The Healthy Seniors Pilot Project (HSPP) is a $75 million agreement between the Government of New Brunswick and the Public Health Agency of Canada. This project is jointly led by the province’s Departments of Social Development and Health through the Seniors and Healthy Aging Secretariat.
HSPP supports a range of applied research initiatives that examine how governments, in partnership with the research community, non-profits and private sector, can better support seniors in their homes, communities and care facilities. This project helps us better understand the gendered impacts on an aging population, improve the quality of life for our seniors and lay the groundwork for the dissemination of evidence-based best practices in supporting healthy aging for all Canadians.
Projects funded through the Healthy Seniors Pilot Project have undergone an impartial, comprehensive review process and outcome evaluation. These evaluations were conducted by the Monitoring, Evaluation and Knowledge Transfer Unit (MEKTU) established in partnership with the New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training at the University of New Brunswick. This unit has ensured that each project has an evaluation plan and that lessons learned from the completed projects are shared across the country.
HSPP was to be carried out over three years and provide information and programs that would help the aging experience for seniors, not only in New Brunswick but elsewhere in Canada. The Healthy Seniors Pilot Projects were launched to support several outcomes including:
- Improving social and physical environments to foster healthy aging by designing spaces, systems, and infrastructure to enable seniors to live independently and healthily.
- Reducing health inequalities by promoting access to health and social support among those who speak a minority language, people in rural communities and seniors with specific health conditions.
- Initiatives which support a healthy lifestyle, wellness, independence, and a good quality of life by providing support for physical activity, nutrition, injury prevention, and mental wellness.
- Using supportive technologies to foster healthy aging by integrating emerging and existing technology into the range of health and social support services and equipment that seniors and /or their caregivers can use in their homes and care facilities.
- Create innovative care pathways to improve options, access, timeliness, and efficiencies when delivering health and social support services.
On March 31, 2024, all projects came to a close and results will be shared as they become available. The final year of HSPP will focus on disseminating learnings from the projects through various knowledge translation activities, including a research symposium in 2024-2025.
For details on the projects, including goals, project status and summaries, lead organization, and project end reports, please visit the Healthy Seniors Pilot Project website.