In Vancouver, BC, the population of older adults is projected to rise to unprecedented numbers over the next two decades. It is imperative that support structures begin to be developed now to help this population segment in their pursuit of maintaining physical wellness and aging healthily. The City of Vancouver is a leading recreation and leisure service provider and is committed to creating the best communities for its citizens. To help in this mission, an investigation led to discover ways in which leisure activities affect physical wellness and healthy aging in older adults and discover ways in which recreation programmers can help them experience these effects at public pools was undertaken. A literature review analyzing the current body of research in the field as well as a primary research plan consisting of interviews with industry experts, field observations, and content analysis, was developed and implemented. This led to the discovery of several key findings which were organized into groups based on physical effects, psychosocial effects, and programming impacts. Gaps in the current research and ways to contribute new findings to the field were also discovered and these, along with an analysis of the key findings from the primary and secondary research, were developed into a series of recommendations for the City of Vancouver to consider adopting into current and future practices. Through this research and the resulting recommendations, the pursuit of building better support networks and stronger communities for a growing older adult population can be meaningfully impacted.
