Neighbourhood and Individual-Level Determinants of Patterns in Physical Activity and Health (1981-2002)
Linkage of the University of Toronto's Survey of Entering First Year Students, along with University Student Data, to the Enhanced Student Information System (ESIS) and Student Income Tax Data (T1 Individual Tax Files)
Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System Program Birth Mortality Linkage, 2001–2005/2006
Study of mortality and cancer incidence among Manitoba part-time and casual firefighters, 1970-2003
Linkage of the Energy Consumption Data Obtained from Utilities to the Survey Information Obtained from Respondents to the 2004 Survey of Household Energy Use
Linkage of 2004 Follow-Up Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (FSGVP) to the 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP)
Neighbourhood and Individual-Level Determinants of Patterns in Physical Activity and Health (1981-2002)
Purpose: To provide more evidence on the health benefits that result from physical activity, thus encouraging Canadians to greater participation. Findings from this study will provide a better understanding of the influences of individual, social and physical factors on the access and adherence to an active lifestyle. This information will be integrated by the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute into their ongoing dissemination activities, which provide information to Health Canada and the provincial and territorial departments mandated to increase physical activity through the development of strategic plans, national policy and guidelines, such as Canada's Physical Activity Guide for Healthy Active Living.
Description: This study seeks to link the records of approximately 1,400 individuals who were selected but who could not be contacted during the 2002 Survey of Well-being in Canada (SWC) to the Canadian Mortality Database for the years 1981-2002. The linkage will determine whether these individuals were deceased, and provide information on the year of death, province of death, cause of death, and province of residence. It will allow researchers to estimate a final response rate for the 2002 SWC, better assess potential biases in the data due to non response, and evaluate the degree to which the results of the study can be generalized to the population as a whole.
Output: A linked mortality analysis file, without names and identifiers, will be released to the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute (CFLRI), with the consent of the provincial and territorial Vital Statistics Registrars. The Institute has signed an agreement with Statistics Canada that it will undertake the necessary steps to protect the confidentiality of the data and that no attempts will be made to identify individuals. The study results will be published in reports and scholarly journals. Summaries of major findings and reports will be available free of charge on the CFLRI web site. Articles will also be submitted to newsletters of national associations concerned with health, physical activity and fitness. Papers will also be submitted for presentation at national and international conferences. The internal linked file, stripped of identifiers, will be retained by Statistics Canada for a period of seven years that is until 2012, at which time it will be destroyed.
Linkage of the University of Toronto's Survey of Entering First Year Students, along with University Student Data, to the Enhanced Student Information System (ESIS) and Student Income Tax Data (T1 Individual Tax Files)
Purpose: Many students that enter university leave without a degree. Typically 30 percent of students that begin post-secondary studies at a Canadian university do not graduate. This research project aims to understand ways to improve retention in post secondary education and to foster successful learning experiences for students. The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation and the University of Toronto have partnered to conduct the demonstration project which is designed to examine how peer advising, facilitated study groups, and financial assistance encourages student motivation, learning, engagement, and fosters academic achievement. The study also aims to evaluate these programs' effects on retention, final education attainment, and labour market outcomes after school completion.
Description: The University of Toronto's Survey of Entering First Year Students was conducted once in July, 2005 and will be repeated in July 2006. Approximately 6,000 incoming first year undergraduate students will be surveyed. Participants are asked questions about university aspirations, academic objectives, and family educational background. This information, along with university student data on grade performance and program participation, will be linked by Statistics Canada on an annual basis for a period of 10 years, to information from the Enhanced Student Information System (ESIS) and student income tax data (T1 Individual Files) held by Statistics Canada. The variables to be linked from the ESIS are institution, entry and exit dates of program, student status (e.g. still enrolled, graduated, withdrew), and major. The variables to be linked from the T1 Individual Files are market and non-market income, social assistance receipt, and unemployment insurance receipt. The linkage will allow the study to examine the impact of the support programs on final education attainment, and labour market outcomes.
Permission was obtained from survey participants, for the University of Toronto to send their survey responses and their student information on grade achievement and academic program participation to Statistics Canada, and for Statistics Canada to link this information to their individual ESIS and T1 tax files, for a period of 10 years. A provision to opt out of the study at any time is also provided to students.
Output: Only aggregate data and analysis conforming to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be released outside of Statistics Canada.
Findings will be disseminated in research papers to be published by the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation, Statistics Canada, and research journals. The results will be presented specifically to other Canadian post-secondary institutions and education ministries.
The linked data will be destroyed in 2018, two years after the last linkage year.
Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System Program Birth Mortality Linkage, 2001–2005/2006
Purpose: To contribute to improved health for pregnant women, mothers and infants in Canada through ongoing monitoring and reporting on perinatal health determinants and outcomes. The research will lead to a better understanding of specific risk factors associated with multiple births through the analysis of pre-term birth rates and fetal and infant mortality among multiples. It will lead to further study and development in the area of fetal growth standards, including the refinement of the Population-based Canadian Reference for birth weight for gestational age to include a fetal growth curve for multiple births.
