First successful applicant will lead project to promote healthy aging
May 24, 2019 Moncton, New Brunswick Public Health Agency of Canada
Canada's population is living longer than ever before, with people over the age of 65 now outnumbering those under 15 years of age, and women making up the majority of Canadians over the age of 65. The Government of Canada is committed to addressing the needs of this growing and diverse population and to helping Canadians live well as they age.
Today, the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health, and Dorothy Shephard, New Brunswick's Minister of Social Development, announced the first successful applicant as part of New Brunswick's three-year Healthy Seniors Pilot Project.
The Nursing Home Without Walls project is being led by the Université de Moncton, in collaboration with local nursing homes, to test innovative methods of providing seniors and their families, friends, and neighbours with access to appropriate services and information related to aging in place. This includes initiatives to help address social isolation and loneliness, and involves working with the local community to help respond to the needs of their aging population.
This project will help improve our understanding of how we can support healthy aging and improve the quality of life for all Canadians.
"Seniors are the fastest-growing demographic in Canada and play an integral role in the fabric of our society. We are proud to support this project through our funding for the Healthy Seniors Pilot Project, which will provide valuable insight into how we can best support healthy aging for seniors across Canada."
The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor
Minister of Health
"We know that New Brunswick's senior population is rising rapidly. We need to be certain that supports are in place to care for our seniors, the way they have spent their lives caring for us. The Healthy Seniors Pilot Project and the projects that are a part of it will help to create a positive aging experience for New Brunswickers and to keep seniors happy, healthy, and independent."
Dorothy Shephard
Minister of Social Development
Quick facts
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As announced in Budget 2018, the Government of Canada invested $75 million to support the Healthy Seniors Pilot Project, which was developed to support a range of applied research initiatives to examine how governments can better support seniors in their homes, communities, and care facilities.
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Through the Healthy Seniors Pilot Project, we will gain knowledge to help us better understand:
- the impacts of aging on our population;
- the different challenges that women and men face; and
- how we can support individual seniors to maintain independence and a healthy lifestyle.
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In 2012, Statistics Canada forecasted that, over the next 20 years, New Brunswick's seniors population would rise faster than the seniors population in the rest of Canada. This makes New Brunswick well suited to undertake this pilot project.
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New Brunswick has one of the highest populations of people over the age of 65, with a measurably higher proportion of women over 65 relative to the Canadian average. In addition, the province offers the added capacity to explore urban, rural and remote considerations, linguistic minority communities, and Indigenous perspectives.
