Registry

Type of Study

Longitudinal data: The registries are continuously updated and merged to construct a micro-level dataset convering recipients of social services aged 67 and above.

Data gathering method

Registries

Conditions of access

Access for researchers affiliated with authorized Danish research environments. See www.dst.dk/en/TilSalg/Forskningsservice.aspx

Permission to use the Danish Register has to be requested from the Danish Data Protection Agency. This will extend the application process by 1-2 months.

Anonymised microdata. Aggregated tables can be extracted from StatBank Denmark: http://www.statbank.dk/statbank5a/default.asp?w=1350

Anonymised microdata: SAS Aggregate tables split by region/municipality, age and gender: http://www.statbank.dk/statbank5a/default.asp?w=1350

Some tables and short descriptions of the aggregated tables available online are in English. The most comprehensive documentation and analyses are in Danish.

Data collection ongoing since 2006.

Data collection began in 2006 for some social services/benefits, but most data began to be collected in 2008.

National coverage

Statistics Denmark collects data from digitalized reports from the municipalities for the national registries through the EOJ (Elektronisk Omsorgsjournal)-systems

National coverage - however the statistics are compiled on the basis of monthly digitalized data reports from the municipalities. The monthly statistical coverage varies among the municipalities.

Population aged 65 and above

Representativeness relies on the EOJ

The registry looks at social services that are administered by the municipalities, i.e. senior housing, daytime activity centres, meal services, temporary and permanent help in the home, nursing and care staff.

Short articles summarising analyses based on this data are published by Statistics Denmark. www.dst.dk/.../sociale-ydelser-til-aeldre.aspx#
. For example, in March 2013, a report on the socio-economic dispersion of practical help in the home of the elderly.

N.A.

Can be linked to anonymized microdata in the Statistics Denmark registries.

Not all municipalities report data for all years and for all social benefits. This missing information is noted in the StatBank Denmark tables and in the footnotes in the following tables: www.dst.dk/.../sociale-ydelser-til-aeldre.aspx

Since the data source is administrative registries, there will be breaks for certain variables due to changes in administrative practice, changes in legislation, etc. Such breaks are well documented by Statistics Denmark.

Definitions and descriptions of terminology are available in Danish: www.dst.dk/.../sociale-ydelser-til-aeldre.aspx

Strengths: The registry provides very detailed information about the recipients of social services from municipalities. Microlevel data can be linked to other registry data - not only data concerning the elderly person him/herself, but also his/her spouse and children. Weakness: The data is collected from the Ministry of Social Affairs, the social institutions that provide the services and the municipalities. The coverage at the municipality level is far from complete since not all municipalities have agreed to contribute to the data collection effort. Hence for some years, there are only about half the number of municipalities that have contributed data. Coverage is increasing over time.