The effect of neighborhood socioeconomic status on education and health outcomes for children living in social housing.

Objectives: We explored differences in health and education outcomes between children living in social housing and not, and effects of social housing's neighborhood socioeconomic status.

Methods: In this cohort study, we used the population-based repository of administrative data at the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy. We included children aged 0 to 19 years in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in fiscal years 2006-2007 to 2008-2009 (n = 13,238 social housing; n = 174,017 others).

Direct costs of fractures in Canada and trends 1996-2006: a population-based cost-of-illness analysis.

Cost-of-illness (COI) analysis is used to evaluate the economic burden of illness in terms of health care resource (HCR) consumption. We used the Population Health Research Data Repository for Manitoba, Canada, to identify HCR costs associated with 33,887 fracture cases (22,953 women and 10,934 men) aged 50 years and older that occurred over a 10-year period (1996-2006) and 101,661 matched control individuals (68,859 women and 32,802 men). Costs (in 2006 Canadian dollars) were estimated for the year before and after fracture, and the change (incremental cost) was modeled using quantile regression analysis to adjust for baseline covariates and to study temporal trends.

A methodology for estimating hospital bed need in Manitoba in 2020.

A team of health researchers of the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy at the University of Manitoba was asked to forecast the number of acute care hospital beds that will be required to meet the needs of residents of the province of Manitoba by the year 2020. Methodological considerations for this request included identification of factors expected to affect bed use in the future, and how to account for these factors. The objective of this paper is to describe these methodological considerations, how decisions were made, and steps taken in our approach to this problem.

Anticipating change: how many acute care hospital beds will Manitoba regions need in 2020?

Being able to anticipate future needs for health services presents a challenge for health planners. Using existing population projections, two models are presented to estimate the demand for hospital beds in regions of Manitoba in 2020. The first, a current-use projection model, simply projects the average use for a recent 3-year period into the future.

Construction and validation of a population-based bone densitometry database.

Utilization of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for the initial diagnostic assessment of osteoporosis and in monitoring treatment has risen dramatically in recent years. Population-based studies of the impact of DXA and osteoporosis remain challenging because of incomplete and fragmented test data that exist in most regions. Our aim was to create and assess completeness of a database of all clinical DXA services and test results for the province of Manitoba, Canada and to present descriptive data resulting from testing.

A population-based study of osteoporosis testing and treatment following introduction of a new bone densitometry service.

Bone density measurement plays a key role in the initial diagnostic assessment of osteoporosis and in targeting pharmacologic therapies. The impact of access to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) on physician prescribing habits is unclear, however. We were able to directly evaluate the change in physician osteoporosis testing and prescribing following introduction of a DXA testing service in a geographic region that had previously had very limited access.