Key findings:
Background:
Pre-COVID comparison:
Post-COVID response:
Measuring the effect of policy on excess mortality:
Summarize the key findings from your report (in bullet form) & why is it valuable?
Use publicly available data[1] from Ontario and British Columbia (BC) to compare the effect[2] of COVID between the broader public and long-term care (LTC) residents. Then compare the effect of COVID on LTC homes between Ontario and BC. Why was Ontario’s LTC system already characterised to be in a state of crises?
Use publicly available data[3] and reports[4] to compare Ontario and BC in terms of the following pre-COVID LTC characteristics: i) resident profiles; ii) funding (per diem), staffing and direct hours of care; iii) ownership structure (Not-for-profit & For-profit status) and crowding/bed scarcity (how many in shared rooms?)
Compare Ontario’s to BC’s COVID-era LTC policy in terms of staffing[5] (what is the main driver of this?)
Provide a high-level description of the difference-in-difference (DID) technique[6] and why it might apply well within the context of long-term care in Canada.
Describe the concept of excess mortality[7]; is it a key measure for the effect of COVID on LTC and can it help in the policy responses by Ontario and BC?
How might different pre-COVID LTC characteristics in Ontario vs. BC affect the interpretation of DID estimates?
Sample Solution
