Striving for a Better Healthcare for the Elderly in Canada; An interview with Jane Barratt, the Secretary General of the International Federation on Ageing

Jane Barratt in an interview with Ross Upshur reflects on different aspects of elderly care and explains how it could be improved in Canada. In the interview, she gives an example of other countries and how they have been successful in laying the foundation for a more robust elderly care.

In this interview, Jane Barratt, the Secretary General of the International Federation (IFA) on Ageing, describes how her interest in roams of care and allocation of services engaged her in the area of ageing and caregiving. She later highlights the sources of the problems that impact decision-making around the allocation of services and says they arise from different understanding and outlooks in the conversations among different health sectors although they all seem to be talking about the same topic. On equitable allocation of services, she exemplifies Australia’s age-care system and compares it to that of Canada and how they are different in this respect.

Jane Barratt is one of the IFA’s 15 international directors. Currently, she runs IFA’s Toronto-based office in Bridgepoint Active Healthcare, Sinai Health System. Jane has over 35 years of public and private sector experience in ageing and disability, aged care, public health and community services. Dr. Barratt tries to strengthen relationships between government, NGOs, academia, and industry to influence policy and improve the quality of life of older people. She is a strong contributor to international dialogue on the social, political, cultural and physical environments that impact the lives and human rights of older people. Dr. Barratt represents the IFA at the United Nations Economic and Social Council. For a full bio, please follow this link.

Dr. Barratt is a Churchill Fellow, and she was recently awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in Canada in recognition of her efforts to enhance understanding of ageing, engage governments and the private sector, and improve the quality of life of older people.

To listen to a public lecture by Jane Barratt published on the University of Western Australia website, please follow this link. The lecture is titled: How to Age Well: creating age-friendly environments to support healthy ageing.

To view a selection of presentations by Dr. Jane Barratt, please follow this link.