Population coverage of the Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System: a survey of the contents of health insurance registries across Canada

• Published in: Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada
• Main Authors: Naomi C. Hamm, Cynthia Robitaille, Joellyn Ellison, Siobhan O'Donnell, Louise McRae, Kimberley Hutchings, Louis Rochette, Karen A.M. Phillips, Mahmoud Azimaee, MaryRose Stang, Rolf Puchtinger, Megan McCallum, Aijun Yang, Josh Squires, Yue Liu, Lawrence W. Svenson, Faisal Shibley, Aakash Amatya, Bin Zhang, James Ayles, Lisa M. Lix
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; French
• Published: Public Health Agency of Canada 2021
• Subjects: Medicine (General); R5-920; Northwest Territories; Canada; First Nations
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.41.7/8.04; https://doaj.org/article/7495d8189dab42bf9da75238bcff208a

IntroductionHealth insurance registries, which capture insurance coverage and demographic information for entire populations, are a critical component of population health surveillance and research when using administrative data. Lack of standardization of registry information across Canada’s provinces and territories could affect the comparability of surveillance measures. We assessed the contents of health insurance registries across Canada to describe the populations covered and document registry similarities and differences. MethodsA survey about the data and population identifiers in health insurance registries was developed by the study team and representatives from the Public Health Agency of Canada. The survey was completed by key informants from most provinces and territories and then descriptively analyzed. ResultsResponses were received from all provinces; partial responses were received from the Northwest Territories. Demographic information in health insurance registries, such as primary address, date of birth and sex, were captured in all jurisdictions. Data captured on familial relationships, ethnicity and socioeconomic status varied among jurisdictions, as did start and end dates of coverage and frequency of registry updates. Identifiers for specific populations, such as First Nations individuals, were captured in some, but not all jurisdictions. ConclusionHealth insurance registries are a rich source of information about the insured populations of the provinces and territories. However, data heterogeneity may affect who is included and excluded in population surveillance estimates produced using administrative health data. Development of a harmonized data framework could support timely and comparable population health research and surveillance results from multi-jurisdiction studies.