Aging in place takes more than good intentions — It takes smart infrastructure

By Dr. Frank Knofel

Canada is aging faster than our systems are adapting.

Almost one in four Canadians will be over the age of 65 within the next decade. Research consistently shows that most seniors want to remain in their homes for as long as possible. Yet we continue to design and finance aged care as if nursing homes and long-term care are inevitable endpoints.

Between my research and more than 30 years as a physician caring for older adults, I’ve learned that aging in place isn’t just a preference. it is central to dignity, independence and well-being for many older people.

But aging in place won’t succeed with emotion alone. It requires a deliberate change in funding, regulation and innovation strategy. Which means the federal government also has a role to play.

So, is it time to get serious about aging?

i have spent over two decades with a team of clinicians and engineers who build, test and study how technology can be integrated into the home. Over time, we began to distinguish between “smart home” technology and “supportive smart home” technology.

The first has to do with convenience. Technology designed to simplify and automate aspects of everyday life. On the other hand, supportive Smart home technology monitors expected routines and helps ensure they are fulfilled, empowering daily activities when they might otherwise be difficult.

The distinction is important.

Properly designed, supportive smart homes can detect changes in mobility patterns that may signal fall risk, flag medication non-adherence, monitor ambulation in cases of cognitive impairment, and intervene early before secondary issues become hospital admissions.

The alternative is home care, which can mean dealing with the rising costs of an in-home support worker. For most people, the burden falls on unpaid caregivers, often family members, who are estimated to contribute the equivalent of $97.1 billion annually to Canada’s economy, representing more than thrice national spending on home, community and long-term care.

As the demand for home care increases, workforce shortages persist, and long-term care costs rise, we cannot expect families and their loved ones to stretch further. Preventive support is medically, socially, and financially necessary for caregivers to remain partners in care rather than perpetual watchdogs.

Supportive smart homes should be treated as essential infrastructure in modern aging policy, not as experimental gadgets. We are no longer at the stage where these technologies are a futuristic dream. They are becoming accessible, cost-effective, and studies show clear benefits for seniors and caregivers.

But scaling up this approach requires policy clarity. Who pays for installation and maintenance? How is the data governed? What safeguards ensure privacy and consent? And most importantly, how do we prevent such technologies from becoming luxuries available only to affluent households?

If governments are willing to invest billions in brick and mortar facilities, they should be equally prepared to invest in digital infrastructure that helps Canadians stay safely at home.

Canada has a choice to make: continue to expand institutional care at escalating costs, or modernize the home itself and prioritize aging. The latter requires serious leadership, including at the federal level. Demographic reality leaves few alternatives.

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About Dr. Frank Knofel

Dr. Frank Knofel holds a Bruyère Health Chair in Research in Technology for Aging in Place and is a physician at the Bruyère Health Memory Clinic.

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This post was published on Quoimedia.com.

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