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Guided Tour
This electronic version of Accessing Health Information is
the latest step in a project which began in 1999.
The idea is simple. As we age there is an increased need to have easy access to health information on available services and supports offered by the conventional health care system and Veterans Affairs Canada. The more information we have, the better able we are to cope with, understand and make decisions about issues that affect our health.
So what does this area of the VAC Web site offer?
For the individual this area of our site will offer
you resources, tips and ideas on how to find out more information to keep you
healthy.
If you're a professional health care provider or
interested in working with seniors, this site will offer practical
ideas and a plan to develop an eight week training course you can deliver
in your community.
A few facts: |
- In 1998, there were an estimated 3.7 million seniors; in
that year, they represented 12% of the total population, up
from 10% in 1981 and 5% in 1921.
- By 2041, an estimated 23% of the Canadian population
will be over 65.
- The large majority of seniors live at home rather than
in institutions. In 1998, about 93% of all people aged 65
and over lived in a private household.
- A substantial proportion of seniors, however, live
alone. In 1996, 29% of all people aged 65 and over lived
alone, compared with just 8% of those aged 15 to 64.
- Senior women, especially those in the very oldest age
groups, are even more likely to live alone. In 1998, 58% of
those aged 85 and over, lived on their own.
- Canada's seniors are living longer than ever before. In
1991, a person aged 65 had an average continued life
expectancy of 18 years, over one year more than 1981 and
almost five years more than in the 1921 to 1941 period.
- Among seniors, women have average life expectancies that
are considerably longer than those of their male
counterparts.
- A 65-year-old woman in 1991 could expect to live for
another 20 years, on average, four years longer than a man
of the same age.
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Table Of Contents Food for Thought>>
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