Development of a Data Archive for Use in Policy Analysis in Long-Term Care

摘要

The report describes the results of a two-year project which aimed to contribute to policy research in aging and long-term care by developing a specialized archive of information. The unique aspect of the archive was the inclusion of data sets describing (1) needs of populations in terms of health status, (2) amounts of changes in health during given periods of time, and (3) impacts of services. Also, multiple data sets based on common language were to be included to enable intergration of data from more than one study where possible. The archive was developed on the basis that the foregoing kinds of information, when complemented by information about utilization and costs, serves as a framework for the development and implementation of cost-effective policy for long-term care. As a result, the first stage of development of an archive containing aging and long-term care data was completed and is available for use in policy analysis. The technical procedures designed and tested in this project are expected to facilitate efficient use of the archive by policy researchers and serves as a basis for adding further studies that will increase the archive's capacity over time.