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As the aging population of New Brunswick continues to grow, more strain is added to long-term care services for older adults. As a result, hospital beds are occupied by patients who do not require in-hospital care, but are unable to return home without certain support. In fact, Dr. John Dornan, Chief of Staff of the Horizon Health Network, stated that about 1 in 4 hospital beds are occupied by patients who can be better cared for in their communities (Dornan, 2019). Unfortunately, there is not enough room in nursing homes to accommodate the rising need of senior support services (Dornan, 2019; Province of New Brunswick, 2017).
The majority of NB’s senior population prefers to age in place. “Aging in place means having the health and social supports and services you need to live safely and independently in your home or your community for as long as you wish and are able” (Gov. of Canada, 2016). However, this is not always feasible due to financial burdens, accessibility issues, or time required to maintain a home (Province of New Brunswick, 2017). Moreover, aging alone in place often leads to social isolation and loneliness which, in turn, is a significant public health issue (Singer, 2018). Elders who are lonely have a 59% greater risk of suffering a decline in function, and a 45% increased risk of death (Thomas, 2012).
In Fredericton, NB, younger adults continue to have difficulties finding affordable housing. This begs the question as to why loneliness, aging in place, and affordable housing aren’t being addressed all at once? This is where intergenerational living and the Intergenerational Living New Brunswick (iGenNB) program come into play.
Intergenerational Living and iGenNB
Intergenerational living is an internationally known co-living model where older adults and seniors share their homes with younger adults to foster a mutually beneficial living arrangement. In exchange for affordable living, the younger adults will provide household services such as snow removal, grocery shopping, running errands, gardening, companionship, and more. The iGenNB program is not an alternative for health care. Not to be confused with emergency housing or a rental service, intergenerational living serves to provide companionship and mentorship through shared housing and shared household responsibilities.
iGenNB is a pilot co-living project funded by the Healthy Seniors Pilot Project NB, in accordance with the New Brunswick Department of Social Development and the Department of Health, with financial support from the Government of Canada. This program matches older adults aged approximately 55+ with young adults aged approximately 20-35 who will assist their match with informal support and household tasks in exchange for affordable accommodation rates.
Housing will be located in the Greater Fredericton area for the launch of the pilot project. Individuals interested in intergenerational living are required to be screened and will be matched based on lifestyle, personal preferences, and needs analysis. iGenNB is not intended to replace medical care, rather the goal is to enhance quality of life and provide affordable living and mentorship through connection and co-living.
Student Researchers
Chantelle and Isabella are iGenNB research assistants through the Ville Cooperative. Their work includes elements of research, social work, soft sciences, and community well-being. Their job is essentially to research what processes are needed to appropriately implement, promote, and scale an intergenerational living model, while addressing effects of social isolation in NB. The focus is to evaluate research on best practices, screening procedures, and financial models that will meet the unique needs of an intergenerational living program in Fredericton, NB.
The preliminary research has found that many intergenerational living programs have recently been in limbo due to funding complications. This has helped to steer the research towards finding financial models which will ensure the sustainability of the program. Moreover, post-secondary students and young professionals in particular have shown interest in living with a senior for affordable housing and to give back to their Fredericton community.
Future Implications
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the New Brunswick Department of Social Development announced an urgent nursing home placement process to relocate 65 senior patients across the province in anticipation of an influx of COVID-19 patients (MacKinnon, 2020). Nursing homes continue to face hardships in finding and retaining qualified staff and managing their waitlists: in February 2020, 741 individuals were on nursing home waitlists, 432 of those occupied hospital beds (Cave, 2020). The hope is that this project, like other models, will improve quality of life, reduce ageism, and lessen the strain on community care services.
Authors
References:
Cave, R. (2020). 50 hospital patients waiting for nursing home beds have been transferred, says province. CBC News. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/patients-transferred-nursing-homes-1.5507331
Dornan, J. (2019). Overcapacity in our hospitals. Horizon Health Network. Retrieved from https://en.horizonnb.ca/home/media-centre/horizon-news/overcapacity-in-our-hospitals.aspx
Fraser, C. M. (2019). Students and Seniors: Intergenerational HomeSharing in Kingston, Ontario [Master’s thesis, Queen’s University]. QSpace: Queen’s Scholarship & Digital Collections. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1974/26343
Government of Canada. (2016). Thinking about aging in place. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/corporate/seniors/forum/aging.html
MacKinnon, B. (2020). 65 seniors to be moved out of hospitals to make way for COVID-19 patients. CBC News. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-covid-19-hospital-beds-staff-1.5498971
Province of New Brunswick (2017). We are all in this together: An Aging Strategy for New Brunswick. Retrieved from https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/sd-ds/pdf/Seniors/AnAgingStrategyForNB.pdf
Singer, C. (2018). Health Effects of Social Isolation and Loneliness. Journal of Aging Life Care. Retrieved from https://www.aginglifecarejournal.org/health-effects-of-social-isolation-and-loneliness/
Thomas, B. (2012). Loneliness Kills. Changing Aging with Dr. Bill Thomas. Retrieved from https://changingaging.org/elderhood/loneliness-kills/
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