A profile of older adults’ participation in community programming across Canada

Older adults experience prevalent mental health problems that have complex associations with physical health. When older adults seek help for mental and physical health problems, primary care physicians and general medical sector services are highly relied upon. But what about community-based services and programs? Community program participation is implicated in decreased loneliness and social isolation, health promotion, and lower health care service utilization. We do not yet have a comprehensive understanding of who participates in community programs, how they participate (types of programs and barriers), and what the association is between community program participation and health care service utilization, particularly among our diverse Canadian population. The proposed research seeks to examine these questions using data from the CLSA.