End of Life Planning and Where Canada Ranks
Originally posted at allaboutestates.ca on April 8, 2015: More data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) is an independent not for profit organization that was created in 1994.
In addition to the caregiving information I shared on my earlier blog, their data also examined planning for end of life. April 16, 2015 is Advance Care Planning Day so the Commonwealth Survey is a great result. For a much more interesting view, please check out their pictograph infographic.
As before, the data is from the Commonwealth Fund 2014 International Health Policy Survey of Older Adults (age 55 +).
In summary, their findings state:
Older Canadians are more likely to plan for their end-of-life needs than people in other countries.
‘61% of older Canadians have had discussions about treatments they do or don’t want at the end of their life.
39% had written plans documenting their end-of-life wishes. Canada ranks third in having the highest proportions of older adults who have written plans documenting their end-of-life wishes, behind Germany and the United States.
Older Canadian seniors are more likely than their younger counterparts to have written plans for their end-of-life care wishes.’ Those 75 years plus had written plans compared to 32% of those aged 55-64.
Province Proportion
British Columbia 36%
Alberta 43%
Saskatchewan 29%
Manitoba 35%
Ontario 44%
Quebec 40%
New Brunswick 24%
Nova Scotia 29%
Prince Edward Island 26%
Newfoundland&Labrador 18%
Source: Table 3: Proportion of Older Canadians Who Have Written Plans for Their End-of-Life Care Wishes, by Province, 2014
Any surprizes here? I was pleasantly surprized that Ontario took the lead with planning for end of life care. Glad the message is getting out!
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