Grant: CIHR Fellowship

An unprecedented demographic shift is occurring in industrialized nations that will present significant challenges for individuals and society. In 2016, the number of Canadian adults aged 65+ exceeded the number of children for the first time in census history, and this older demographic is projected to double in size over the next 50 years. Although Canadians are living longer, declines in physical health and functioning remain common in old age and have significant personal and societal implications: Recent projections indicate health care spending in Canada will increase by $2 billion per year from 2014-19 due to population aging alone. This underscores the need for a better understanding of modifiable factors that can sustain health into late life. My postdoctoral research program seeks to address these challenges by identifying modifiable psychobiological mechanisms that may protect against biological dysregulation and physical disease in old age. The research will focus on whether volitional health maintenance strategies promote adaptive longitudinal changes in older adults' biological and physical health, and whether such changes are due to intervening psychosocial factors and health behaviours. My research will also examine if the benefits of health maintenance strategies differ for older adults who vary on demographic (e.g., age, sex), psychosocial (e.g., social support), and health factors (e.g., acute vs. chronic illness). Most important, my research program will develop and test a novel health maintenance motivation intervention to increase adaptive health behaviours in late life. This research may have significant implications to the extent that increasing positive health behaviours (e.g., physical activity) has the potential to improve the physical health and functioning of older adults and offset mounting costs facing the Canadian health care system.