CIHR – Summer Program in Ageing (2023) on Longer-living older adults

The CIHR-IA Summer Program in Aging (SPA) is an intensive 5-day capacity-building program with the aim of providing graduate trainees with advanced training that crosses disciplines, offers networking opportunities, and disseminates best practices in research. SPA has been held yearly across Canada since 2006 on a different strategic theme each year. The program brings together up to 40 research trainees and numerous academic mentors to participate in interactive learning sessions over the course of one week. The strategic theme for SPA 2023 will be Longer-living older adults: Multidisciplinary approaches to a growing area of research on aging.

Globally we are seeing increases in life expectancy across all regions. For most countries this is resulting in a greater number of older adults living into their 80s, 90s and even older. In Canada, the number of older adults who are 80+ years of age is projected to increase by 300-400 percent from 1.6 million in 2018 to between 4.7- 6.3 million by 2068 (Statistics Canada, 2019). While this demographic trend is a success story in terms of medical and social advancements, the correlation of advanced age with increased co-morbidity and, in particular, dementia will contribute to increased challenges for health services and social supports. SPA 2023 will shine a light on the experiences, realities, needs and challenges of this growing population living into advanced age. The program will provide trainees with a holistic understanding of this segment of our older population with considerations across the aging spectrum from biology, frailty, and function, to levels of dependency and solutions for complex challenges facing our health and social systems.

Important Dates

Additional information can be found at ResearchNet.