Legacy: The Life Stage Approach and Seniors' Funding in Atlantic Canada. 2005.

A reflection on work with seniors' organizations in the Atlantic region through successive Health Canada funding programs over three decades.
By Michelle Hébert Boyd
48 pages
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...download full report (224 KB)

Description

Health Canada's 1997 introduction of the Population Health Fund represented a significant shift in philosophy, funding criteria, and focus for community-based seniors' projects. This shift presented considerable challenges for seniors' organizations. Most challenging, perhaps, were the move to a life stage approach and a new focus on influencing public policy. Legacy: The Life Stage Approach and Seniors' Funding in Atlantic Canada reflects on the work done by seniors' organizations in the Atlantic region over the span of three successive funding programs and three decades. It also documents the role Health Canada played in helping seniors' organizations rise to the challenges.

The information presented in the report was drawn from a series of interviews and a review of evaluation reports and other documents created through the New Horizons program and the Population Health Fund. The program consultant and nine community stakeholders who were involved with seniors' work were key informants for the report.

The report was written to achieve a variety of objectives. It was meant to celebrate the successes of the "later life" work, to better understand the impacts of a life stage funding approach, to learn from the experience, and to apply these learnings to the Public Health Agency of Canada's future work with seniors.

The report identifies six key learnings for the Agency. It also outlines numerous recommendations from seniors' organizations in the region. The author concludes that the life stage approach has been an effective way to address the changing demographics and needs of Atlantic Canadian society, leaving an impressive legacy of evidence, strengthened community organizations, and action on the determinants of health.

Credits

Legacy: The Life Stage Approach and Seniors' Funding in Atlantic Canada was produced by Michelle Hébert Boyd, Program Consultant, Atlantic Regional Office, Public Health Agency of Canada. Camille Fouillard conducted the key informant interviews.

Availability

This publication is available for download in English and French in both html and pdf formats. To open the pdf file you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader.

... html English		... pdf English (224 KB)
... html French		... pdf French (247 KB)

For more information, contact:

Public Health Agency of Canada
Suite 1525, 15th Floor, Maritime Centre
1505 Barrington Street
Halifax, NS B3J 3Y6
Tel: (902) 426-2700
Fax: (902) 426-9689
E-mail: atlantic-atlantique@phac-aspc.gc.ca