Anna Cooper Reed is an MSc/PhD student at the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation and she is supervised by Dr. Val Rac. Anna received 2019 Helene and George Coward Award for her ongoing project on "Chronic Illness and Aging-in-Place."
The award is granted annually by the Institute for Life Course and Aging at the University of Toronto to a graduate student who is engaged in research in the field of aging and specifically to a student who completed or is registered in the Collaborative Specialization in Aging and the Life Course and who have demonstrated high academic achievement.
Anna's PhD project is a mixed-methods study exploring the experiences and outcomes of chronically ill older adults who are aging in place in Ontario. According to the latest Statistics Canada (2016) report roughly 20% of Canadian older adults (>71) are living with 3 or more chronic conditions and about 85% of adults over the age of 50 would like to remain in their homes or communities as they age, as the survey of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) (2012) has found. In addition, the previous Ontario government (2017) published a report outlining their action plan to assist older adults to age with confidence. According to the report, after collecting results from a public survey and reviewing various research studies and Census data, the government of Ontario found that a majority of older adults wish to age at home (Ontario, 2017). Finally, the Canadian health care system spent the most per capita on older adults and infants (CIHI, 2018). On average, the Canadian government spent $11,301 per person aged 65 and older (CIHI, 2018). These statistics inspired Anna to further explore issues related to health services accessibility, and possible disparity in the delivery of health care to this population.
The Institute for Life Course and Aging at the University of Toronto is a research centre under the auspices of the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto that facilitates interdisciplinary research on the biological, psychological and social dimensions of the life course and aging, and provides graduate and post-graduate education on the life course and aging.
Congratulations to Anna to have her work and research ideas recognized by the Institute!
Valeria E. Rac, MD, PhD is a Scientist with the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre (PMSS) and Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research (TRCHR), Toronto General Hospital Research Institutive (TGHRI) and Associate Program Director and Director, Clinical Research at THETA. She is also an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), University of Toronto.
Posted on July 17, 2019