FACTORS UNDERLYING THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF ELDERLY PERSONS IN CANADA

Using data from the Survey of Old Age Security and Canadian Pension Pl an Retirement Recipients conducted by Health and Welfare Canada in 198 7, this article estimates the relationship between sociodemographic ch aracteristics and institutionalization of elderly persons in Canada. R egion of residence was introduced in our model as a proxy for system e ffects. Logistic regression showed that age, marital status, health, f amily income, and region of residence all have a significant effect on institutionalization. We look at policies specific to different provi nces to elaborate some hypotheses on how they affect the likelihood of residing in an institution. When trying to estimate the future needs and costs of institutional housing, this study shows the importance of considering not only the number of persons aged 65 years and over, bu t also expected changes in their sociodemographic characteristics and in the policies concerning long-term care services.