Home Adaptations: Fall Prevention for Seniors Living on-Reserve

The policy problem is that Aboriginal seniors living on-reserves have a higher rate of injury hospitalizations due to unintentional falls than the general population. Hospitalization data show that 50% of falls occur inside the home and 14% occur in areas outside the home. Seeing that most Aboriginal seniors would prefer to age in place and in their communities, the research aimed to determine the adequacy of available funding for home adaptations and to learn of any issues and challenges with the eligibility requirements that would prevent access. The programs available to on-reserve communities for home adaptations are the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance for Persons with Disabilities and the Home Adaptations for Seniors Independence program (HASI), which are both delivered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Based on the literature review and the results of expert interviews with Housing Managers, Administrators and Coordinators working on-reserves, the recommendation is made to CMHC to increase the funding in the HASI program and to make available a revenue stream for on-reserve communities to build single-level communal living spaces for seniors.