Rural-urban differences in use of health services before and after dementia diagnosis: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Rural-urban differences in health service use among persons with prevalent dementia are known. However, the extent of geographic differences in health service use over a long observation period, and prior to diagnosis, have not been sufficiently examined. The purpose of this study was to examine yearly rural-urban differences in the proportion of patients using health services, and the mean number of services, in the 5-year period before and 5-year period after a first diagnosis of dementia.

Utilization of Health Services Before and After Diagnosis in a Specialist Rural and Remote Memory Clinic.

Background: Limited research exists on the use of specific health services over an extended time among rural persons with dementia. The study objective was to examine health service use over a 10-year period, five years before until five years after diagnosis in the specialist Rural and Remote Memory Clinic (RRMC).

Methods: Clinical and administrative health data of RRMC patients were linked.

The impact of alternate level of care on access block and operational strategies to reduce emergency wait times: a multi-center simulation study.

Objectives: Lengthy emergency department (ED) wait times caused by hospital access block is a growing concern for the Canadian health care system. Our objective was to quantify the impact of alternate-level-of-care on hospital access block and evaluate the likely effects of multiple interventions on ED wait times.

Methods: Discrete-event simulation models were developed to simulate patient flows in EDs and acute care of six Canadian hospitals.

Health service use before and after dementia diagnosis: a retrospective matched case-control study.

Objectives: This study investigated patterns in health service usage among older adults with dementia and matched controls over a 10-year span from 5 years before until 5 years after diagnosis.

Design: Population-based retrospective matched case-control study.

Setting: Administrative health data of individuals in Saskatchewan, Canada from 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2019.

A Scoping Review of Care Trajectories across Multiple Settings for Persons with Dementia.

Multiple transitions across care settings can be disruptive for older adults with dementia and their care partners, and can lead to fragmented care with adverse outcomes. This scoping review was conducted to identify and classify care trajectories across multiple settings for people with dementia, and to understand the prevalence of multiple transitions and associated factors at the individual and organizational levels. Searches of three databases, limited to peer-reviewed studies published between 2007 and 2017, provided 33 articles for inclusion.

The effect of body weight on employment among Canadian women: evidence from Canadian data.

Objectives: This paper examines the impact of obesity on labour market participation among Canadian women by using various Canadian population health surveys.

Methods: We estimate the impact of obesity on labour market participation using probit and bivariate probit regression models. To correct for a potential endogenous relationship between obesity and labour market participation, we also use instrumental variables in the bivariate probit regression context.

Osteoporosis-related fracture case definitions for population-based administrative data.

Background: Population-based administrative data have been used to study osteoporosis-related fracture risk factors and outcomes, but there has been limited research about the validity of these data for ascertaining fracture cases. The objectives of this study were to: (a) compare fracture incidence estimates from administrative data with estimates from population-based clinically-validated data, and (b) test for differences in incidence estimates from multiple administrative data case definitions.

Methods: Thirty-five case definitions for incident fractures of the hip, wrist, humerus, and clinical vertebrae were constructed using diagnosis codes in hospital data and diagnosis and service codes in physician billing data from Manitoba, Canada.

Measurement equivalence of the SF-36 in the Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study.

Background: Studies that compare health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and other patient-reported outcomes in different populations rest on the assumption that the measure has equivalent psychometric properties across groups. This study examined the measurement equivalence (ME) of the 36-item Medical Outcomes Study Short Form Survey (SF-36), a widely-used measure of HRQOL, by sex and race in a population-based Canadian sample.

Findings: SF-36 data were from the Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study, a prospective cohort study that randomly sampled adult men and women from nine sites across Canada.

Comparing comorbidity measures for predicting mortality and hospitalization in three population-based cohorts.

Background: Multiple comorbidity measures have been developed for risk-adjustment in studies using administrative data, but it is unclear which measure is optimal for specific outcomes and if the measures are equally valid in different populations. This research examined the predictive performance of five comorbidity measures in three population-based cohorts.

Methods: Administrative data from the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, were used to create the cohorts.