CIHR Institute of Aging Summer Program in Aging 2027

Building Care and Services to Support Community-Dwelling Older Canadians

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 SPA 2027 strategic theme Building Care and Services to Support Community-Dwelling Older Canadians was selected to align with the objectives of the Aging in the Community Research Initiative.

In response to the major demographic shift that is currently in motion in Canada, a better and deeper understanding of the factors that support older adults to live and age in the right place is required. For many, this means being able to remain in their communities for as long as possible. Supporting independence in later life requires a holistic approach that includes maintaining or enhancing functional abilities through intrinsic capacity, supportive environments, appropriate housing, and accessible and integrated health and social care systems. Aging in the right place and the mechanisms that can support this are inherently different between rural and urban communities. Place and density, community characteristics, and individual needs interact to generate diverse strengths and gaps. Appreciating these diverse needs will be imperative in the pursuit of building supportive communities, and health and social care services.

SPA 2027 will be hosted by the Centre of Excellence for Healthy Aging and affiliated researchers on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, from May 31st - June 4th, 2027. Programming will primarily be held on campus at Cape Breton University with fieldtrips into rural Cape Breton communities that will facilitate experiences of conducting in-community research.

Apply now to the SPA 2027 training opportunity!

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