Date: June 2010

To: Users of the 2007, 2008 and 2007-2008 CCHS master and share microdata files

Subject: Error corrected in the Household Food Security Status – Modified version derived variable, FSCDHFS2

Product(s) affected: 2007, 2008, 2007-2008 Share and Master microdata files.

Year(s) affected: 2007, 2008 and 2007-2008

Description of the problem(s):
Some households with children were improperly classified as moderately food insecure but should have been classified as severely food insecure as a result of a specification error. The error was corrected starting with the CCHS 2009 data.

Suggested correction(s): To recalculate this derived variable for 2007, 2008 and 2007-2008, please use the specifications below.

Correction steps: The correction is highlighted and in bold font.

[DHHTDKS = 1 and
(2 <= FSCASUM <= 5) and
(2 <= FSCCSUM <= 4)] or

or [DHHTDKS = 0 and
(2 <= FSCASUM <= 5)]

Contact us: We regret any inconvenience this may have caused you or your organization and thank you in advance for your understanding.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at:

Health Statistics Division
613-951-1746
Electronic mail: CCHS–ESCC@statcan.gc.ca

Date: October 2009

To: Users of the 2008 CCHS master and share microdata files

Subject: Error wth the flow of some answers in question CCC_Q073

Product(s) affected: 2008 Share and Master microdata files.

Year(s) affected: 2008

Description of the problem(s):
Respondents who answered question CCC_Q073 as “2 – No”, “Refusal” or “Don’t Know” skipped to question CCC_Q081, while they should have flowed to condition CCC_C073A.

Therefore, respondents who did not take medication for hypertension are automatically excluded from the universe of questions CCC_Q073A and CCC_Q073B.

Suggested correction(s): The error was corrected starting with the CCHS 2009 data.

Correction steps: N/A

Contact us: We regret any inconvenience this may have caused you or your organization and thank you in advance for your understanding.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at:
Health Statistics Division
613–951–1746
Electronic mail: CCHS–ESCC@statcan.gc.ca

Date: October 2009

To: Users of the 2007 and 2005 CCHS master and share files

Subject: Certain values were assigned to the wrong variables.

Product(s) affected:
2007: Master file and share files for all provinces and territories.
2005: Master file and its subsamples, share file and its subsamples and public use microdata file and its subsamples.

Year(s) affected: 2007and 2005

Description of the problem(s): When 2007 and 2005 data was processed, the values of certain variables were assigned to other variables. See the table below for the modules and variables affected and the provinces affected in the case of optional content.

Suggested correction(s): Users must recover the correct values from the variables where they are found. The table below shows the correspondence between the variables containing incorrect values (column A) and the names of the variables to which they must be renamed (column B) to obtain the correct values. The table is shown by product year.

Correction process:

1. Create a temporary file including the variables in column A.
2. Rename the variables in column A to temporary variables based on the corresponding variables in column B (e.g. BRX_16M to BRX_16N_00, and HMC_10D to HMC_10C_00, etc.).
3. Rename the temporary variables (e.g. BRX_16N_00, HMC_10C_00, etc.) to the correct variables as indicated in column B (e.g. BRX_16N, HMC_10C, etc.).
4. Combine the temporary file which now includes the variables with their correct values with the main data file.

Contact us:

We regret any inconvenience this may have caused you or your organization and thank you in advance for your understanding.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at:
Health Statistics Division
613–951–1746
Electronic mail: CCHS–ESCC@statcan.gc.ca

Date: October 2009

To: 2007 master or share file users

Subject: Incorrect variable labels

Product(s) affected: Master and share files

Year(s) affected: 2007

Description of the problem(s):
The labels attached to certain variables are incorrect in the master file and the share files and in their respective data dictionnary. The table below gives the variable names along with their old and new labels.

Suggested correction(s): Rename the variables with the correct names.

Correction steps: N/A

Contact us: We regret any inconvenience this may have caused you or your organization and thank you in advance for your understanding.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at:
Health Statistics Division
613–951–1746
Electronic mail:CCHS–ESCC@statcan.gc.ca

Date: October 2009

To: Users of the 2005 master or share file

Subject: The household weight of the master and all share files is invalid (small error)

Product(s) affected: Household weight file hs_hhwt.txt

Year(s) affected: 2005

Description of the problem(s): The main household weight variable (WTSE_MHH on the master file and WTSE_SHH on the share file) on all the HS_HHWT.txt file is invalid and differs from their corresponding FWGT weight on the B5_HH.txt Bootstrap file.

Since Bootvar uses the variable FWGT to calculate the final estimates, any analysis on the 2005 Households weights using Bootvar would be correct and would not need to be redone. However, any preliminary analysis based only on the variables WTSE_MHH or WTSE_SHH would be incorrect and would need to be revised.

Users should know that the errors were considered minimal.

Suggested correction(s): The master and share files have been redone with the corrected household weight and are available upon request.

Correction steps: N/A

Contact us: We regret any inconvenience this may have caused you or your organization and thank you in advance for your understanding.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at:
Health Statistics Division
613–951–1746
Electronic mail: CCHS–ESCC@statcan.gc.ca

Date: December 21, 2007

To: Data users of cycle 2.1, sub–sample 3 – Master and share file

Subject: Error on number of person interviewed in the following document: “Guidelines for the use of sub–sample variables”

Cycle(s) affected: Cycle 2.1

Product(s) affected: Guidelines for the use of sub–sample variables – Master and share file

Description of the problem(s):

Page 7 of the document:

• Number 18,981 replaces 18,091 in the following sentence:
  “A total of 18,981 respondents were interviewed for HSAS at the same time as their CCHS interview.”
• Number 13,024 replaces 12,031 in the following sentence:
  “A total of 13,024 respondents were re–contacted after having been interviewed previously for CCHS.”

Suggested correction: N/A

Corrective Pseudo–code: N/A

Contact us: We regret any inconvenience this may have caused you or your organization and thank you in advance for your understanding.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at:
Health Statistics Division
613–951–1746
Electronic mail: CCHS–ESCC@statcan.gc.ca

Date: October 12, 2007

To: Data Users and licensees of the Canadian Community Health Survey data, Cycles 2.1 and 3.1, Public Use Microdata File

Subject: Derived variable on work stress scale – Job strain (WSTCDJST and WSTEDJST)

Cycle(s) affected:

Cycle 2.1 (optional content selected by 12 health regions within Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Saskatchewan)

Cycle 3.1 (optional content selected by all health regions in Quebec and Saskatchewan).

Product(s) affected:

Derived variable on work stress scale – Job strain (WSTCDJST and WSTEDJST)

Referred to hereafter as WSTnDJST where n = C or E.

Description of the problem(s):

The Job strain scale should reflect the ratio of the psychological demands and decision making leeway in accordance with the principle that strong demands combined with weak decision making autonomy generate more stress.

Certain variables from the denominator of the WSTnDJST derived variable are incorrectly specified in the Derived Variable (DV) Specifications document for cycles 2.1 and 3.1. The data are therefore erroneous. The ratio of strong demands and decision making leeway result is scores that are too high.

