July 22, 2021 - Remi Network

Scarce data in long-term care homes may hinder reform

Despite the toll COVID-19 has taken on vulnerable populations, a new report from the National Institute on Ageing and Wellesley Institute — Leaving No One Behind in Long-term Care: Enhancing Socio-demographic Data Collection in Long-term Care Settings — shows there is a failure to collect this data, which means that inequitable effects of the pandemic may remain unaccounted for and inadequately addressed.

“This has implications beyond the pandemic as well,” says Dr. Ashley Flanagan, a research fellow at the NIA. “In Canada, health outcomes differ based on factors such as sexual orientation, gender identity, language, race, immigration status, and ethnicity, as well as access to affordable housing, adequate income and social inclusion.