With an aging population and the increasing stress of work-life balance, the opportunities in the Canadian home care services market are undeniable. This does not mean however you can get away without doing any research.
There are a number of basic resources every researcher in this sector should be aware of.
First and foremast, as is the case for most demographically driven businesses, is the Census.
The best place to start is the Household Living Arrangement table (97-553-XCB2006019). This table lets you determine the potential size of your market by identifying the living arrangements of seniors in your local community (e.g. living with relatives, living alone). It also includes the variables of gender and age group.
While this basic number is necessary, you need to look further. When you are researching this market, you need to consider not only the seniors who will use your services, but more importantly the informal caregivers who will likely be making the purchasing decision. The Census contains a unique variable which helps you to quantify this unpaid caregiver market namely “hours spent providing unpaid care or assistance to seniors”.
The details associated with this variable include number of hours of unpaid care provided and the age group and gender of caregivers in communities across Canada. You can access them in the Unpaid Work by Census Division & Census Subdivision table (97-559-XCB2006015).
If you are interested in local neighbourhood data you can use the GeoSearch 2006 resource however it only provides data on households reporting hours spent on senior care as a whole. There is no cross-referencing of variables (e.g. age and gender) nor any indication of the number of hours spent.
For more information on accessing local Census data see our Research Guide.
For basic financial benchmarks use the SME Benchmarking Tool. A non-medical home care business falls under the North American Industry Classification heading 624120 – Services for Elderly and Persons with Disabilities. For the official definition of this heading see the Stats Can web site.
We have a number of government and non-government references related to home care in our Stats Link Canada Source Lists. Look under the subject headings “Home Care” as well as “senior care“
One of the major Stats Can references is the Participation and Activity Limitation Survey Tables (Part VI).
It includes data tables on help with everyday activities, unmet needs and the nature of the help providers. This data will give you some perspective on the types of home care needed and how these are currently being met. Especially look at the table on reasons specified by respondents regarding unmet needs. This will alert you to potential market issues you will need to overcome.
Finally make sure you look at the Stats Link Canada subject heading “Sandwich Generation”. This refers to individuals who are providing care to both their children at home and their own parents. You will want to understand this segment of the market especially those that are feeling overburdened. If they have the financial resources they may be a very good target market. (i.e. they are in need of help and are able to pay for it). Our Source Lists reference a number of polls and surveys on this psychographic group.
For a basic overview of the size of the “sandwich generation” see the Census table on Unpaid Work by Presence & Age of Youngest Child (97-559-XCB2006007). The data is only available at a provincial and metropolitan area level but it can useful in quantifying the number of households where care-giving duties are split between two generations.
There are definitely business opportunities in the home care market but as with any business, make sure you do your research first!
For a FREE TRIAL version of the Stats Link Canada subject headings referenced above click on the following links: Home Care, Senior Care, Sandwich Generation