Description: Five annual linkages are included in this application, commencing with linkage of the 2001 Canadian Birth Data Base (CBDB) to the 2001-2002 Canadian Mortality Data Base (CMDB), and continuing for each consecutive year up to linkage of the 2005 CBDB with the 2005-2006 CMDB. Data from the 2001 to 2005 Canadian Stillborn Database will also be included on the linked files. The linked Birth/Mortality file will contain composite birth/mortality records, stillbirth records and birth records which did not link to a death. Each record will include a random Statistics Canada identification number.
Output: A linked birth/mortality analysis file without names will be released to the Public Health Agency of Canada with the written consent of the provincial and territorial Vital Statistics Registrars. Results from the analyses will be communicated for action through the Canadian Perinatal Health Reports, fact sheets, public health practice guidelines and will be published in peer-reviewed journals. Results may also be disseminated in Statistics Canada Health Reports. The linked file will be retained until 2012 to allow for a final report to be produced, as well as a peer review of the study results.
Study of mortality and cancer incidence among Manitoba part-time and casual firefighters, 1970-2003
Purpose: This study will, for the first time, evaluate if part-time or casual firefighters in Manitoba are at greater risk of primary site brain, bladder or kidney cancer, primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or primary leukemia, than the general population of Manitoba and of Canada. Previous studies have shown that full-time firefighters are at risk for these particular cancers and subsequently the Manitoba Workers Compensation Act recognizes these occupational risks for full time firefighters. Results from this linkage study will be used to inform part-time and casual firefighters in Manitoba, as well as throughout Canada, of mortality and cancer risks associated with their firefighting activities. This study may also encourage Manitoba and other jurisdictions to examine their policies with respect to workers compensation offered to part-time or casual firefighters.
Description: This study seeks to link the records of approximately 4,500 part-time and casual firefighters from Manitoba to the 1970-2003 Canadian Mortality Database and the 1969-2003 Canadian Cancer Database. First, the 1970-2003 Manitoba Part-time or Casual Firefighters cohort file will be linked to the 1984-2003 summary tax file, using Social Insurance Number, in order to determine the vital status of the workers. No income data will be used from this file. A random Statistics Canada number will be assigned to each individual record. The final stage of the linkage process will add the mortality and cancer data up to 2003 from the Canadian Mortality Database and the Canadian Cancer Database.
Output: An analysis file without names or identifiers will be released to the University of McMaster with the written consent of the provincial and territorial Vital Statistics and Cancer Registrars. As well, aggregate tables of standard mortality and standard incidence ratios will also be provided. Manitoba firefighter unions are in support of this study and results from this study will be presented in a report to the Manitoba legislature and articles will be prepared for the media. A report will also be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The linked file, stripped of all identifiers, will be retained until 2011 to allow for a final report to be produced, as well as a peer review of the study results.
Linkage of the Energy Consumption Data Obtained from Utilities to the Survey Information Obtained from Respondents to the 2004 Survey of Household Energy Use
Purpose: To assist in the development of energy efficiency standards for household appliances and for the development of programs to improve residential energy consumption levels, thereby resulting in lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Description: The 2004 survey data collected from household respondents and landlord/property management will be linked to energy consumption data derived from the detailed consumption figures provided by energy utilities for the 2003 reference period.
Survey respondents provided consent for Statistics Canada to obtain their energy consumption data from energy utility companies. Written consent was obtained so that Statistics Canada could provide their account number, name, address, and telephone number to the energy utilities, and for the utilities to release the consumption data to Statistics Canada. Respondents also provided consent for the Agency to share the energy consumption information combined with the survey responses with the Office of Energy Efficiency of National Resources Canada.
Output: The resulting linked file which will not contain identifiers will be retained by Statistics Canada. A file, also without personal identifiers, will also be shared with the Office of Energy Efficiency at Natural Resources Canada and will include only information from respondents who consented to both linking and sharing.
Findings from the survey will be published jointly by Statistics Canada and Natural Resources Canada.
Linkage of 2004 Follow-Up Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (FSGVP) to the 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP)
Purpose: To identify changes in the giving and volunteering status of individuals, and allow for a better understanding of how life events such as getting married, having children, or aging, influence giving and volunteering behaviour. The linkage will also allow for an examination of how changes in education, labour force participation and income influence behaviour. As well, it will shed light on the motivations and barriers to volunteering and giving. Findings may help charitable and non-profit organizations to effectively target programs to engage volunteers and encourage financial giving; and contribute to the development and evaluation of government policy and programs to support the volunteering and giving activities of Canadians.
Description: Linkage of the 2004 Follow-Up Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (FSGVP) with the 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP). The file will be stripped of identifiers and replaced with a sequential number assigned by Statistics Canada.
Output: A linked file without personal identifiers will be shared with Imagine Canada (formerly known as the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy), Health Canada, Canadian Heritage as well as Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. It will contain information from those respondents who agreed to the sharing.
Findings conforming to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act will be disseminated in the Agency's The Daily and the publication Caring Canadians, Involved Canadians. The linked file will be retained indeterminately.