Suggested correction(s):

Public use microdata file (PUMF):
Cannot be corrected by users given the fact that only the derived variables exist on the file. User support via remote access is available upon request.

Share and Master Files:
A temporary reformatting step aiming to invert certain variables must be added to the specifications for the WSTnDJST variable. The step to invert the categories (to arrange them from 4 to 0 rather than from 0 to 4) must be applied to the following variables: WSTn401, WSTn402, WSTn403, WSTn405 and WSTn409.

A “patch file” is available on request.

Corrective Pseudo–code:
The two following temporary reformatting steps are executed and then the WSTnDJST variable is created according to the DV specifications:

Step 1: Temporary Reformatting

Modify the scale of responses for the questions WSTn_401 to WSTn_406 and WSTn_409 from 1 to 5, to 0 to 4

If WSTn_401 <= 5 then WSTn_401 = (WSTn_401 – 1)
If WSTn_402 <= 5 then WSTn_402 = (WSTn_402 – 1)
If WSTn_403 <= 5 then WSTn_403 = (WSTn_403 – 1)
If WSTn_404 <= 5 then WSTn_404 = (WSTn_404 – 1)
If WSTn_405 <= 5 then WSTn_405 = (WSTn_405 – 1)
If WSTn_406 <= 5 then WSTn_406 = (WSTn_406 – 1)
If WSTn_409 <= 5 then WSTn_409 = (WSTn_409 – 1)

Step 2 : Temporary Reformatting

Invert the scale of responses for the questions WSTn_401 to WSTn_403, WSTn_405 and WSTn_409, from 0 to 4, to 4 to 0

If WSTn_401 <= 4 then WSTn_401 = (4 – WSTn_401)
If WSTn_402 <= 4 then WSTn_402 = (4 – WSTn_402)
If WSTn_403 <= 4 then WSTn_403 = (4 – WSTn_403)
If WSTn_405 <= 4 then WSTn_405 = (4 – WSTn_405)
If WSTn_409 <= 4 then WSTn_409 = (4 – WSTn_409)

Step 3:

See WSTnDJST in the Derived Variable (DV) Specifications document.

Contact us: We regret any inconvenience this may have caused you or your organization and thank you in advance for your understanding.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at:

Health Statistics Division
613–951–1746
Electronic mail:CCHS–ESCC@statcan.gc.ca

Date: October 12, 2007

To:Data Users and licensees of the Canadian Community Health Survey data, Cycle 3.1, Public Use Microdata File (PUMF)

Subject: Question universes in 6 modules in the PUMF data dictionary for Cycle 3.1 are incorrect.

Cycle(s) affected: Cycle 3.1

Product(s) affected:

Data dictionary of the Cycle 3.1 PUMF in English [English Data Dictionary (Freqs).pdf] and in French [French Data Dictionary (Freqs).pdf].

Description of the problem(s):

The derived variable descriptions for the following modules:

• Smoking (SMK)
• Colorectal Cancer Screening (CCS)
• Exposure to second–hand smoke (ETS)
• Prostate Cancer Screening (PSA)
• Smoking – Physician counseling (SPC)
• Youth Smoking (YSM)

Suggested correction(s):

• Smoking (SMK):
  • SMKEDYCS: Respondents who answered SMKE_202 = (1, 7 or 8) or SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8

• Colorectal Cancer Screening (CCS):
  • CCSEFOPT: All respondents
  • CCSE_180: Respondents aged 35 and over with CCSEFOPT = 1
  • CCSE_182: Respondents who answered CCSE_180 = (1, 7 or 8)
  • CCSE_83A: Respondents who answered CCSE_180 = (1, 7 or 8)
  • CCSE_83B: Respondents who answered CCSE_180 = (1, 7 or 8)

• Exposure to second–hand smoke (ETS):
  • ETSE_10: Respondents with DHHEDHSZ > 1 or who answered (SMKE_202 = (3, 7 or 8) or (SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8))
  • ETSE_G11: Respondents who answered ETSE_10 = (1, 7 or 8)
  • ETSE_20: Respondents who answered SMKE_202 = (3, 7 or 8) or (SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8)
  • ETSE_20B: Respondents who answered SMKE_202 = (3, 7 or 8) or (SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8)

• Prostate Cancer Screening (PSA) :
  • PSAEFOPT: All respondents
  • PSAE_170: Males aged 35 and over with PSAEFOPT = 1
  • PSAE_172: Respondents who answered PSAE_170 = (1, 7 or 8)
  • PSAE_73A: Respondents who answered PSAE_170 = (1, 7 or 8)
  • PSAE_73B: Respondents who answered PSAE_170 = (1, 7 or 8)
  • PSAE_73C: Respondents who answered PSAE_170 = (1, 7 or 8)
  • PSAE_73G: Respondents who answered PSAE_170 = (1, 7 or 8)
  • PSAE_73D: Respondents who answered PSAE_170 = (1, 7 or 8)
  • PSAE_73E: Respondents who answered PSAE_170 = (1, 7 or 8)
  • PSAE_73F: Respondents who answered PSAE_170 = (1, 7 or 8)
  • PSAE_174: Males aged 35 and over with PSAEFOPT = 1
  • PSAE_175: Respondents who answered PSAE_174 = (1, 7 or 8) or PSAE_170 = 8

