Quality report on OSF statistics
Count of Regular Home-Care Clients, 30 November
Relevance of statistical data
Data on regular home care collected by the National Institute
for Health and Welfare (THL) cover the number of clients receiving
regular home care, clients receiving support services and clients
receiving support for informal care on November 30. The Count of
Regular Home-Care Clients was conducted every other year (in
odd-numbered years, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005) up to 2005. From 2007
onwards, the count has been conducted each year in November. The
figures include clients in services provided by municipalities,
joint municipal boards and private service providers.
The data are intended for municipal and private sector service
providers, municipal officials, planning officials and researchers
working in the area of social welfare and health care.
The collection of data is based on the Act on the National
Institute for Health and Welfare (668/2008) and the Act on the
Statistical Service of the National Research and Development Centre
for Welfare and Health (409/2001).
Description of methods
The data on home care cover clients in services provided by
municipalities, joint municipal boards and private service
providers. The count of regular home-care clients is performed
annually as at 30 November. November has been chosen as a
representative time for the end of the year as it is considered to
be neutral in regard to seasonal variations; holidays, for example,
do not have an impact on it as they do in December.
The Count of Regular Home-Care Clients includes clients:
- who, on the day of count, 30 November, have a valid service and
care plan (a care plan for social welfare or jointly for social and
health care, or a home-nursing plan for health care);
- or who regularly (without a service and care plan) receive
home-help services, home nursing or day hospital services at least
once a week, with at least one actual service appointment on every
week in November;
- who attended day care for older people at least once a week in
November. This does not include day centre activities or leisure
time occupations (such as crafts classes) offered at day
centres.
- who receive support for informal care, even if they do not
receive any services in the home.
The count includes all clients receiving regular services even
if they are not receiving services on the day of count. However,
the count does not include people who are in institutional care or
housing services on the day of count even if they have a valid
service and care plan.
Data for the Care Register for Social Welfare are gathered on
the level of an individual, that is, a data collection form is
completed separately for each client. As regards the count of
regular home care, the data content is consistent with other social
and health care reporting except that it has a few additional
questions mainly concerning the services received.
In the count of regular home-care clients, the following data
are recorded:
- service provider
- client information (personal identity code, municipality of
residence, activity, type of permanent accommodation)
- admission information (date of admission to care, previous care
place, reason for admission)
- care information (diagnoses, need for care at the time of
count, appropriate place of care)
Additional data concerning home care:
- factors that impact negatively on living
- services received during the previous month (home care, support
services, support for informal care, other support)
The data are submitted as a sequential file over an encrypted
SSL connection, on a USB memory stick, on CD or on data collection
forms. The data are stored electronically in the Care Register for
Social Welfare maintained by THL pursuant to the Act on the
Statistical Service of the National Research and Development Centre
for Welfare and Health (409/2001) and section 2 of the Act on the
National Research Institute for Health and Welfare (668/2008).
Data coverage
The statistics have a coverage of nearly 100 per cent where the
municipalities are concerned. For private service providers, the
coverage is 85 per cent. The private service provision purchased by
municipalities is partly included in the municipal data; these data
cannot be distinguished from the services provided by
municipalities.
Correctness and accuracy of data
The data are correct in so far as they have been reported
correctly. If an error is detected in the Care Register, efforts
are made to correct it in connection with the Register's normal
compilation and maintenance procedures. Data suppliers themselves
are usually asked to correct any errors or deficiencies detected in
their data.
Timeliness and promptness of published data
The Count of Regular Home-Care Clients is a statistical report
produced annually by THL. The data are gathered in November and the
report is published in June. The goal is to attain the maximum
feasible data coverage. Continuously having to request resubmission
of missing data considerably affects the publication schedule.
Accessibility and transparency/clarity of data
The statistical report is available on the THL website at
http://www.thl.fi/en/statistics/homecare.
Comparability of statistical data
Data for the Count of Regular Home-Care Clients have been
collected since 1995. Although a few minor changes have been made
over the years, the core data content of the Register has remained
almost unchanged, describing service providers, clients, client
admissions, and the care and services received by clients.
Clarity and consistency
The data are nationwide, covering clients receiving regular home
care. The coverage of data for other clients varies, due to
differences in the reporting of data on clients receiving support
services and support for informal care. Data on recipients of
support for informal care are also collected in the Statistics on
Municipal Finances and Activities. A comparison with the number of
clients reported to the Statistics on Municipal Finances and
Activities indicates that some 30 per cent of informal care clients
are not included in the material in the Count of Regular Home-Care
Clients.
The data are broken down by service received and municipality of
residence. Regular home-care (home-help services and home nursing)
clients are presented by number of visits, need for care and age,
broken down by region and municipality.
Special issues concerning the 2010 statistics
The statistical report on the Count of Regular Home-Care Clients
for 30 November 2010 now includes for the first time the number of
clients who received some type of auxiliary service. The data on
whether or not the client received some type of auxiliary service
(yes/no) has 100 per cent coverage in the material, but more
specific data on the different types of auxiliary service were not
available for 29 per cent of the regular home-care clients who
received some type of auxiliary service. As a consequence, the data
does not provide comprehensive information on specific auxiliary
services, e.g. how many clients received meals on wheels. However,
it is possible to conclude from the material what the distribution
was of the different auxiliary services.
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