There are many examples of aging in place programs across Canada that have successfully helped older adults age in place, in the community, with formal support. These promising practices have demonstrated impact in helping older adults remain at home with improved safety, health and quality of life. This can result in delayed entry to long-term care while also reducing emergency department visits, lessening demands on care partners, and making better use of health and social care resources.
Aging in place programs support older adults and their care partners living at home in many ways, including but not limited to:
Healthcare Excellence Canada, in partnership with organizations delivering aging in place programs, has summarized some of these practices into short summaries to raise the profile of promising practices and generate discussion about how similar approaches could be adapted and applied elsewhere. The summaries offer details about how the practice works, evaluation and impact, and key success factors.
The Community Paramedicine at Clinic (CP@clinic) Program is an innovative, evidence-based chronic disease prevention, management and health promotion program operated by local community paramedics in community social housing with high concentrations of older adults. It aims to:
Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) are communities that have evolved with changing population dynamics to have a high percentage of older adults. They provide an opportunity to leverage the density of older adults living in one place and:
The Navigation – Connecting, Advocating, Resourcing, Engaging (Nav-CARE) program is a social innovation where experienced volunteers provide quality of life navigation for adults experiencing declining health in their homes. It aims to support people with declining health with their unmet needs by connecting them with navigators who can help them access services. Volunteer navigators work with clients to:
The Nursing Home Without Walls program leverages nursing home resources to support older adults living in the community. It enables older adults to live at home longer and reduces avoidable emergency department visits. It aims to:
The Ottawa West Aging in Place program provides wraparound support and home care services to older adults living in social housing, who are often admitted to long-term care sooner than others because they cannot afford the additional support needed to stay home longer. It aims to:
Most people in Canada – 85 percent of adults surveyed and 96 percent of those aged 65 years and older – want to avoid moving into a long-term care home and age at home for as long as they can. Despite this desire, one in 10 people who enter long-term care could have potentially been cared for at home with formal support. Learn more about Enabling Aging in Place, an HEC collaborative focused on implementing promising practices that enable older adults to age safely in place.