• Smoking – Physician counseling (SPC):
  • SPCEFOPT: All respondents
  • SPCE_10: Respondents with SPCEFOPT = 1 who answered (SMKE_202 = (1 or 2) or SMKE_06A = 1 or SMKE_09A = 1 and HCUE_1AA = (1, 7 or 8) or SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8 or SMKE_202 = (7 or 8) or SMKE_06A = (7 or 8) or SMKE_09A = (7 or 8))
  • SPCE_11: Respondents with SPCEFOPT = 1 who answered SPCE_10 = (1, 7 or 8) or SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8 or SMKE_202 = (7 or 8) or SMKE_06A = (7 or 8) or SMKE_09A = (7 or 8) or HCUE_1AA = (7 or 8) and (SMKE_202 = (1 or 2) or SMKE_06A = 1 or SMKE_09A = 1)
  • SPCE_12: Respondents with SPCEFOPT = 1 who answered SPCE_11 = (1, 7 or 8) or SPCE_10 = (7 or 8) or SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8 or SMKE_202 = (7 or 8) or SMKE_06A = (7 or 8) or SMKE_09A = (7 or 8) or HCUE_1AA = (7 or 8) and (SMKE_202 = (1 or 2) or SMKE_06A = 1 or SMKE_09A = 1)
  • SPCE_13: Respondents with SPCEFOPT = 1 who answered SPCE_11 = (1, 7 or 8) or SPCE_10 = (7 or 8) or SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8 or SMKE_202 = (7 or 8) or SMKE_06A = (7 or 8) or SMKE_09A = ( 7 or 8) or HCUE_1AA = (7 or 8) and (SMKE_202 = (1 or 2) or SMKE_06A = 1 or SMKE_09A = 1)
  • SPCE_14A: Respondents with SPCEFOPT = 1 who answered SPCE_13 = (1, 7 or 8) or SPCE_12 = (7 or 8) or SPCE_11 = (7 or 8) or SPCE_10 = (7 or 8) or SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8 and SMKE_202 = (7 or 8) and SMKE_06A = (7 or 8) and SMKE_09A = ( 7 or 8) and HCUE_1AA = (7 or 8) and (SMKE_202 = (1 or 2) and SMKE_06A = 1 and SMKE_09A = 1)
  • SPCE_14B: Respondents with SPCEFOPT = 1 who answered SPCE_13 = (1, 7 or 8) or SPCE_12 = (7 or 8) or SPCE_11 = (7 or 8) or SPCE_10 = (7 or 8) or SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8 and SMKE_202 = (7 or 8) and SMKE_06A = (7 or 8) and SMKE_09A = ( 7 or 8) and HCUE_1AA = (7 or 8) and (SMKE_202 = (1 or 2) and SMKE_06A = 1 and SMKE_09A = 1)
  • SPCE_14C: Respondents with SPCEFOPT = 1 who answered SPCE_13 = (1, 7 or 8) or SPCE_12 = (7 or 8) or SPCE_11 = (7 or 8) or SPCE_10 = (7 or 8) or SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8 and SMKE_202 = (7 or 8) and SMKE_06A = (7 or 8) and SMKE_09A = ( 7 or 8) and HCUE_1AA = (7 or 8) and (SMKE_202 = (1 or 2) and SMKE_06A = 1 and SMKE_09A = 1)
  • SPCE_14D: Respondents with SPCEFOPT = 1 who answered SPCE_13 = (1, 7 or 8) or SPCE_12 = (7 or 8) or SPCE_11 = (7 or 8) or SPCE_10 = (7 or 8) or SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8 and SMKE_202 = (7 or 8) and SMKE_06A = (7 or 8) and SMKE_09A = ( 7 or 8) and HCUE_1AA = (7 or 8) and (SMKE_202 = (1 or 2) and SMKE_06A = 1 and SMKE_09A = 1)
  • SPCE_14E: Respondents with SPCEFOPT = 1 who answered SPCE_13 = (1, 7 or 8) or SPCE_12 = (7 or 8) or SPCE_11 = (7 or 8) or SPCE_10 = (7 or 8) or SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8 and SMKE_202 = (7 or 8) and SMKE_06A = (7 or 8) and SMKE_09A = ( 7 or 8) and HCUE_1AA = (7 or 8) and (SMKE_202 = (1 or 2) and SMKE_06A = 1 and SMKE_09A = 1)
  • SPCE_14F: Respondents with SPCEFOPT = 1 who answered SPCE_13 = (1, 7 or 8) or SPCE_12 = (7 or 8) or SPCE_11 = (7 or 8) or SPCE_10 = (7 or 8) or SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8 and SMKE_202 = (7 or 8) and SMKE_06A = (7 or 8) and SMKE_09A = ( 7 or 8) and HCUE_1AA = (7 or 8) and (SMKE_202 = (1 or 2) and SMKE_06A = 1 and SMKE_09A = 1)
  • SPCE_14G: Respondents with SPCEFOPT = 1 who answered SPCE_13 = (1, 7 or 8) or SPCE_12 = (7 or 8) or SPCE_11 = (7 or 8) or SPCE_10 = (7 or 8) or SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8 and SMKE_202 = (7 or 8) and SMKE_06A = (7 or 8) and SMKE_09A = ( 7 or 8) and HCUE_1AA = (7 or 8) and (SMKE_202 = (1 or 2) and SMKE_06A = 1 and SMKE_09A = 1)
  • SPCE_20: Respondents with SPCEFOPT = 1 and [DENEFOPT = 2 who answered (SMKE_202 = (1, 2, 7 or 8) or SMKE_06A = (1, 7 or 8) or SMKE_09A = (1, 7 or 8) or SMKE_01A = 8 or SMKE_01B = 8)] and (HCUE_02E > 0 and < 100 or HCUE_02E = (997 or 998) or HCUE_01 = 8)
  • SPCE_21: Respondents with SPCEFOPT = 1 who answered SPCE_20 = (1, 7 or 8) or (DENE_132 = (1, 97 or 98) or with DENEFOPT = 2 who answered HCUE_02E = (997 or 998) or HCUE_01 = 8) and (SMKE_202 = (1, 2, 7 or 8) or SMKE_06A = (1, 7 or 8) or SMKE_09A = (1, 7 or 8) or SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8)
  • SPCE_22: Respondents with SPCEFOPT = 1 who answered SPCE_21 = (1, 7 or 8) or SPCE_20 = (7 or 8) or (DENE_132 = (97 or 98) or with DENEFOPT = 2 who answered HCUE_02E = (997 or 998) or HCUE_01 = 8) and (SMKE_202 = (1, 2, 7 or 8) or SMKE_06A = (1, 7 or 8) or SMKE_09A = (1, 7 or 8) or SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8)

• Youth Smoking (YSM)
  • YSMEG1: Respondents aged less than 20 who answered SMKE_202 = (1, 2, 7 or 8) or (SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8)
  • YSME_2: Respondents aged less than 20 who answered YSME_1 = (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 97 or 98) or SMKE_202 = (7 or 8) or SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8
  • YSME_3: Respondents aged less than 20 who answered YSME_1 = (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,97 or 98) or YSME_2 = (1, 7 or 8) or SMKE_202 = (7 or 8) or SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8
  • YSME_4: Respondents aged less than 20 who answered YSME_1 = (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,97 or 98) or YSME_2 = (1, 7 or 8) or SMKE_202 = (7 or 8) or SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8
  • YSME_5: Respondents aged less than 20 who answered SMKE_202 = (1, 2, 7 or 8) or (SMKE_01A = 8 and SMKE_01B = 8)

Corrective Pseudo–code: N/A

Contact us: We regret any inconvenience this may have caused you or your organization and thank you in advance for your understanding.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at:

Health Statistics Division
613–951–1746
Electronic mail: CCHS–ESCC@statcan.gc.ca

Date: October 12, 2007

To: Data Users and licensees of the Canadian Community Health Survey data, Cycle 3.1, Public Use Microdata File (PUMF)

Subject: Derived variable documentation contains misleading information indicating that some variables are included in the PUMF when they are not.

Cycle(s) affected: Cycle 3.1

Product(s) affected:

Cycle 3.1 PUMF derived variable documentation in English (DERIVE_E.pdf) and in French (DERIVE_F.pdf).

Description of the problem(s):

The derived variable descriptions for the following modules:

• Smoking – Cessation Aids (SCA)
• Smoking – Nicotine dependence (NDE)
• Smoking – Stages of change (SCH)

indicate that the derived variables are available in the PUMF, while they are not. Since these modules have only been selected by one or two territories, the information is sensitive to respondent identity disclosure and is therefore not included in the PUMF.

