Michael Smith Foundation invests in research for seniors

The Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research is giving UVic’s centre on aging $687,500 over the next three years for research-related infrastructure.

An internationally recognized research centre, the centre on aging studies the social and psychological aspects of aging, population health and health services delivery.

“Our overall goals at the centre are to contribute to the health and quality of life of older adults and to assist their families, health care providers, and the government in meeting the challenges and potentials of an aging society,” says Dr. David Hultsch, the centre’s director. “This grant will provide basic support to the research unit to allow us to expand our research activities to meet these goals.”

The grant will help increase the centre’s research capacity with a focus on two broad research themes.

The first is developing a better understanding of the vulnerability of seniors and examining the role social, psychological and environmental factors play in promoting seniors’ health and preventing illness in older adults. The centre will conduct assessments of institutional, community and self-care approaches to health, particularly for those people with poor health or disabilities.

The second theme addresses the relationship between cognitive functioning and everyday competence and functioning in later life, specifically the factors influencing cognitive maintenance or decline, the assessment of dementia, and interventions for halting cognitive decline.

For more information about the centre on aging, visit its Web site at www.coag.uvic.ca/. The Michael Smith Foundation’s site is at www.msfhr.org/

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