The Connection between Age-Friendly Communities & the Social Determinants of Health

September 2020 blog post by Micayla Maiorino BSc, BScN and Nicole Hill BSc, MSc, BScN. An age-friendly community is a community where policies, services, and physical spaces are secure and accessible both physically and socially for people of all ages to live in. The social determinants of health (SDH) are personal, social, economic and environmental factors that influence individual and population health. Individuals that experience the SDH in a positive way, such as with adequate access to food and nutrition, gainful employment and stable income, safe and affordable housing, safe neighborhoods, and reliable transportation, often have better health and can maintain good health long-term.

An Integrated Way to Address Health & Social Needs of Older Adults During COVID-19 & Beyond

August 2020 blog post by Sonia Hsiung. Across the world, the experience of being quarantined at home, alongside images of families desperate to connect across the glass of long-term care homes and the sounds of neighbours singing across the balconies of small apartments, have reminded societies of the mental and physical strain of social isolation, and our profound biological and social need for human connection.