Government-subsidized home care.

In 1994/95, over half a million people, or 2.5% of the population aged 18 or older, received some form of government-subsidized home care (see Data sources and The questions). By 2003, although the estimated number of recipients had increased by about 125,000, the proportion of the population receiving such care—2.7%—did not differ significantly from the 1994/95 figure. In some ways, the characteristics of home care recipients were similar in both periods (Table 1). For example, the sex distribution remained the same, at about two-thirds women and one-third men. There was also no significant change in the proportion who depended on social assistance as their main source of income.