The Aging Well Committee is a group of concerned older adults and other committee members working together to improve services and supports for the older adult in our community, as our population ages. Nearly one quarter of the local population of the County is aged 65-plus. This is nearly double the average rate of seniors for other communities across Ontario. Through funding received by the New Horizons for Seniors Program (Government of Canada), the Aging Well Committee of Haliburton has partnered with representatives of the Haliburton Highlands Family Health Team, the local Health Unit and U-Links Center for Community-Based Research. This partnership has included support from U-Links in conducting research gathering vital feedback from older adults about key issues and needs of the senior population in Haliburton County. The goal of the project is to find proactive ways to make the County a healthy, active and age-friendly community.
The concept for this age-friendly initiative comes from a global project started by the World Health Organization in 2005. Through this organization, eight key factors were identified as being primary issues in creating an age-friendly community.
From June to September, surveys were distributed across all four municipalities of Haliburton County. The survey sought input on a number of issues such as public transportation, housing, social participation and community support. Over 400 surveys were gathered and are being tabulated as part of a student project hosted through U-Links. In the fall, a series of focus groups were hosted (one in each municipality) and were held using an inclusive research model.
With support from Fay & Associates, the focus groups gathered further feedback on issues related to aging specific to each municipality. A SWOT analysis was used (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). Further analysis of the focus groups took place which included representatives from the participating organizations, focus group attendants and members of the Aging Well Committee.
A final report will be created combining results from the surveys and focus groups. From this report, the Aging Well Committee hopes to form new working groups to tackle specific actions in an on going effort to create an ‘age-friendly’ community.
U-Links continues support through a student project entitled “Aging Well-The Personal Experience” aimed at collecting first-person accounts related to the questions and concerns raised through the Aging Well Survey. These narratives will help to provide depth and new insight into the statistics collected from the survey. The accounts will look at the many issues (including: transportation, community support and health services, respect and social inclusion, communication and information, civic participation and employment, housing, social participation, outdoor spaces and public buildings) and the ways they overlap to create new challenges for seniors living in rural communities.