10. Moving Forward

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This section suggests some opportunities for all stakeholders to act now, in pursuit of the new vision for healthy aging.

1. Embrace a vision of healthy aging that values and supports the continuing contributions of older people; celebrates diversity, refutes ageism and reduces inequities; and provides opportunities for older Canadians to make healthy choices, which will enhance their independence and quality of life.

2. Fund and evaluate national, provincial/territorial and local initiatives that foster age-friendly supportive environments, mutual aid and self-care. Consult with seniors' groups, community agencies and seniors themselves about priorities for action. Work with the voluntary sector and especially with alliances representing several stakeholder groups (e.g., the Active Living Coalition for Older Adults) and with the private sector to develop supportive age-friendly environments, mutual aid and self-care among older people.

3. Build on existing opportunities to promote healthy aging on a partnership basis. Some examples include provincial strategies such as ActNow BC and 2010 Legacies, Manitoba's "Advancing Age: Promoting Older Manitobans", "Giving Older People a Voice" in Nova Scotia and Ontario's "Active 2010"; the Pan- Canadian Integrated Strategy on Healthy Living and Chronic Diseases; the ongoing work of the F/P/T Ministers Responsible for Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation; the Canada Senior Games; and the national disability agenda. Some of these opportunities are explored in the complementary report to this brief. Others need to be identified and pursued within specific jurisdictions.

4. Participate in and support international efforts to promote healthy aging. There are a number of opportunities for international collaboration. These include working with the World Health Organization (WHO) on falls prevention and participation in a global demonstration project on age-friendly cities. Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Sherbrooke, Quebec, and Saanich, British Columbia, will serve as official participants in the WHO's Age Friendly Cities Project. Canada also has a unique opportunity to expand and test this intervention in smaller communities.

5. Re-orient health and social services to better promote healthy aging through enhanced efforts in health promotion, and disease prevention and control. This could include incentives for primary care physicians and nurses to counsel seniors at risk for isolation, reduced physical activity, falls, compromised nutrition, and tobacco use and exposure; subsidies for seniors who wish to take a smoking cessation program or have a fitness or nutrition assessment; and increasing the roles of public health workers and staff in assisted living facilities in enabling healthy aging among seniors with disabilities and chronic diseases. There is also a need to adequately support community-based, prevention-focused social service organizations to continue their work in the community where the vast majority of seniors reside.

6. Document and share promising practices. There have been numerous but scattered efforts to document and share interventions, case-studies, projects, policies and programs in healthy aging. Currently, there is no Canadian library or portal for documenting and sharing promising or best practices. The creation of such a clearinghouse could be an inexpensive and worthwhile initiative.

7. Create and promote national guidelines for healthy aging. Increase awareness and use of Canada's Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living for Older Adults. Create a similar guide for healthy eating as a complement to the revised Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating. Explore the creation of national guidelines related to seniors and tobacco, falls prevention and social inclusion.

8. Develop a core of ambassadors for healthy aging. There are many seniors across Canada who are actively engaged in healthy aging initiatives and seen as leaders in their communities. Recognizing, formalizing and supporting a team of such "ambassadors" at the provincial/territorial level could be an effective way to increase awareness and support for healthy aging.

9. Strengthen intergenerational ties through "conversations" between generations, and policies and programs that support grandparenting and intergenerational activities in the broader community. This will require partnerships among sectors that promote well-being throughout the lifecourse.

10.Support a knowledge development agenda. Integrated efforts in the development, synthesis, translation and exchange of knowledge on healthy aging are required to guide policies and practices. This agenda needs to address research gaps and support a solution-oriented, collaborative approach involving academics and researchers in the community, seniors, and research institutions such as the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (Institute of Aging), the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute and the Canadian Centre for Active Aging.

 

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