/ Sociodemographic data and data justice

Leaving No One Behind in Long-Term Care: Enhancing Socio-Demographic Data Collection in Long-Term Care Settings

• Seong-gee Um, Brenda Roche, Jesse Rosenberg and Kwame McKenzie
silhouettes of two seniors sitting on a blue and purple background with NIA and Wellesley Institute logos

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a disproportionate toll on Canada’s most vulnerable populations. With growing evidence on the inequitable impacts of COVID-19 across Canada, it is reasonable to assume that similar impacts have occurred, and will continue to occur, amongst the diverse population groups of Canadians living and working in long-term care settings. Unfortunately, due to the long-standing failure to collect in-depth socio-demographic data in long-term care settings, it is currently not possible to understand the full scope of the pandemic’s impact on residents and workers in Canada’s long-term care settings.

Socio-demographic data is an important tool for measuring and reducing health disparities among people across different population groups and from different backgrounds. To facilitate enhanced socio-demographic data collection in long-term care settings, lessons were drawn from existing initiatives. Wellesley Institute and the National Institute on Ageing have identified five key areas of consideration related to data collection and use.

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Seong-gee Um

Seong-gee Um

Seong-gee Um was a researcher at Wellesley Institute from 2015 to 2021. She received her PhD from the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto and has worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy at the University of Lethbridge. Her research interests lie in the areas of inequality, immigration, and health and social care. Her work explores social policy responses to emerging social risks and how they shape the experiences of vulnerable and disadvantaged populations.

Brenda Roche

Brenda Roche

Dr. Brenda Roche is Director of Research at the Wellesley Institute. She was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Anthropology and Health at the Gender, Violence and Health Centre of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She comes with academic and community-based research experience exploring social and health issues in urban settings, including homelessness, sexual health, violence and psychological trauma and distress. Her doctorate, through the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, examined discourses on trauma that operate within the context of refugee resettlement, and how these influence health and social care practices for women (and their families) seeking political asylum in the United Kingdom.

Jesse Rosenberg

Jesse Rosenberg

Jesse Rosenberg is a legal and policy professional with political and policy experience in the fields of health, labour and justice. Director of Policy at the Wellesley Institute, Jesse previously held leadership roles with the government of Ontario and the Ontario College of Trades. He has extensive experience and expertise in stakeholder relations and legislative and regulatory development and analysis. He holds a Bachelor of Humanities from Carleton University and a Juris Doctor from Osgoode Hall.

Kwame McKenzie

Kwame McKenzie

Dr. Kwame McKenzie is CEO of Wellesley Institute, which works in research and policy to improve health and health equity in the Greater Toronto Area. A practicing psychiatrist, he also holds positions as a full Professor at the University of Toronto and as the Director of Health Equity at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). As an international expert on the social causes of illness and the development of equitable social policy and health systems, Dr. McKenzie has advised health, housing, education and social services ministers in Canada and the U.K. and has authored more than 260 peer reviewed papers and six books. He is a member of the National Advisory Council on Poverty, and recently co-chaired Canada’s Expert Task Force on Substance Use. He has also worked as a consultant to the World Health Organization. Dr. McKenzie has been a columnist for The Guardian and The Times and a presenter for BBC Radio, and he is regularly published in the Toronto Star.