Suggested correction: N/A

Corrective Pseudo–code: N/A

Contact us:

We regret any inconvenience this may have caused you or your organization and thank you in advance for your understanding.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at:
Data Access and Information Services
Health Statistics Division
613–951–1746
Electronic mail: CCHS–ESCC@statcan.gc.ca

Core modules (all health regions)

Age of respondent (ANC)
Alcohol use (ALC)
Chronic conditions (CCC)
Exposure to second-hand smoke (ETS)
Fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC)
Flu shots (FLU)
General health (GEN)
Health care utilization (HCU)
Height and weight – Self-reported (HWT)
Maternal experiences - Breastfeeding (MEX)
Pain and discomfort (HUP)
Physical activities (PAC)
Restriction of activities (RAC)
Smoking (SMK)

Administration and socio-demographic information

Administrative information (ADM)
Education (EDU)
Income (INC)
Labour force (LBS)
Person most knowledgeable about the household (PMK)
Socio-demographic characteristics (SDC)

Two-year core content (all health regions)
2009-2010

Injuries and functional health

Activities of daily living (ADL)
Injuries (INJ)
Health Utilities Index (HUI)
Use of protective equipment (UPE)

Sexual behaviours

Sexual behaviours (SXB)

One-year core content (all health regions)

2009: Health services and access survey¹

Access to health care services (ACC)
Wait times (WTM)

2010: Health care utilization

Contacts with health professionals (CHP)
H1N1 Flu shot (H1N)
Neurological conditions (NEU)
Unmet health care needs (UCN)

Economic burden

Loss of Productivity (LOP)
Chronic fatigue syndrome and multiple chemical sensitivities (CC4)
Fibromyalgia (CC3)

Rapid response (national estimates only)

2009

Sleep Apnea (SLA) (Jan – Feb 2009)
Osteoporosis (OST) (Mar – Apr 2009)
Infertility (IFT) (Sep – Dec 2009)

2010

Stigma towards depression (STG) (May – June 2010)
Mental Health Experience (MHE) (May – June 2010)

Optional content selection by health regions (grouped by province)
2009

Alcohol use - Dependence (ALD)
Alcohol use during the past week (ALW)
Blood pressure check (BPC)
Breast examinations (BRX)
Breast self examinations (BSX)
Changes made to improve health (CIH)
Colorectal cancer screening (CCS)
Consultations about mental health (CMH)
Dental visits (DEN)
Depression (DEP)
Diabetes care (DIA)
Dietary supplement use – Vitamins and minerals (DSU)
Distress (DIS)
Driving and safety (DRV)
Eye examinations (EYX)
Food choices (FDC)
Food security (FSC)
Health care system satisfaction (HCS)
Health status (SF-36) (SFR)
Home care services (HMC)
Home safety (HMS)
Illicit drugs use (IDG)
Insurance coverage (INS)
Mammography (MAM)
Mastery (MAS)
Maternal experiences – Alcohol use during pregnancy (MXA)
Maternal experiences – Smoking during pregnancy (MXS)
Oral health 2 (OH2)
Pap smear test (PAP)
Patient satisfaction – Community-based care (PSC)
Patient satisfaction – Health care services (PAS)
Physical activities – Facilities at work (PAF)
Problem gambling (CPG)
Prostate cancer screening (PSA)
Psychological well-being (PWB)
Satisfaction with life (SWL)
Sendentary activities (SAC)
Self-esteem (SFE)
Smoking - Other tobacco products (TAL)
Smoking - Physician counselling (SPC)
Smoking - Stages of change (SCH)
Smoking cessation methods (SCA)
Social support - Availability (SSA)
Social support – Utilization (SSU)
Stress – Coping with stress (STC)
Stress – Sources (STS)
Suicidal thoughts and attempts (SUI)
Sun safety behaviours (SSB)
Voluntary organizations - Participation (ORG)

Notes:

1. Asked of a sub-sample of respondents. These theme modules were not asked of respondents in the territories.

2009 – Annual component

Derived Variable (DV) Specifications

Master and share files

Table of Contents

ADL Activities of Daily Living (1 DV)
1 ) ADLF6R – Need for help with instrumental activities of daily living

ALC Alcohol use (1 DV)
1 ) ALCDTTM – Type of Drinker (12 Months)

ALD Alcohol use – Dependence (4 DVs)
1 ) ALDDSF – Alcohol Dependence Scale (Short Form Score) – 12–Month
2 ) ALDDPP – Probability of Caseness to Respondents (Alcohol Dependence) – 12–Month
3 ) ALDDINT – Alcohol Interference 12–Month – Mean
4 ) ALDFINT – Flag for Alcohol Interference 12–Month

ALW Alcohol use during the past week (2 DVs)
1 ) ALWDWKY – Weekly Consumption
2 ) ALWDDLY – Average Daily Alcohol Consumption

CCC Chronic conditions (1 DV)
1 ) CCCDDIA – Diabetes type

CHP Contacts with health professionals (2 DVs)
1 ) CHPDMDC – Number of Consultations with Medical Doctor/Paediatrician
2 ) CHPFCOP – Consultations with Health Professionals

CPG Problem gambling (6 DVs)
1 ) CPGFGAM – Gambling Activity – Gambler vs. Non–gambler
2 ) CPGDSEV – Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) – Modified Version
3 ) CPGDTYP – Type of Gambler
4 ) CPGDACT – Number of Types of Gambling Activities in the List Used to Calculate CPGI
5 ) CPGDINT – Gambling Interference – Mean
6 ) CPGFINT – Flag for Gambling Interference

DHH Dwelling and household variables (10 DVs)
1 ) DHHDSAGE – Age of spouse
2 ) DHHDYKD – Number of Persons in Household Less Than 16 Years of Age
3 ) DHHDOKD – Number of Persons in Household 16 or 17 Years of Age
4 ) DHHDLE5 – Number of Persons in Household Less Than 6 Years of Age
5 ) DHHD611 – Number of Persons in Household between 6 and 11 Years of Age
6 ) DHHDL12 – Number of Persons in Household Less Than 12 Years of Age
7 ) DHHDL18 – Number of Persons in Household Less than 18 Years of Age
8 ) DHHDLVG – Living/Family Arrangement of Selected Respondent
9 ) DHHDECF – Economic Family Status (Household Type)
10 ) DHHDHSZ – Household Size

DIS Distress (3 DVs)
1 ) DISDK6 – Distress Scale – K6
2 ) DISDCHR – Chronicity of Distress and Impairment Scale
3 ) DISDDSX – Distress Scale – K10

DPS Depression (4 DVs)
1 ) DPSDSF – Derived Depression Scale – Short Form Score
2 ) DPSDPP – Depression Scale – Probability of Caseness to Respondents
3 ) DPSDWK – Number of Weeks Feeling Depressed – 12–Months
4 ) DPSDMT – Specific Month Last Felt Depressed

DRV Driving and safety (1 DV)
1 ) DRVFSBU – Passenger Seat Belt Use (Motor Vehicle)

DSU Dietary supplement use – Vitamins and minerals (1 DV)
1 ) DSUDCON – Frequency of Consumption of Vitamin or Mineral Supplements

EDU Education (4 DVs)
1 ) EDUDH04 – Highest Level of Education – Household, 4 Levels
2 ) EDUDH10 – Highest Level of Education – Household, 10 Levels
3 ) EDUDR04 – Highest Level of Education – Respondent, 4 Levels
4 ) EDUDR10 – Highest Level of Education – Respondent, 10 Levels

