extending support and keeping an eye on one another even in the most trying circumstances.
The collective fabric of Newfoundland and Labrador is knit with these characteristics, according to Susan Walsh, the province’s seniors’ advocate.
This kind of spirit needs to be revived in light of the nation’s fastest growing senior population in order to assist combat a problem that many of them face: loneliness.
However, she adds that significant structural change is also required, so it goes beyond the person.
“We do absolutely need to be leaders in targeting these issues,” stated Walsh.
According to Statistics Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest percentage of individuals 65 years of age and beyond in the nation per capita, with almost half of the province’s population reaching this age.
According to Walsh, a study conducted in December of last year by the National Institute on Aging revealed that whereas 41% of Canadians aged 50 and above are at risk of loneliness, 58% of older persons had experienced it.
The World Health Organization declared it a worldwide public health emergency in November.
For elderly individuals who experience loneliness, their golden years may be anything but
It’s a complicated problem that hasn’t always received much attention, but Walsh says the elders’ advocate’s office is looking into it.
For example, the office has discovered that isolation and loneliness are not always mutually exclusive. Many residents of care facilities struggle with loneliness, and research indicates that seniors experience less loneliness when they live in their own homes, according to the speaker.
The office also discovered that a contributing factor to the loneliness issue is poverty.
