The purpose of this project is to analyze the level and distribution of health needs within the population and how this level and distribution are changing over time.  Traditional HHR models have been based on applying anticipated changes in the size and demographic profile of the population to observed age and gender specific levels of health care utilization. Implicit in these models are the assumptions that utilization of health care services is a proxy for need for health care services, and that the age- and sex-specific levels of health needs will remain constant over time. The former assumption has been criticized after findings that variations in utilization are observed even after controlling for needs, and the latter is inconsistent with observed changes in life expectancy and self-assessed health status and the notion of compression of morbidity into later years of life. These factors suggest that age and gender specific levels of health needs may have fallen over time, even though the levels of service may have increased.  Little attention has been given to changes in the levels and distribution of the health of the Canadian population over time and the implications of any such changes for HHRP. Inclusion of fixed baseline estimates in prediction models for future nursing resources may lead to invalid estimates in number required if variation in age, sex, and social groups’ health status changes over time. This project examines the level and distribution of health needs by demographic and social strata and how this distribution is changing over time. This project provides information to adjust HHR estimates to accommodate the service requirements associated with temporal changes in the health needs of the population.

See more of Health Human Resource Modeling: Challenging the Past, Creating the Future
See more of The 17th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice (19-22 July 2006)