Biomedical subjects

D A Jordan-Simpson

Publications and source records attributed to D A Jordan-Simpson.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1992

Gender inequalities in care-giving in Canada.

In Canada today, as in the past, men and women devote different amounts of time and effort to providing health care to their family and in the broader community. This paper examines "the social distinction between masculinity and femininity" in care-giving. Issues of gender inequality in care-giving have the potential to affect the formal health care system as the burden of caring will increase over the next few decades with the aging of society. This increase in need for care is occurring at a time when primary care providers--women--have additional demand on their time. Canadian society has been facing a series of social, demographic and economic shifts such as a higher divorce rate, two-income families, women's increasing professional commitments and first pregnancies at later ages, these factors may not affect women's willingness to care for others. However women may need support to provide the care. Assuming present trends, increasing need for families to care for elderly relatives may be inevitable. Perhaps society will recognize this need and provide support to those providing informal care. This could take the form of allowing individuals more time to provide care through child care leave, leave to care for parents and job-sharing. Support to those providing informal care might also be facilitated through community support services such as respite care, household maintenance, psychological support to care-givers, support groups, informal networks within a community and consideration of unconventional support methods.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Canadian Farm Operator Study: methodology.

A mortality study of about 326,000 Canadian male farm operators enumerated in the 1971 Census of Agriculture is being conducted by Health and Welfare Canada in collaboration with Statistics Canada. The study examines the mortality patterns of farm operators in relation to farm practices and a variety of socio-demographic variables. The prime concern is the association between pesticide use and certain cancers suggested in previous studies of farmers. This article describes the methodology used to create the study cohort and the analysis files. Highlights of the preliminary results from this study for Saskatchewan are also presented. Results for other regions are forthcoming. Among the Saskatchewan cohort of farm operators, 94% of deaths occurred within the province. The average age at death was 67.9 years and the average length of survival from 1971 was 13.9 years. Although the cohort as a whole had no excess mortality for any specific cause of death--including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma--significant dose-response relationships were noted between risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and acres sprayed with herbicides in 1970, as well as with dollars spent in 1970 on fuel and oil for farm purposes (1).

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Participation of people with disabilities in selected activities.

The Health and Activity Limitation Survey (HALS) surveyed disabled Canadians. The survey measured participation in selected cultural and leisure activities, the satisfaction of disabled people with their level of participation, and barriers to participation. Of those surveyed, 98.0% reported doing one or a combination of the following: watching television; listening to radio, records or tapes; reading. Those with speaking and "other" limitations used the telephone less than those with other types of limitations; similarly, those with severe disabilities used the telephone less than those with less-severe disabilities. Participation decreased with age for activities such as doing arts or crafts, gardening, and talking on the telephone. Those aged 65 and over were more likely to be satisfied with their activity than younger people. Overall, 47.4% of those with a severe disability wanted to do more, compared to 34.0% with a moderate disability and 26.2% with a slight disability. The physical inability to do more was the most-often cited barrier to increasing activity: 53.9% of men and 55.7% of women said it was a barrier.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1990

Canada's disabled population in institutions.

One percent of Canada's population are long-term residents of health care institutions. Of this group an estimated 97% have a disabling condition. This article profiles disabled people living in institutions using data from the Health and Activity Limitation Survey (HALS) undertaken by Statistics Canada. HALS collected data on: the nature, number and severity of disabilities; the underlying causes of the disabilities; and the degree of assistance required for daily activities. For the institutional component of HALS, a sample of 19,000 disabled individuals from 1,100 institutions was used. The institutional survey indicated that almost 80% of the disabled population in institutions were aged 65 or older, while about 90% had mobility and/or agility-related disabilities. The most frequently cited underlying cause of disability for respondents living in both institutions and households was disease or illness. Among young adults in institutions, mental retardation was the main disabling condition. Among the elderly, diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (including arthritis) were most common. Most respondents in institutions required daily help with personal care, shopping and personal finances.

Activities of Daily Living↗