Abstract
Each year, thousands of older Canadians seasonally migrate to warmer climates to spend the coldest winter months. Generally in good health, these older Canadians face the possibility of becoming ill during their long stays outside the country. This paper investigates health incidents and health concerns of 2046 Canadians aged 65 and older who spent part of the 1985–6 winter in Florida. Respondents had completed a mailed questionnaire sent to subscribers to a weekly newspaper targeted at the Canadian audience.
Forty-six percent reported a health problem that bothered them now, and 14% said they had experienced a medical emergency requiring doctor or hospital care on this trip to Florida. Another 41% reported having had such a medical emergency on a previous trip. Although most respondents were habitual seasonal visitors to Florida, 5% said they had anticipated they would not return next year because of a health condition.
We investigate the deterrence effect of health status and concerns on seasonal migration. Implications for demand for health services of seasonal migrants, in both Canada and Florida, are drawn.
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Revision of paper presented to Canadian Association on Gerontology meetings, Calgary, Alberta, October 1987.
Funding was provided by the International Exchange Center on Gerontology through a grant to Richard Tucker, Charles Longino Jr., Larry Mullins and Victor Marshall; by the Academic Relations Office of the Canadian Embassy through a Faculty Research Grant awarded to Richard Tucker; by a grant from The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to Marshall, Tucker and Longino; and by the Programme in Gerontology, University of Toronto. The data could not have been gathered without the assistance of Mr. Bill Leader, Manager of Canada News.
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Daciuk, J.F., Marshall, V.W. Health concerns as a deterrent to seasonal migration of elderly Canadians. Social Indicators Research 22, 181–197 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00354839
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00354839