How better building design can help improve long-term care in Canada

When experts talk about better models of elder care, nearly everyone mentions Denmark. “Canada has emerged as this great under-spender on the provision of long-term care,” says Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA. To provide that care, Canada spends about 1.2 per cent of its GDP, when the average for all 38 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is 1.5 per cent and more than twice that in countries like Denmark.

Read More

Current homeowners prefer aging in place – survey

More than nine out of 10 (91%) Canadian homeowners have said that they are planning to remain in their current abodes for as long as possible, according to a poll by HomeEquity Bank and Ryerson University’s National Institute on Ageing.

Read More

Money on the mind: More than 75 per cent nearing retirement worry about finances

A recent survey from Ryerson University’s National Institute on Ageing says 77 per cent of Canadians aged 55 to 69 worried about retirement finances. Bernie Larusic, a senior's advocate in Sydney, N.S., says he's not surprised. "Now people understand, holy cow what am I going to do when I hit 60, 65, or 70? What am I going to live on?"

Read More

A recent survey says that 77% of Canadians between ages 55-69 are worried about their retirement finances

A recent survey between Home Equity Bank and Ryerson’s National Institute on Ageing says that 77% of Canadians between ages 55-69 are worried about their retirement finances. Global News learns more from Dr. Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, co-author of the report: Canadian Perspectives on the Financial Realities of Ageing in Place

Read More

Who are the people who die of the virus after being fully vaccinated?

Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research at the NIA said: When we heard that some people died of the virus after being fully vaccinated, some people began to wonder whether the vaccine was trustworthy, but people who are vaccinated are much less likely to get sick or even die than people who are not vaccinated.

Read More

Some fully vaccinated people have died of COVID-19. What you need to know

“When we’re hearing about some individuals who are dying who happen to have been fully vaccinated, it starts creating doubt in the minds of others about whether the vaccine is even worth it at all,” said Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research.

“But we do know that those who are vaccinated have a far, far, far lower chance of potentially getting sick and even dying than those who are unvaccinated,” he said.

Read More

The need for more culturally diverse long-term care services

Tailoring long-term care to cultural backgrounds helps soothe residents in decline. "When you have dementia it robs you of you of your most recent memories, and really forces you to start living back to your past where you're probably going to be reverting back to your original language, memories, etc." said Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research.

Read More

Our health examines future of local long-term care

Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research, states that if we reach the age of 65, current analysis show that on average, we will have another 20 years to live, of which 17 will be “pretty good." However, in those later years, most seniors will need some assistance because of frailty or cognitive decline.

Read More

Tougher standards for the long-term care sector

Hope may be on the horizon, says the Health Standards Organization (HSO), which has just released the results of a nationwide survey of more than 16,000 Canadians on new LTC standards. “We are on the precipice of long-overdue reform, improvement and progress in our systems of long-term care,” HSO notes in a press release. The report will help guide the National Long-Term Care Services Standards Technical Committee – chaired by Dr. Samir Sinha, director of health policy research at Ryerson University’s National Institute on Ageing.

Read More

Ageing At Home: Is It An Affordable Option?

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have caused many Canadians to re-think where they want to age, with 91% now reporting they plan to remain in their own homes for as long as possible. Despite this overwhelming preference to age in place, many older adults are financially unprepared for a safe and comfortable retirement at home.

Read More

New pension fund product a potential ‘game changer’ for middle-class retirees

To provide ongoing expert input, Purpose has set up an advisory committee composed of prominent pension authorities. In addition to Ambachtsheer, it includes Jim Leech, former CEO of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and chancellor of Queen’s University; Fred Vettese, former chief actuary at Morneau Shepell (now LifeWorks); and Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, an actuary and director of financial security research at Ryerson University’s National Institute on Aging.

Read More

77 per cent of Canadians aged 55-69 worried about retirement finances: survey

Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, the NIA’s Director of Financial Security Research, said it’s important Canadians understand the true costs of aging while they plan for their future.

“Canadians retiring today are likely going to face longer and more expensive retirements than their parents – solving this disconnect will need better planning by people and innovation from industry and government,” she said.

Read More

COVID-19: 12 dead in a care center in Burnaby

Dr. Samir Sinha, NIA Director of Health Policy Research, explains that a catastrophic situation has led to this rapid spread of the virus in the Burnaby seniors' home, due to a decline in immune defenses among vulnerable residents six months after receiving their second dose.

Read More

Why doctors say COVID booster shots aren't for everyone — yet

Many elderly people requiring home care "probably would be a good candidate for a booster," said Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of Health Policy Research, NIA.

With different care providers coming in and out, potentially increasing their risk of exposure to COVID-19, "they're literally living in a long-term care home of one," Sinha said.

Read More

Helping employees understand the benefits of delaying CPP/QPP

According to a 2020 research paper by the National Institute on Ageing, fewer than one per cent of Canadians delayed CPP/QPP benefits until age 70 in 2009, while more than 95 per cent took CPP/QPP at age 65 or earlier the same year.

Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, Director of Financial Security Research at the institute and the paper’s author, says a lack of knowledge is the top reason Canadians take their CPP/QPP benefits earlier than what might be good for them. “During my research, I was notified by Employment and Social Development Canada that they were running an online survey to understand why people were taking CPP early. What they found was two-thirds of Canadians didn’t understand that the income would go up if they waited.”

Read More

COVID-19 outbreaks rising in long-term care homes across the country

The exponential growth in COVID-19 infections is occurring even as the tools that can keep the coronavirus out of seniors homes are readily available, health care experts say. But provincial leaders have been slow to roll out vaccine booster shots to residents as an extra layer of protection against the highly transmissible Delta variant, as well as make it mandatory for staff, family caregivers and visitors to get inoculated against COVID-19.

“Why we would hold back on two measures we know could materially make a difference really boggles my mind,” Samir Sinha, director of geriatrics at the University of Health Network and Sinai Health System, said in an interview.

Read More

Most Canadians concerned with safety of long-term care, CARP members hopeful Minister Phillips will bring positive change

It appears a clear majority of Canadians, 67 percent, feel the nation’s long-term care homes do not currently provide safe, reliable care. That number tops 75 per cent for people who identified as family members, friends or unpaid caregivers to residents in long-term care.

The survey was conducted by the National Institute on Ageing to help shape new national standards for long-term care services expected to be made public early in 2022.

Read More

Poll: long-term care homes do not provide safe and reliable care

The survey was conducted by the National Institute on Ageing and will be referred to the Technical Committee on National Standards for Long-Term Care Services of the Health Standards Organization, which is developing new national standards.

Of the 16,093 people who responded to the survey, 67.3% did not believe that long-term care homes in Canada provided safe, reliable and high-quality care.

Read More

New long-term care standards should focus on the ‘qualities of home’ survey says

“An overwhelming majority of survey respondents took this opportunity to reiterate that ensuring the provision of high-quality care was the most important issue to address within LTC,” said the report, prepared by the National Institute on Ageing Research Fellow Ashley Flanagan.

Read More

Major Canadian survey calls for new national long-term care standards featuring emotion-based care

he message from the public is “loud and clear,” said Dr. Samir Sinha, chair of the National Long-Term Care Services Technical Committee.

“We need long-term care where residents are living in homes that feel like homes, where staff are valued and supported and we are thinking of the value of residents’ lives and not just meeting their basic care needs,” said Sinha, director of geriatrics for Sinai Health and University Health Network.

Read More