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International Comparisons of Long-Term Care: Canada, with Specific Reference to Manitoba*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Betty Havens
Affiliation:
University of Manitoba
David Bray
Affiliation:
Queen's University

Abstract

Long-term care in Canada is situated within a universally accessible publicly insured program. The Government of Canada establishes certain minimum standards for health care as the basis for the federal share in funding health programs, although the programs themselves are administered provincially. Examples are drawn from the Province of Manitoba. While the dependency ratio has been decreasing due to a slower increase in the number of persons under 17 years of age, the percent of the population over 65 years continues to increase. Population projections forecast that by the year 2031, one-quarter of the population of Canada will be over 65 years of age. Expenditures on health care doubled from 1981 to 1990 for both Manitoba and Canada. The policy response to ever-increasing costs of delivering health care to an aging population has been to seek alternative methods of delivery. Specifically, the long-term care bed-to-population ratio has been reduced and the authors anticipate continued modest increases in the use of community care.

Résumé

Les soins de longue durée au Canada sont donnés dans un contexte d'assurance publique universelle de soins médicaux. Le gouvernement fédéral établit des normes minimales en matière de soins de santé sur lesquelles il fonde sa part de financement des programmes de soins qui sont, par contre, administrés par les provinces. Les exemples cités sont tirés de situations prévalent au Manitoba. Bien que le taux de dépendence général diminue en raison du ralentissement de la croissance du nombre de personnes de moins de 17 ans, le pourcentage de la population âgée de plus de 65 ans continue de s'élever. Selon les projections démographiques, d'ici l'an 2031, le quart de la population aura franchi la barrière des 65 ans. Les coûts de soins de santé ont doublé de 1981 à 1990, tant au Manitoba que dans l'ensemble du Canada. La réaction politique à la croissance soutenue des coûts de prestation de soins de santé à une population vieillissante a été la recherche de nouvelles méthodes de prestation. Plus précisément, le rapport entre le nombre de lits de soins de longue durée et la population a été réduit, et les auteurs prévoient que le recours aux soins communautaires continuera d'augmenter.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1996

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