Grant: Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) is a national study of adult development and aging that includes 50,000 individuals between the ages of 45 and 85 from across Canada to be followed over 20 years. The ultimate aim of the CLSA is to find ways to improve the health of Canadians by better understanding the processes and dimensions of aging. Over the past 5 years, the CLSA research team has planned and implemented the study and recruited more than 38,000 of the 50,000 participants who have completed baseline assessments including telephone interviews, face-to-face interviews, as well as visits to specially designed data collection sites. The data provided by the 20,000 individuals who completed telephone interviews are now ready for release to researchers, who meet the CLSA requirements for access and are approved through a formal evaluation process. All 50,000 individuals will have completed their baseline assessment by the spring of 2015. The first follow up of the CLSA participants is scheduled to begin in the early summer of 2015 taking place 3 years after the baseline assessments. As part of the follow up participants will undergo repeat assessments and will be asked to complete additional components that have been selected based on recommendations from expert researchers to enhance the information collected and expand the science of the study. In this application, we are requesting funds to enable the CLSA team to plan and complete the first follow up and to plan and begin the second follow up. The need for information collected over time to inform decisions and design interventions and policies to improve the health and well-being of today and tomorrows seniors is widely recognized by researchers, and federal, provincial, and territorial governments. The CLSA was conceived to fill this information gap and to provide solid evidence to inform health and social care policies in Canada.