Filling in the gaps for Canada’s aging veterans
Author: NB-IRDT Staff
Posted on Feb 27, 2023
Category: DataNB
When it comes to sources of Veteran data in Canada, the primary resource has been Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC). However, this data may be limited; it is estimated that Veterans using VAC services only account for 19% of Canada’s Veteran population. Furthermore, most of the data from VAC comes from Veterans released from service after 1998, leaving a gap in the data for older veterans.
NB-IRDT Research Associate Dr. Sandra Magalhaes is part of a team of researchers working on creating a comprehensive description of older Veterans in Canada using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Findings from this report estimate that 718,893 Canadian Veterans and 185,548 non-Canadian veterans are currently living in Canada.
The health and aging of this population are not new areas of focus, but they have had little attention here in Canada. The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging: A Vehicle for Research on Aging in Older Veterans aims to shed light on what life in Canada is like for older and aging Veterans; additionally, the research team hopes this paper will provide a framework for future researchers to use.
If you are interested in learning more about the health and well-being of Canada’s aging Veteran population, read the report.