Seniors’ Advocate releases Seniors’ Report 2024

Earlier this month, Seniors’ Advocate Susan Walsh released Seniors’ Report 2024, Monitoring Key Indicators of Seniors’ Wellbeing in Newfoundland and Labrador: A Baseline Report.
The report provides information and data pertaining to seniors in the areas of Wellbeing, Health Care, Finances, Housing, Transportation, and Safety and Protection.
The report highlights that Newfoundland and Labrador’s population of adults 65 years of age and over has grown by 20.3 per cent over the past five years and now comprises 24.4 per cent of the provincial population.
By 2033 seniors will comprise 29 per cent of the total population of the province.
The percentage of seniors who consume the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables is 12 percentage points lower than the national average.
The percentage of hip and knee replacement and cataract surgeries meeting national benchmarks, are well below the national average and significantly below pre-pandemic rates. Restraint use and the potentially inappropriate use of antipsychotics in long term care continues to be well above the national average.
Seniors have the lowest median income and the largest uptake of Guaranteed Income Supplement in Canada.
12.9 per cent of senior homeowners living alone, and 31.6 per cent of renters living alone, are in core housing need; they cannot afford suitable and adequate housing in their community. 82 per cent of seniors hold a valid driver’s license, but the cost of operating a vehicle has increased — gasoline up 26 per cent and insurance up 15 per cent, since 2018. Crimes against seniors has increased from 2023.
The findings in this report are concerning as they confirm that seniors continue to struggle in many of the social determinants of health.
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