Design for Healthy Aging

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According to OECD's study on disability rates and long-term care, the number of elderly people living in institutions in Canada will increase 61 % from 2000 to 2020 and the number of individuals with disabilities living at home will increase to 62%. Currently only 12% of seniors needing long-term care live in a long-term care facility. Helping seniors to age in their homes longer extends the period until a long-term care facility is needed. Through improving mobility in the home, seniors can continue to age in place with reduced need for caregivers and/or moving to a facility. NSCAD's goal in developing this proposal is to enhance its applied research capacity by capitalizing on its unique strengths and expertise in the area of Product Design. By extension, commercializing products and services designed for the aging will enable Canadian seniors to age in place therefore improving their quality of life and preventing potentially devastating costs the public health system for years to come. Planned R&D activities are divided into 3 Product Streams: #1 - Functional clothing and accessories, #2- Medication Management and #3 - Mobility in the bathroom. Anticipated results include: -Direct participation in the design and development process by seniors and students via our partnerships. -Products in various stages of prototyping to demonstrate proof-of-concept and functionality. -Market feasibility research identifying which prototypes have the most promise for the senior's market. -Positive feedback on product adoption/adaptation by seniors participating in the projects going forward.