadian Journal on Aging, 13(1), 104117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gordon, M. (1993). Community care for the elderly: Is it really better? Canadian Medical Association Journal, 148, 393396.Google ScholarPubMed
Health and Welfare Canada. (1990). Federal/Provincial/Territorial Working Group on Home Care. Report on Home Care. Health Services and Promotion Branch, Health and Welfare Canada, Minister of Supply and Services Canada, Cat. No. H39–186/1990E.Google Scholar
Health and Welfare Canada. (1992). Working Group on Client Classification in Home Care. Classification of Long Term Care Clients in Home Care: Proposal for the Development of a National Framework. Health Services and Promotion Branch, Minister of Supply and Services Canada, Cat. No. H39–267/1993E.Google Scholar
Kempen, G.I.J.M., & Suurmeijer, Th.P.B.M. (1991). Factors influencing professional home care utilization among the elderly. Social Science Medicine, 32, 7781.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kemper, P. (1988). The evaluation of the National Long Term Care Demonstration. Overview of the findings. Health Services Research, 23, 161174.Google ScholarPubMed
Kleinbaum, D.G., Kupper, L.L., & Morgenstern, H. (1982). Epidemiologic research: Principles and quantitative analysis. New York: Van Nostrand-Reinhold.Google Scholar
Marshall, V.W. (1987). Factors affecting responses and completion rates in some Canadian studies. Canadian Journal on Aging, 6(3), 217227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mossey, J.M., & Shapiro, E. (1982). Self-rated health: A predictor of mortality among the elderly. American Journal of Public Health, 72, 800808.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shapiro, E. (1985). There's no place like home. In Deber, R.B. & Thompson, G.G. (Eds.), Restructuring Canada's health services system. How do we get there from here? Proceedings of the Fourth Canadian Conference on Health Economics; 1990 Aug 27–29. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Statistics Canada. (1993). Dwellings and Households. The Nation. Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services, Canada. Cat. No. 93–311: Table 2, pp. 1137.Google Scholar
Stolee, P., Rockwood, K., & Robertson, D. (1982). The Saskatchewan Health Status Survey of the Elderly. Report II. The elderly in the community. Saskatoon, SK: Division of Geriatric Medicine, University of Saskatchewan. (Unpublished.)Google Scholar
Teng, E.L., & Chui, H.C. (1987). The Modified Mini-Mental State (3MS) Examination. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 48, 314318.Google ScholarPubMed
Tennestedt, S.L., Sullivan, L.M., McKinlay, J.B., & D'Agostino, R.B. (1990). How important is functional status as a predictor of service use by older people? Journal of Aging and Health, 2, 439461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar