[News] Identifying community resources to help seniors age in place

Supporting Healthy Aging Alberta’s social prescribing program, PolicyWise developed asset maps identifying community resources to help seniors enhance their health and quality of life

Many Canadian seniors are choosing to live in their current homes and age in their communities. They are making this decision for several reasons. According to a recent CBC report, more seniors see living independently in their homes and communities, or aging in place, as less costly than living in a long-term care home. This choice allows them to maintain a sense of freedom and “stay in a familiar environment for as long as possible” with fewer rules and regulations.

With an increasing number of Alberta seniors opting to age in place, Healthy Aging Alberta is playing a pivotal role in ensuring that the province becomes one of the most favourable places globally for senior living. They have established a comprehensive network of community-based seniors serving organizations and allies across Alberta. This network is designed to coordinate efforts and provide for the needs of this expanding demographic, thereby empowering older Albertans to age in their preferred manner and location.

Developing a social prescribing program

One of Healthy Aging Alberta’s efforts to ensure seniors have access to the community support they need is its Social Prescribing for Older Adults program. This program’s unique approach bridges the gap between medical and social care services. It’s about connecting seniors to resources in their community that can improve their health and enrich their quality of life. Through their health care service providers, older adults can receive a prescription to a social prescribing program in their community. This prescription will connect them to community-based resources or assets, tailored to meet their needs.

Beginning in 2022, Healthy Aging Alberta’s social prescribing program started in the province’s three largest cities, Calgary, Edmonton, and Lethbridge. Soon after, they rapidly expanded the program to seven regional centres across Alberta. Seniors can now access the social prescribing program in:

• Jasper
• Whitecourt
• Innisfail
• Sylvan Lake
• Red Deer County
• Vulcan
• Strathmore-Wheatland County

With ten locations across the province providing social prescribing, Alberta seniors now have better access to community-based supports, enabling them to age how and where they want.

Identifying services to help seniors age in place

Part of Healthy Aging Alberta’s social prescribing program involves identifying community resources to help seniors age in place. In 2023, we at PolicyWise for Children & Families collaborated with Healthy Aging Alberta to enhance this program. We supported seven communities in identifying and documenting their health, social, and recreation assets.

Our team at PolicyWise for Children & Families worked closely with members of each community in a participatory process. We first identified the region’s positive attributes and advantages. From these, we developed lists of local senior-supporting resources. These lists formed the basis for a series of asset maps.

Each region’s asset map categorizes existing senior supports, services, and other resources in six different areas, providing a comprehensive overview of their available community assets. The six support and service areas include:

• Social environment and engagement
• Social supports
• Safety and security
• Physical environment
• Physical and mental health
• Personal well-being

These asset maps are essential to the success of Healthy Aging Alberta’s social prescribing program. With the information in the asset maps, non-clinical specialists employed by regional senior-serving organizations, known as Link Workers, can work with other health and social care professionals to better connect Alberta seniors to local supports and services.

To see all seven asset maps and learn more about the policy and practice implications, visit the dedicated resource page here.

Project sponsor

This project was funded by Healthy Aging Alberta.