Data Sources
Canadian Cancer Registry – Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada maintains a National Cancer Registry with information submitted by all provincial and territorial cancer registries. The registry includes demographic information and identifies the type of cancer. A variety of data sources, including laboratory and physician reports, are used to identify individuals to be included in the registry.
Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) – Statistics Canada
The CCHS is a cross-sectional survey that collects information related to health status, health care utilization and health determinants for the Canadian population. The survey collects information from persons aged 12 or older living in private dwellings in 122 health regions in all provinces and territories. Approximately 98% of the population age 12 and over are covered. There is no information for individuals living on Reserves, Crown lands, or in institutions, or for full-time members of the Canadian Forces.
Canadian Organ Replacement Register (CORR) – Canadian Institute for Health Information
The mission of CORR is to provide a national database on vital organ replacement therapy in Canada, with the goal of enhancing treatment, research and patient care. CORR is the national information system for renal and extra-renal organ failure and transplantation in Canada, with a mandate to record and analyze the level of activity and outcomes of solid organ transplantation and renal dialysis activities. There has been some form of Canadian register of renal failure statistics since the early 1970s. In 1987, the register was expanded to include data on extra-renal organ transplants.
Canadian Patient Data Registry - Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CCFF)
The Canadian Patient Data Registry is a database containing medical information on all individuals with cystic fibrosis who have attended a cystic fibrosis clinic in Canada. Data are submitted annually by the 38 cystic fibrosis clinics in the country, and are maintained by the Foundation. Anonymous, aggregate statistics are available to CCFF-supported clinicians.
Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS) – Health Canada
CTUMS was initiated in 1999 to provide Health Canada and its partners with reliable data on tobacco use and related issues. It collects information on Canadians 15 years of age and older, except residents of Yukon, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories and full-time residents of institutions.
Canadian Tuberculosis Reporting System (CTBRS) – Public Health Agency of Canada
The CTBRS is maintained by Tuberculosis Prevention and Control, Public Health Agency of Canada. This surveillance system is derived from records of provincial and territorial tuberculosis registries that capture information on every new active and relapsed case of tuberculosis. The system has also been designed to capture information on treatment outcomes for these cases. All provinces and territories voluntarily submit case and outcome data to TBPC, four of them electronically and the remainder on paper.
Economic Burden of Illness in Canada (EBIC) – Public Health Agency of Canada
The EBIC is a series of studies offering a comprehensive overview of how the principal direct and indirect costs of illness are distributed in Canada at a given time. The methods used allow us to approximate the cost to society of illness or injury by translating illness, injury, and premature death into direct and indirect costs.
Health Person-Oriented Information Database (HPOI) – Statistics Canada
This linkable database is created from all the hospital discharge records in Canada compiled by the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Each record contains information abstracted from a patient’s hospital chart and pertains to one hospital stay. The records are combined to create person-oriented information on patients. Hospital records are available for fiscal years 1995–95 to 2004–05. Medical data are coded according to the International Classification of Disease, 9th revision (ICD-9), or the 10th revision enhanced for Canada (ICD-10-CA).
Hospital Morbidity Database (HMDB) – Canadian Institute for Health Information
The HMDB is a national database that captures administrative, clinical and demographic information on all inpatients at Canadian health care facilities. It displays national discharge statistics by diagnoses and procedures. Discharge data comes from acute care facilities and select chronic care and rehabilitation facilities across the country. In addition to demographic and administrative information, the database contains up to 16 diagnostic codes and some procedures codes. Not included in the database are discharge data from psychiatric facilities, day procedures (e.g., day surgeries) and emergency department visits.
National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) Network – Environment Canada
The NAPS network was established jointly in 1969 by the federal, provincial and municipal governments. Air quality data from the network give governments and the public essential information about air pollution that allows them to assess whether national air quality objectives are being met. In 2004, the network consisted of 260 stations in 172 communities.
National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS) – Canadian Institute for Health Information
The NACRS is a data collection tool designed to capture information on client visits to facility and community based ambulatory care. Client visit data are collected at the time of service in participating facilities. The database includes: demographic data, clinical data, administrative data, financial data, and service-specific data elements. Currently, data submission to NACRS has been mandated in Ontario for ER, day surgery, dialysis, cardiac catheterization and oncology (including all regional cancer centres). Some facilities in B.C., the Yukon, P.E.I and Nova Scotia are also submitting data.
National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) – Statistics Canada and Human Resource
Development Canada (HRDC)
The primary objective of the NLSCY is to develop a national database on the characteristics and life experiences of Canadian children as they grow from infancy to adulthood. Data collection began in 1994-95, and new data will be collected on these children every two years. While the survey is longitudinal, a cross-sectional sample for children 11 years and under is available across the surveys up to 2000. The NLSCY target population includes children in all provinces and territories, except children living in institutions, on Indian reserves, on Canadian Armed Forces Bases and in some remote areas. The survey collects information on the child from the household member most knowledgeable about the child. Up to four children per household are chosen randomly.
National Population Health Survey (NPHS) – Statistics Canada
The NPHS collects information related to the health of the Canadian population and related socio-demographic information. The NPHS is composed of three components: the Household Survey, the Health Care Institution Survey and the Northern Territories Survey. The NPHS Household Survey included a cross-sectional component until 1998–99. The NPHS household component includes household residents in all provinces, except for residents of Indian Reserves, Canadian Forces Bases and some remote areas in Quebec and Ontario.
Respiratory Virus Detection Surveillance System – Public Health Agency of Canada
The Respiratory Virus Detection Surveillance System reports on respiratory viruses in Canada. Each week, selected laboratories report to the Immunization and Respiratory Infections Division (IRID), Public Health Agency of Canada, on numbers of tests performed and numbers positive for influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza, and adenovirus.
Vital Statistics Death Database – Statistics Canada
This is a comprehensive administrative survey that collects demographic and medical (cause of death) information annually from all provincial and territorial vital statistics registries in Canada. The data are used to calculate basic indicators (such as counts and rates) on deaths. Information from this database is also used in the calculation of statistics, such as cause-specific death rates and life expectancy. The personal information portion of the death registration form is completed by an informant, usually a relative of the deceased. The portion of the form comprising the medical certificate of death is completed by the medical practitioner last in attendance or, in the event of an inquest or enquiry, by a coroner. The database includes demographic information and identifies the underlying cause of death as defined by the physician.
Youth Smoking Survey (YSS) – Health Canada
The YSS provides timely and accurate monitoring of tobacco use in children (grades 5–9) attending either public or private schools in all Canadian provinces. Data were initially collected in 1994; the survey was repeated in 2002 and again in 2004–05.
