Equity in the use of formal home care services in Canada

We will use data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) to examine equity in formal home care use in Canada. We will describe the use of home care services in Canada by looking at the percentage of CLSA participants who use home care at the intersection of functional status and geographic and sociodemographic groups (province, sex, gender, income, education, rurality, social support, and immigration history). Second, we will examine how each of the geographic and sociodemographic factors influence the likelihood of using home care in the future. Our findings will describe the current state of home care use in Canada, particularly to what extent the current provision may be inequitable. Our results will inform home care strategies by identifying service gaps and priority populations. Ultimately this research will lead to stronger, more equitable home care systems that help older adults age in the place of their choice.