Project Overview

The number of older adults (age 65+) is increasing rapidly in Canada. In order to preserve health and minimize strain on limited healthcare resources, it is important to mobilize knowledge and efficiently allocate resources to allow older adults to proactively maintain their own health. A key limitation to this is that older adults often do not know what type of activities can best support their health, nor the amount of time they should engage in them. In order to reduce these barriers, we propose a Big Data analysis to identify the lifestyle factors most strongly associated with good health. These factors will be simplified and combined into a single Aging Health Score (AHS) that older adults can use to understand and improve their own health. This AHS will be developed in close partnership with the YMCA of Greater Vancouver to ensure that it is both ecologically valid and easily measured from end-users. We will then work with the local YMCA to identify ways to improve the AHS in its older adult members. To do this, we will use data analytics to identify ways in which the YMCA can efficiently deliver impactful programs and services that are targeted to its members. The successful completion of this project will allow for larger adoption by the YMCA at the provincial and national levels, and will provide researchers with a flexible analysis pipeline that can be used to make informed, data-driven decisions about healthcare delivery for older adults.