Age-Friendly Communication: Facts, Tips and Ideas – Advice from the experts
There is a wealth of information available about how to communicate effectively—with all audiences, including seniors. The following provides a starting point for where to go for additional information. Many of these resources have been used to prepare this publication.
Know Your Audience
The first rule of communication is worth paying attention to. Knowing demographic trends and characteristics of various senior age groups can be invaluable when planning and implementing communication materials aimed at seniors. A few resources are listed below—many more can be found online. Check often, as new materials and resources are added to the Web sites every day.
- A Portrait of Seniors in Canada—2006 (PDF Document)
Turcotte, Martin, and Grant Schellenberg. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 2007. Cat. No. 89-519-XIE. - A Vision for a Health Literate Canada: Report of the Expert Panel on Health Literacy
Canadian Public Health Association. Ottawa: 2008. - Age-Friendly Rural and Remote Communities: A Guide
Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Seniors. Ottawa: 2007. -
At Risk: A Socio-economic Analysis of Health and Literacy Among Seniors
Roberts, Paul, and Gail Fawcett. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, 1998. Cat. No. 89-552-MPE, No. 5.Further reports in the International Adult Literacy Survey series are also available online.
- Global Age-Friendly Cities: A Guide (PDF document)
World Health Organization. Geneva, Switzerland: 2007. - Principles of the National Framework on Aging: A Policy Guide (PDF document)
Health Canada. Division of Aging and Seniors. Ottawa: 1998. - Reaching Out: A Guide to Communicating with Aboriginal Seniors (PDF document)
Health Canada. Division of Aging and Seniors. Ottawa: 1998. - Reading the Future: A Portrait of Literacy in Canada. (PDF document)
Statistics Canada. Ottawa: 1996. Cat. No. 89- 551-XPE. - Senior Friendly™ Resources
Alberta Council on Aging offers a wide variety of tools to help organizations and businesses to serve seniors. The resources include grocery store guidelines, ideas for healthy eating, pharmacy tips for seniors, a Toolkit as well as merchandise promoting the Senior Friendly™ movement. - Statistical Snapshots of Canada's Seniors
Lindsay, Colin, produced for the Division of Aging and Seniors, Health Canada. - Projected Adult Literacy: Measuring Movement (PALMM)
New in 2008 from the Canadian Council on Learning, this tool offers a creative and easy- to-use way to calculate adult literacy rates into the future. Users of PALMM can generate graphs according to province or territory, and such variables as age and education. The aim is to make literacy planning more effective.
Language and Design
A number of resources about the use of language and design in developing print and Web materials for seniors are available online. The following provide a good starting point. Web searches are bound to uncover many more. Increasingly, organizations offer services that may help you prepare information tailored to the needs of seniors, such as senior-friendly audits of your sites and products—search for them on the Web.
- A Way with Words and Images: Suggestions for the Portrayal of People with Disabilities
Government of Canada. Ottawa: 2006. - Clear Writing and Literacy, Revised Second Edition
Baldwin, Ruth. Toronto: Ontario Literacy Coalition, 2000. - Common Look and Feel Standards for the Internet 2.0
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. Ottawa: 2006. - Communication Barriers—A Look at Barriers to Communication Facing Persons with Disabilities Who Travel by Air
Canadian Transportation Agency. Ottawa: 1997. - Good Medicine for Seniors: Guidelines for Plain Language and Good Design in Prescription Medication (PDF document)
Canadian Public Health Association. Ottawa: 2002. - Making Your Printed Health Materials Senior Friendly: Tips from the National Institute on Aging (PDF document)
U.S. National Institute on Aging and National Institutes of Health, 2007. - Making Your Web Site Senior Friendly: A Checklist
U.S. National Institute on Aging and National Library of Medicine, 2001. (PDF Document) - Type and Layout: Are You Communicating, or Just Making Pretty Shapes?
Wheildon, Colin, and Jeffrey Heard. Mentone, Victoria, Australia: The Worsley Press, 2005.
Alternative Formats
Many national organizations with branches across the country provide information on alternative formats. Check your local library or the phone book for these headings or organizations in your area: Canadian National Institute for the Blind; Canadian Association of the Deaf; Canadian Hearing Society; Deaf Services; Transcription Services; Disabled Services; Reading Services; Braille printers; Captioning; Access.
Organizations
Many national organizations provide information about aging, seniors and accessibility. A few well-known organizations are listed below, and many more can be identified through Web searches.
- ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation
4211 Yonge Street, Suite 235
Toronto, Ontario M2P 2A9
Tel: 416-218-0010
Toll-free: 1-800-303-1004
Fax: 416-218-0457
E-mail: info@abc-canada.org - Alberta Council on Aging
14964–121A Avenue NW, Suite 210
Edmonton, Alberta T5V 1A3
Tel: 780-423-7781 - Canadian Association of the Deaf
251 Bank Street, Suite 203
Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1X3
Voice: 613-565-2882
TTY: 613-565-8882
E-mail: info@cad.ca - Canadian Council on Learning
50 O'Connor Street, Suite 215
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6L2
Tel: 613-782-2959
Fax: 613-782-2956
E-mail: info@ccl-cca.ca - Canadian Hard of Hearing Association
2415 Holly Lane, Suite 205
Ottawa, Ontario K1V 7P2
Voice: 613-526-1584
Toll-Free: 1-800-263-8068 (in Canada only)
TTY: 613-526-2692
Fax: 613-526-4718
E-mail: chhanational@chha.ca - Canadian National Institute for the Blind
1929 Bayview Avenue
Toronto, Ontario M4G 3E8
Tel: 1-800-563-2642
E-mail: info@cnib.ca - Canadian Public Health Association National Literacy and Health Program
1565 Carling Avenue, Suite 400
Ottawa, Ontario K1Z 8R1
Tel: 613-725-3769
E-mail: info@cpha.ca - Canadian Transportation Agency
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N9
E-mail: info@cta-otc.gc.ca - Le Réseau pour le développement de l’alphabétisme et des compétences (RESDAC)
235 Montréal Road
2nd Floor, Suite 205
Ottawa, Ontario K1L 6C7
Tel: 613-749-5333
Toll-free: 1-888-906-5666 (in Canada only)
Fax: 613-749-2252
E-mail: info@fcaf.net - Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
Office of Literacy and Essential Skills - Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
National Seniors Council
355 North River Road, Place Vanier
Tower B, 14th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L1
Tel: 613-946-1736
Fax: 613-946-8871 - Public Health Agency of Canada
Division of Aging, Seniors and Dementia - Statistics Canada
100 Tunney's Pasture Driveway
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0T6
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