FDC Food choices (3 DVs)
1 ) FDCFAVD – Avoids Certain Foods for Certain Content Reasons
2 ) FDCFCAH – Chooses or Avoids Certain Foods Because of Certain Health Concerns
3 ) FDCFCHO – Chooses Certain Foods for Certain Content Reasons

FSC Food security (3 DVs)
1 ) FSCDHFS2 – Household Food Security Status – Modified version
2 ) FSCDAFS – Household Food Security Status – Households without children (Less than 18 years of age)
3 ) FSCDCFS – Household Food Security Status – Households with children (aged less than 18)

FVC Fruit and vegetable consumption (8 DVs)
1 ) FVCDJUI – Daily Consumption – Fruit Juice
2 ) FVCDFRU – Daily Consumption – Other Fruit
3 ) FVCDSAL – Daily Consumption – Green Salad
4 ) FVCDPOT – Daily Consumption – Potatoes
5 ) FVCDCAR – Daily Consumption – Carrots
6 ) FVCDVEG – Daily Consumption – Other Vegetables
7 ) FVCDTOT – Daily Consumption – Total Fruit and Vegetable
8 ) FVCGTOT – Grouping of Daily Consumption – Total Fruit and Vegetable

GEN General health (3 DVs)
1 ) GENDHDI – Perceived Health
2 ) GENDMHI – Perceived Mental Health
3 ) GENGSWL – Satisfaction with life in general – (G)

GEO Geography variables (16 DVs)
1 ) GEODPC – Postal Code
2 ) GEODHR4 – Health Region
3 ) GEODSHR – Quebec Sub–Health Region
4 ) GEODDHA – Nova Scotia District Health Authority (DHA)
5 ) GEODLHA – British Columbia Local Health Authority (LHA)
6 ) GEODLHN – Ontario Local Health Integration Network
7 ) GEODDA06 – 2006 Census Dissemination Area (DA)
8 ) GEODFED – 2006 Census Federal Electoral District (FED)
9 ) GEODCSD – 2006 Census Subdivision (CSD)
10 ) GEODCD – 2006 Census Division (CD)
11 ) GEODSAT – Statistical Area Classification Type (SAT)
12 ) GEODCMA6 – 2006 Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)
13 ) GEODPG09 – Peer Group
14 ) GEODUR – Urban–Rural Classification
15 ) GEODUR2 – Urban–Rural Classification – Grouped
16 ) GEODPSZ – Population Size Group

HMC Home care services (1 DV)
1 ) HMCFRHC – Received Home Care

HUI Health utilities index (8 DVs)
1 ) HUIDVIS – Vision Health Status
2 ) HUIDHER – Hearing Health Status
3 ) HUIDSPE – Speech Health Status
4 ) HUIDMOB – Ambulation Health Status
5 ) HUIDDEX – Dexterity Health Status
6 ) HUIDEMO – Emotion Health Status
7 ) HUIDCOG – Cognition Health Status
8 ) HUIDHSI – Health Utilities Index

HUP Health utilities index – Pain and discomfort (1 DV)
1 ) HUPDPAD – Pain Health Status

HWT Height and weight – Self–reported (5 DVs)
1 ) HWTDHTM – Height (Metres) – Self–Reported
2 ) HWTDWTK – Weight (Kilograms) – Self–Reported
3 ) HWTDBMI – Body Mass Index (self–reported)
4 ) HWTDISW – BMI classification for adults aged 18 and over (self–reported) – international standard
5 ) HWTDCOL – BMI classification for children aged 12 to 17 (self–reported) – Cole classification system

IDG Illicit drug use (16 DVs)
1 ) IDGFLCA – Cannabis Drug Use – Lifetime (Including "One Time Only" Use)
2 ) IDGFLCM – Cannabis Drug Use – Lifetime (Excluding "One Time Only" Use)
3 ) IDGFYCM – Cannabis Drug Use – 12 month (Excluding "One Time Only" Use)
4 ) IDGFLCO – Cocaine or Crack Drug Use – Lifetime
5 ) IDGFLAM – Amphetamine (Speed) Drug Use – Lifetime
6 ) IDGFLEX – MDMA (ecstasy) Drug Use – Lifetime
7 ) IDGFLHA – Hallucinogens, PCP or LSD Drug Use – Lifetime
8 ) IDGFLGL – Glue, Gasoline, or Other Solvent Use – Lifetime
9 ) IDGFLHE – Heroin Drug Use – Lifetime
10 ) IDGFLST – Steroid Use – Lifetime
11 ) IDGFLA – Any Illicit Drug Use – Lifetime (Including "One Time Only" Use of Cannabis)
12 ) IDGFLAC – Any Illicit Drug Use – Lifetime (Excluding "One Time Only" Use of Cannabis)
13 ) IDGFYA – Any Illicit Drug Use – 12–Month (Including "One Time Only" Use of Cannabis)
14 ) IDGFYAC – Any Illicit Drug Use – 12–Month (Excluding "One Time Only" Use of Cannabis)
15 ) IDGDINT – Illicit Drug Interference 12–Month – Mean
16 ) IDGFINT – Flag for Illicit Drug Interference – 12–Month

INC Income (6 DVs)
1 ) INCDHH – Total Household Income – All Sources
2 ) INCDPER – Personal Income – All Sources
3 ) INCDADR – Adjusted household income ratio – National level
4 ) INCDRCA – Distribution of household income – National level
5 ) INCDRPR – Distribution of household income – Provincial levl
6 ) INCDRRS – Distribution of household income – Health region level

INJ Injuries (4 DVs)
1 ) INJDTBS – Type of Injury by Body Site
2 ) INJDCAU – Cause of Injury
3 ) INJDCBP – Cause of Injury by Place of Occurrence
4 ) INJDSTT – Injury Status

INW Workplace injury (2 DVs)
1 ) INWDOCG – Injury at Work – Occupation Group
2 ) INWDING – Injury at work – Industry Group

LBS Labour force (5 DVs)
1 ) LBSDHPW – Total usual hours worked per week
2 ) LBSDPFT – Full–time/part–time working status (for total usual hours)
3 ) LBSDWSS – Working status last week
4 ) LBSDING – Industry Group
5 ) LBSDOCG – Occupation Group

MAS Mastery (1 DV)
1 ) MASDM1 – Derived Mastery Scale

MEX Maternal experiences – Breastfeeding (2 DVs)
1 ) MEXDEBF – Length of exclusive breastfeeding
2 ) MEXFEB6 – Exclusively breastfed for at least 6 months

OH2 Oral health 2 (2 DVs)
1 ) OH2FLIM – Social Limitation Due to Oral Health Status
2 ) OH2FOFP – Oral and Facial Pain and Discomfort

PAC Physical activities (9 DVs)
1 ) PACDEE – Daily Energy Expenditure in Leisure Time Physical Activities
2 ) PACFLEI – Participant In Leisure Time Physical Activity
3 ) PACDFM – Average Monthly Frequency of Leisure Time Physical Activity Lasting Over 15 Minutes
4 ) PACDFR – Frequency of All Leisure Time Physical Activity Lasting Over 15 Minutes
5 ) PACFD – Participant In Daily Leisure Time Physical Activity Lasting Over 15 Minutes
6 ) PACDPAI – Leisure Time Physical Activity Index
7 ) PACDLTI – Transportation and Leisure Time Physical Activity Index
8 ) PACDTLE – Daily Energy Expenditure in Transportation and Leisure Time Physical Activities
9 ) PACFLTI – Participant In Transportation or Leisure Time Physical Activity

