Programs and Services - Aging With Disabilities Report

This report provides a brief overview of the Aging with Disability and Dignity research project conducted October 2007-March 2008. This project was sponsored by Independent Living Nova Scotia, Halifax, NS. Funding for the project was provided by the Government of Canada’s Social Development Partnerships Program. For a more in-depth examination of the data and methods used, please contact Independent Living Nova Scotia for a copy of the full project report.

We currently have very little knowledge about the critical pathway that Nova Scotians who are aging with a disability follow. Like all Canadians, persons with disabilities are living longer and have greater relative power as consumers. What is generally not recognized is that the ordinary disabilities that occur as a result of normal aging occur 20-25 years earlier in people who are aging with a disability.

According to the Participation and Activity Limitation Survey 2006, there were 197, 840 people over the age of 45 who are aging with a disability in Nova Scotia. This population represents 35.5% of people over the age of 45 in this province. This statistic has important implications in terms of health care, community planning, transportation, housing, community supports, and recreation.

This project utilized a community-based participatory action research approach. In addition to providing a snapshot of the experiences and needs of people aging with disability in Nova Scotia, project activities included: strengthening the partnerships among agencies and individuals who serve this population, conducting a relevant literature review with an eye to best practice standards, developing an educational package that could be used by each of the 28 Independent Living Resource Centres across Canada, and hosting a provincial Round Table where key findings and reccommendations were made available to decision makers.

The report, in both English and French may be found under the publications section of our website, linkedhere.