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Canada's Aging Population Essay

Decent Essays

Canada, along with many other nations, is currently faced with an aging population. In Canada seniors are the fastest growing age group and make more then half of the population. And the numbers of older adults are higher in rural areas than in urban areas (Menec et al., 2015). Rural communities exist throughout Canada where there are large aging populations and higher number of children, but there are fewer working individuals as compared to urban communities (Menec et al., 2015). Many rural areas are aging more quickly than its urban counterparts as many choose to move to a rural community for the slow pace of life, attractive scenery and smaller community areas (Spina & Menec, 2015, Menec et al., 2015). Rural seniors challenged with issue …show more content…

In 2006, a study by Skinner and Rosenberg, as cited in Bascu et al., (2012) suggested that Canadian government hasn’t been able to address the challenges faced by rural seniors. So as more elderly people move to these locales, there are concerns about whether the communities can handle the needs of this vulnerable populace. The “age-friendliness” concept initiated by World Health Organization and Public Health of Canada also highlight the needs of the older people in rural communities given the high number of older people rural areas in a disadvantaged state (Spina & Menec, 2015). Thus, specific social situations exist for this demographic which will be discussed herein with a focus on factors such as, physical environment, accessibility to resources social isolation and health …show more content…

Thus, such communities will require the appropriate conditions to handle the needs of the aging. In terms of physical environment, this includes such features as safety, open spaces to promote walking, and age-appropriate leisure activities Seniors in rural communities identified the need of “walkable” sidewalks or accessible buildings as it not only supported older people in the form of physical exercise but also easier commute to attend social or personal needs (Public Health Canada, 2009). In a Study by Bascu et al, in 2012 about 40 percent of seniors experienced fall and related functional limitation. The study revealed that seniors’ safety and security concerns tend to relate more to a poor physical environment which adds to the number of accidents, including falls and complications. Seasonal conditions such as icy, wet pathways that hinder mobility increase fall and isolation. Creating a safe physical environment enables seniors to live independently and recreate personal identity in the face of the challenges of aging (Keating, Swindle & Fletcher, 2011). It may, however, be challenging to create this environment. An underlying issue is that funding is needed to ensure the availability of the resources

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