PAF Physical activities – Facilities at work (1 DV)
1 ) PAFFACC – Access to Physical Activity Facilities at Work

PWB Psychological well–being (1 DV)
1 ) PWBDPWB – Psychological Well–Being Manifestation Scale (WBMMS)

RAC Restriction of activities (2 DVs)
1 ) RACDIMP – Impact of Health Problems
2 ) RACDPAL – Participation and Activity Limitation

SAC Sedentary activities (2 DVs)
1 ) SACDTOT – Total Number of Hours Per Week Spent In Sedentary Activities
2 ) SACDTER – Total number of hours per week spent in sedentary activities (excluding reading)

SAM Sample variables (2 DVs)
1 ) SAMDSHR – Permission to Share Data
2 ) SAMDLNK – Permission to Link

SCA Smoking cessation methods (1 DV)
1 ) SCADQUI – Attempted/Successful Quitting

SCH Smoking – Stages of change (1 DV)
1 ) SCHDSTG – Smoking Stages of Change (Current and Former Smokers)

SDC Socio–demographic characteristics (10 DVs)
1 ) SDCCCB – Country of birth code
2 ) SDCGCB – Country of birth – grouped
3 ) SDCDLHM – Language(s) spoken at home
4 ) SDCDAIM – Age at time of immigration
5 ) SDCFIMM – Immigration flag
6 ) SDCDRES – Length of time in Canada since immigration
7 ) SDCDLNG – Language(s) in which respondent can converse
8 ) SDCDFL1 – First official language learned and still understood
9 ) SDCDABT – Aboriginal Identity
10 ) SDCDCGT – Cultural / Racial Background

SFE Self–esteem (1 DV)
1 ) SFEDE1 – Derived Self–Esteem Scale

SFR Health status (SF–36) (10 DVs)
1 ) SFRDPFS – Physical Functioning Scale
2 ) SFRDSFS – Social Functioning Scale
3 ) SFRDPRF – Role Functioning (Physical) Scale
4 ) SFRDMRF – Role Functioning (Mental) Scale
5 ) SFRDGMH – General Mental Health Scale
6 ) SFRDVTS – Vitality Scale
7 ) SFRDBPS – Bodily Pain Scale
8 ) SFRDGHP – General Health Perceptions Scale
9 ) SFRDPCS – Summary Measure of Physical Health
10 ) SFRDMCS – Summary Measure of Mental Health

SMK Smoking (3 DVs)
1 ) SMKDSTY – Type of Smoker
2 ) SMKDSTP – Number of Years Since Stopped Smoking Completely
3 ) SMKDYCS – Number of Years Smoked Daily (Current Daily Smokers Only)

SSA Social support – Availability (4 DVs)
1 ) SSADTNG – Tangible Social Support – MOS Subscale
2 ) SSADAFF – Affection – MOS Subscale
3 ) SSADSOC – Positive Social Interaction – MOS Subscale
4 ) SSADEMO – Emotional or Informational Support – MOS Subscale

UPE Use of protective equipment (3 DVs)
1 ) UPEFILS – Wears Protective Equipment when In–Line Skating
2 ) UPEFSKB – Wears Protective Equipment when Skateboarding
3 ) UPEFSNB – Wears Protective Equipment when Snowboarding

WTM Waiting times (9 DVs)
1 ) WTMDSO – Number of Waiting Days to See a Medical Specialist – Seen Specialist
2 ) WTMDSN – Number of Waiting Days to See a Medical Specialist – Not Seen Specialist
3 ) WTMDSA – Number of Acceptable Waiting Days to See a Medical Specialist
4 ) WTMDCO – Number of Waiting Days to Receive Non–Emergency Surgery Surgery Done
5 ) WTMDCN – Number of Waiting Days to Receive Non–Emergency Surgery – Surgery Not Done
6 ) WTMDCA – Number of Acceptable Waiting Days to Receive Non–Emergency Surgery
7 ) WTMDTO – Number of Waiting Days for Diagnostic Test – Test Done
8 ) WTMDTN – Number of Waiting Days for Diagnostic Test – Test Not Done
9 ) WTMDTA – Number of Acceptable Waiting Days for Diagnostic Test

For the complete document in PDF format, contact Client Services (613-951-1746; hd-ds@statcan.gc.ca), Health Statistics Division

2009 – Annual component

Derived Variable (DV) Specifications – Sub–Sample 2

Master and share files

Table of Contents

ADL Activities of Daily Living (1 DV)
1 ) ADLF6R – Need for help with instrumental activities of daily living

ALC Alcohol use (1 DV)
1 ) ALCDTTM – Type of Drinker (12 Months)

CCC Chronic conditions (1 DV)
1 ) CCCDDIA – Diabetes type

CHP Contacts with health professionals (2 DVs)
1 ) CHPDMDC – Number of Consultations with Medical Doctor/Paediatrician
2 ) CHPFCOP – Consultations with Health Professionals

DHH Dwelling and household variables (10 DVs)
1 ) DHHDSAGE – Age of spouse
2 ) DHHDYKD – Number of Persons in Household Less Than 16 Years of Age
3 ) DHHDOKD – Number of Persons in Household 16 or 17 Years of Age
4 ) DHHDLE5 – Number of Persons in Household Less Than 6 Years of Age
5 ) DHHD611 – Number of Persons in Household between 6 and 11 Years of Age
6 ) DHHDL12 – Number of Persons in Household Less Than 12 Years of Age
7 ) DHHDL18 – Number of Persons in Household Less than 18 Years of Age
8 ) DHHDLVG – Living/Family Arrangement of Selected Respondent
9 ) DHHDECF – Economic Family Status (Household Type)
10 ) DHHDHSZ – Household Size

EDU Education (4 DVs)
1 ) EDUDH04 – Highest Level of Education – Household, 4 Levels
2 ) EDUDH10 – Highest Level of Education – Household, 10 Levels
3 ) EDUDR04 – Highest Level of Education – Respondent, 4 Levels
4 ) EDUDR10 – Highest Level of Education – Respondent, 10 Levels

FVC Fruit and vegetable consumption (8 DVs)
1 ) FVCDJUI – Daily Consumption – Fruit Juice
2 ) FVCDFRU – Daily Consumption – Other Fruit
3 ) FVCDSAL – Daily Consumption – Green Salad
4 ) FVCDPOT – Daily Consumption – Potatoes
5 ) FVCDCAR – Daily Consumption – Carrots
6 ) FVCDVEG – Daily Consumption – Other Vegetables
7 ) FVCDTOT – Daily Consumption – Total Fruit and Vegetable
8 ) FVCGTOT – Grouping of Daily Consumption – Total Fruit and Vegetable

GEN General health (3 DVs)
1 ) GENDHDI – Perceived Health
2 ) GENDMHI – Perceived Mental Health
3 ) GENGSWL – Satisfaction with life in general – (G)

