SPA 2026

About SPA 2026

Impact of Climate Change on the Health of Older Persons

The CIHR-IA Summer Program in Aging (SPA) is an intensive 5-day capacity-building program with the aim of providing graduate trainees with advanced training that crosses disciplines, offers networking opportunities, and disseminates best practices in research. SPA has been held yearly across Canada since 2006 on a different strategic theme each year. The program brings together up to 40 research trainees and numerous academic mentors to participate in interactive learning sessions over the course of one week. The strategic theme for SPA 2026 will be Impact of Climate Change on the Health of Older Persons.

The needs of older adults are changing across several important dimensions. Not only is the scale of our need increasing rapidly as the population ages, the Canadian healthcare workforce faces new challenges due to a rise in globalization, pandemic-related pressures and associated caregiver burnout, as well as financial challenges. Simultaneously, technological developments have provided a growing suite of digital solutions designed to meet the needs of older adults. Therefore, it is imperative that healthcare training and program developments are evidence-based, effective, and engaging to successfully meet these complex needs and challenges. To accomplish this, researchers must be equipped with holistic core competencies (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) regarding aging, the care systems and workforce that serve older adults and caregivers, and interprofessional research approaches and stakeholders in order to inform, develop, pilot, implement, and/or evaluate new healthcare workforce training.