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Older Canadians lack tools to safely “age-in-place”, TELUS, NIA

According to a research from TELUS Health and the National Institute on Ageing (NIA), 95 per cent of health-care practitioners surveyed discussed emergency situations with patients at least once in a month; however, only 11 per cent of those discussions included the use of Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) technology, which is known to provide added safety and support.

“It’s estimated that one in three individuals aged 65 years and older experience a serious fall each year, so proactive discussions between health-care providers and their patients about how to incorporate healthy ageing practices and tools like PERS — which we know is a beneficial technology to support people during emergencies — are so important as our population ages,” said Dr. Samir Sinha, director of health policy research at the NIA in a statement.

The survey included 125 Canadian health-care professionals. Health and pharmaceutical market research Firm, MD Analytics conducted the survey between December 2021 and January 2022.

The companies involved say results showed that 89 per cent of general practitioners and nurses are unlikely to discuss PERS unprompted.

“It’s incredibly important as we age to have the proper resources and technological tools to live longer, healthier lives, without compromising dignity or independence,” said Juggy Sihota, vice-president consumer health, TELUS Health in a statement.

“This recent study underscores the critical need for discussions about innovative technologies that are affordable, reliable and offer peace of mind to older Canadians and our loved ones as they age.”

This year’s survey findings also reaffirm previous research findings from TELUS Health and the NIA — 99 per cent of Canadian older adults plan to stay as active as they can to maintain their optimal health and independence, but the lack of discussions about available innovative support signals more opportunities for education they have said.