GEO Geography variables (16 DVs)
1 ) GEODPC – Postal Code
2 ) GEODHR4 – Health Region
3 ) GEODSHR – Quebec Sub–Health Region
4 ) GEODDHA – Nova Scotia District Health Authority (DHA)
5 ) GEODLHA – British Columbia Local Health Authority (LHA)
6 ) GEODLHN – Ontario Local Health Integration Network
7 ) GEODDA06 – 2006 Census Dissemination Area (DA)
8 ) GEODFED – 2006 Census Federal Electoral District (FED)
9 ) GEODCSD – 2006 Census Subdivision (CSD)
10 ) GEODCD – 2006 Census Division (CD)
11 ) GEODSAT – Statistical Area Classification Type (SAT)
12 ) GEODCMA6 – 2006 Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)
13 ) GEODPG09 – Peer Group
14 ) GEODUR – Urban–Rural Classification
15 ) GEODUR2 – Urban–Rural Classification – Grouped
16 ) GEODPSZ – Population Size Group

HUI Health utilities index (8 DVs)
1 ) HUIDVIS – Vision Health Status
2 ) HUIDHER – Hearing Health Status
3 ) HUIDSPE – Speech Health Status
4 ) HUIDMOB – Ambulation Health Status
5 ) HUIDDEX – Dexterity Health Status
6 ) HUIDEMO – Emotion Health Status
7 ) HUIDCOG – Cognition Health Status
8 ) HUIDHSI – Health Utilities Index

HUP Health utilities index – Pain and discomfort (1 DV)
1 ) HUPDPAD – Pain Health Status

HWT Height and weight – Self–reported (5 DVs)
1 ) HWTDHTM – Height (Metres) – Self–Reported
2 ) HWTDWTK – Weight (Kilograms) – Self–Reported
3 ) HWTDBMI – Body Mass Index (self–reported)
4 ) HWTDISW – BMI classification for adults aged 18 and over (self–reported) – international standard
5 ) HWTDCOL – BMI classification for children aged 12 to 17 (self–reported) – Cole classification system

INC Income (6 DVs)
1 ) INCDHH – Total Household Income – All Sources
2 ) INCDPER – Personal Income – All Sources
3 ) INCDADR – Adjusted household income ratio – National level
4 ) INCDRCA – Distribution of household income – National level
5 ) INCDRPR – Distribution of household income – Provincial level
6 ) INCDRRS – Distribution of household income – Health region level

INJ Injuries (4 DVs)
1 ) INJDTBS – Type of Injury by Body Site
2 ) INJDCAU – Cause of Injury
3 ) INJDCBP – Cause of Injury by Place of Occurrence
4 ) INJDSTT – Injury Status

INW Workplace injury (2 DVs)
1 ) INWDOCG – Injury at Work – Occupation Group
2 ) INWDING – Injury at work – Industry Group

LBS Labour force (5 DVs)
1 ) LBSDHPW – Total usual hours worked per week
2 ) LBSDPFT – Full–time/part–time working status (for total usual hours)
3 ) LBSDWSS – Working status last week
4 ) LBSDING – Industry Group
5 ) LBSDOCG – Occupation Group

MEX Maternal experiences – Breastfeeding (2 DVs)
1 ) MEXDEBF – Length of exclusive breastfeeding
2 ) MEXFEB6 – Exclusively breastfed for at least 6 months

PAC Physical activities (9 DVs)
1 ) PACDEE – Daily Energy Expenditure in Leisure Time Physical Activities
2 ) PACFLEI – Participant In Leisure Time Physical Activity
3 ) PACDFM – Average Monthly Frequency of Leisure Time Physical Activity Lasting Over 15 Minutes
4 ) PACDFR – Frequency of All Leisure Time Physical Activity Lasting Over 15 Minutes
5 ) PACFD – Participant In Daily Leisure Time Physical Activity Lasting Over 15 Minutes
6 ) PACDPAI – Leisure Time Physical Activity Index
7 ) PACDLTI – Transportation and Leisure Time Physical Activity Index
8 ) PACDTLE – Daily Energy Expenditure in Transportation and Leisure Time Physical Activities
9 ) PACFLTI – Participant In Transportation or Leisure Time Physical Activity

RAC Restriction of activities (2 DVs)
1 ) RACDIMP – Impact of Health Problems
2 ) RACDPAL – Participation and Activity Limitation

SAM Sample variables (2 DVs)
1 ) SAMDSHR – Permission to Share Data
2 ) SAMDLNK – Permission to Link

SDC Socio–demographic characteristics (10 DVs)
1 ) SDCCCB – Country of birth code
2 ) SDCGCB – Country of birth – grouped
3 ) SDCDLHM – Language(s) spoken at home
4 ) SDCDAIM – Age at time of immigration
5 ) SDCFIMM – Immigration flag
6 ) SDCDRES – Length of time in Canada since immigration
7 ) SDCDLNG – Language(s) in which respondent can converse
8 ) SDCDFL1 – First official language learned and still understood
9 ) SDCDABT – Aboriginal Identity
10 ) SDCDCGT – Cultural / Racial Background

SMK Smoking (3 DVs)
1 ) SMKDSTY – Type of Smoker
2 ) SMKDSTP – Number of Years Since Stopped Smoking Completely
3 ) SMKDYCS – Number of Years Smoked Daily (Current Daily Smokers Only)

UPE Use of protective equipment (3 DVs)
1 ) UPEFILS – Wears Protective Equipment when In–Line Skating
2 ) UPEFSKB – Wears Protective Equipment when Skateboarding
3 ) UPEFSNB – Wears Protective Equipment when Snowboarding

WTM Waiting times (9 DVs)
1 ) WTMZDSO – Number of Waiting Days to See a Medical Specialist – Seen Specialist
2 ) WTMZDSN – Number of Waiting Days to See a Medical Specialist – Not Seen Specialist
3 ) WTMZDSA – Number of Acceptable Waiting Days to See a Medical Specialist
4 ) WTMZDCO – Number of Waiting Days to Receive Non–Emergency Surgery – Surgery Done
5 ) WTMZDCN – Number of Waiting Days to Receive Non–Emergency Surgery – Surgery Not Done
6 ) WTMZDCA – Number of Acceptable Waiting Days to Receive Non–Emergency Surgery
7 ) WTMZDTO – Number of Waiting Days for Diagnostic Test – Test Done
8 ) WTMZDTN – Number of Waiting Days for Diagnostic Test – Test Not Done
9 ) WTMZDTA – Number of Acceptable Waiting Days for Diagnostic Test

For the complete document in PDF format, contact Client Services (613-951-1746; hd-ds@statcan.gc.ca), Health Statistics Division

Aspects That May Explain Differences In The Estimates Obtained From Two Different Survey Occasions

** Work in progress (February 2003)
STC/HSMD

Since 1994, Health Division has produced, through its surveys, a series of data files from cross–sectional samples. Unlike longitudinal samples, these samples have the characteristic of being uniquely representative of the year in which the data was collected. The available cross–sectional data comes from the National Population Health Survey (NPHS) for the years 1994–95, 1996–97 and 1998–99, and from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) for 2000–01. In situations where a variable has been collected on several occasions, it is possible for analysts to produce cross–sectional estimates and to therefore examine the trend of that variable over time. Inevitably, differences in these estimates will be observed, and these differences could come from multiple sources. This document reports the various aspects that may explain the differences between estimates obtained from the different NPHS and CCHS cross–sectional files. Note that the NPHS comparisons are made using the Health file (as opposed to the General file), that is the file that contains the data on the selected respondent. This file greatly resembles that of CCHS in terms of content as well as sampling (i.e. they both contain a selected person(s) in from household.)

