Adults over 65 years of age represent 1 in 5 Canadians and the population over 85 years of age will triple in the next 25 years. In addition, 22% of Canadians over the age of 15 live with a disability that impacts their ability to be independent or lowers their quality of life. The Centre for Aging SMART at Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) is a University of British Columbia affiliated, internationally recognized research centre to accelerate discoveries and new knowledge to improve the lives of an aging population and individuals living with a disability. We are focused on developing novel Solutions for Mobility, Activity, Rehabilitation and Technology so that people living with the effects of aging or disability can live a high quality of life. The vision of the Centre for Aging SMART is to ensure that people of all ages and abilities enjoy a life with quality.

The Centre for Aging SMART at VCH is one of the 15 Major Research Programs supported by the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and one of 23 Senate approved centres and institutes within the Faculty of Medicine (FOM) at UBC.

The Centre was created in 2004 and originally named the Centre for Hip Health and Mobility.  After restructuring, faculty of the Centre for Aging SMART are located at two sites within VCH: Robert Ho Research Centre on the Vancouver General Hospital Campus and the Rehabilitation Research Program at the GF Strong Rehab Centre.

Our interdisciplinary team of researchers, clinicians, students, staff and community partners, work together to evaluate, implement, and disseminate solutions to some of our health care system’s most pressing and expensive problems.  Our researchers develop and test innovative treatments to improve the lives of older adults or people living with a disability.  These treatments include exercise prescriptions, surgical innovations, chronic disease management, pharmacological regimes, assistive technology and sensor technologies.

The partnerships between the Centre for Aging SMART, Vancouver Coastal Health and the University of British Columbia are key to developing health care innovations that can be rapidly moved into practice and policies to improve the lives of patients and families today.