Methodological Aspects

• Target Population:

  NPHS (household component) and CCHS cover the same population and have the same exclusions. The only difference comes from the fact that CCHS covers only those persons aged 12 years and over, while NPHS covers generally covers the entire population. Coverage details for NPHS can be found at a later point in this document. Due to this difference and in order to enable comparisons, the indicators presented in this document refer only to persons aged 12 years and over, whenever possible. In terms of geography, note that both surveys cover the 10 provinces and the territories. However, the territories are covered by an independent component (North component) for NPHS, and have been excluded from this document for that reason.

• Questionnaire:

  A difference in how the questions are constructed could have an impact on the estimates. The majority of the concepts measured by NPHS and CCHS use the same question over time; however, one should verify this by checking the questionnaires before interpreting the results. The same holds true for derived variables that may have been constructed differently from occasion to another.

Note:

• For NPHS 1996–97 & 1998–99, the part of the sample made up of panel members could be seen as a group of people who are more co–operative since they have already committed to being part of a panel.
• For CCHS, the age group 12–19 was oversampled compared to those 20–64, which will give better variances for estimates of this age group. This oversampling was performed by selecting one or two people by household, depending on the composition of the household.
• The sample was distributed according to the representativity needed on each occasion. For example, the CCHS sample was distributed in order to cover each of the 136 health regions, while the NPHS sample was distributed in order to give good representativity at the provincial level. Therefore, the composition of the sample is much more “rural” for CCHS that for NPHS due the constraint of covering the entire country.

However, the weighting controls this overrepresentation of the rural area for CCHS (see table below).

NOTE: The difference in sample sizes will obviously be reflected in the precision of the estimates produced with the various data files.

• Weighting:
  • Seasonality

    For NPHS, the weighting never included specific adjustments to control seasonality. However, collection was conducted in equal time periods (quarters) to more or less cover the four seasons. For CCHS, collection was also planned to evenly distribute the sample over the four seasons, however, operational problems during collection caused the sample to be unbalanced. To remedy this situation, an adjustment controlling for seasonality was incorporated in the weighting.

  • Post–stratification:

    The goal of post–stratification is to restore the sums of the weights so that they correspond exactly to the estimated population. Post–stratification is done independently within each region/province for a number of age–sex groups. These groups, as presented below, were defined differently during the various survey occasions.
    Age groups used for post-stratification:

    • NPHS 1994-95: 12–24, 25–44, 45–64, 65+ (no children in Cycle 1)
    • NPHS 1996–97: 2–11, 12–24, 25–44, 45–64, 65+ (except for provinces with a buy–in sample where the group 0–1 was added)
    • NPHS 1998–99: 0–11, 12–24, 25–44, 45–64, 65+ (a pre–poststratification step was applied to the 0–3 & 4–11 groups, at the Canada*sex level)
    • CCHS 2000–01: 12–19, 20–29, 30–44, 45–64, 65+

    Note: For estimates of the total number of people per age group, the closer the age group is to the interval used for the post–stratum, the smaller the variance will be (for example, with equal sample sizes, an estimate for the number of 12–17 will have a much smaller CV for CCHS than NPHS since this age group is almost the same as one of the post–strata, i.e. 12–19.

• Imputation:

  NPHS did not use imputation for any of the first three cycles that are discussed in this document. Any missing value is coded as such, without being replaced by another value in the data file. As for CCHS, some variables had to be imputed due to a proxy response rate that was too high. In the case of proxy responses, many questions were not asked due to their private or personal nature. Consequently, a high nonresponse rate to these questions was observed. Imputation was therefore used to obtain data for these questions that were unanswered due to a proxy interview. An article by St–Pierre and Béland (2002) explains the situation, as well as the method used.
  Reference: St–Pierre, M. & Béland, Y. (2002). Imputation of Proxy Respondents in the Canadian Community Health Survey. Proceedings of the Survey Methods Section. Statistical Society of Canada.

• Method to calculate to variance (bootstrap):

  The bootstrap is used for all survey occasions, however certain technical details differ from one occasion to another.

  • NPHS 1994–95: incorporates post–stratification only
  • NPHS 1996–97: incorporates post–stratification only
  • NPHS 1998–99: incorporates nonresponse (household and person) and post–stratification
  • CCHS 2000–01: incorporates all of the adjustments, from the household nonresponse adjustment onwards, in the bootstrap

• Sample variability

  The fact that information is collected from a sample, and not from the entire population, means that the results obtained will all be subject to sample variability. The variability related to each estimate produced may, in some cases, explain the difference between the estimates obtained at different survey occasions. To find out if a difference really is significant and not due only to the variability of the estimates, statistical tests must be performed. For example, a Student test will check if two aggregate values differ significantly from one another.

Contextual Aspects

• Changes in health standards

  Some variables are derived according to a particular standard. For example, depending on the value, the body mass index determines that a person is obese if their index is above a certain standard. Similarly, certain clinical standards are used to determine if a person suffers from a particular illness or chronic health problem. These standards sometimes change over time according to advances in the field of health.
  For example, the criteria used to determine if a person is diabetic was modified in the 1990s. According to the standards set out by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1985, diabetes was defined as: a fasting glucose level equal to or exceeding 7.8 mmol/L or a 2–hour post–challenge glucose level equal to or exceeding 11.1 mmol/L, or both. In 1997, the American Diabetes Association adopted fasting glucose levels as the primary standard and reduced its level from 7.8 to 7.0 mmol/L. The 1998 Canadian Clinical practice guidelines for the management of diabetes then adopted this change. This change could in theory have an effect on the incidence (and prevalence) of diabetes in Canada. It is therefore important to keep up–to–date on the changes adopted for the diagnosis of an illness or chronic health condition by clinical organizations.

• True change in the population

  After examining all of the methodological aspects, it remains that the difference observed between two survey occasions could in fact be real. Health is a very dynamic field and is constantly evolving; different health indicators are therefore subject to fluctuations.

Final audit report
Contract and IT Expenditures Management Frameworks

Statistics Canada
April 15, 2010
Project Number: 80590-59 ( Document (PDF, 75.15 KB) )

• Executive summary
• Introduction
  • Background
  • Authority
  • Audit Objectives
  • Scope and Approach
• Findings, Recommendations and Management Responses
  • Contracting Management Control Framework
  • Monitoring and Performance Evaluation
  • Contract Files Documentation
  • Expenditures
• Appendicies
  • Appendix A: Audit Objectives and their Criteria
  • Appendix B: Selection of Contract Sample