Explanatory frameworks in social gerontology often appear to represent variations on a theme. Regardless of subtype, linearity, ordinality, and universality are customarily assumed. This discussion advocates for an alternative model, an exploration of the utility of a new, transformative logic associated with chaos theory and related perspectives. As a metaphor, chaos theory can help gerontologists address contextualized change and non-linear dimensions of human aging processes.

In an age of globalization and privatization, local governments and municipalities are searching to define their social role and place. In an aging society such as Canada, arguing that promoting the legal rights of older persons should be part of the legal authority of the municipal government is not simple. It is easier to abide by the position that, without an efficient centralized machinery, social and environmental problems will remain unsolved or unaddressed.

This article presents a different understanding of the place of municipal government in Canada. The goal of this article is to present an original legal-policy argument: It is time for local communities and local governments in Canada to use their legal authorities to enact local bylaws that define and establish the rights of their older citizens. The argument maintains that local municipalities hold the legal power and the social potential to make a significant contribution in the legal sphere for promotion of the rights of older people, and that this power has been neglected.

The article supports the argument on three pillars: (1) an empirical analysis of bylaws in different municipalities across Canada; (2) a socio-legal analysis of the advantages of municipal law as a tool for social change; (3) a case analysis of a recent municipal legal reform in British Columbia.

Craik (1986) has proposed that age-related deficits on memory tasks are proportional to the extent to which these tasks require the use of self-initiated operations. Because the number of required self-initiated operations vary among traditional episodic memory tasks, these tasks should display a gradation of age-related deficits. The objective of this study was to test this hypothesis. A secondary analysis (i.e. based on the results of previous studies) was performed on 22 studies in which verbal stimuli were used as targets on more than one episodic memory task. Of the 24 comparisons provided by the studies, 21 supported the gradation concept. This result suggests that the self-initiated operation hypothesis is valid.

Secondary analysis of data from the Health and Activity Limitations Survey (HALS) in the metropolitan Montreal area shows that 3.5 out of 10 elderly persons living in a household had a disability. In this descriptive research, we locate the dependency level according to the attributes of the elderly and of their residence. Approximately three out of four elderly with a disability receive help and one out of three are assessed as needing more help. Assistance varies with the person who helps. The family mostly helps for everyday activities, friends for shopping, and private or governmental services for personal care and household tasks. Assistance varies also with the marital status of the elderly person. Finally, the presence of special devices is associated with type of housing.

The performance of seven Parkinson patients on a discrete pursuit tracking task was studied under alleviated (medicated) and unalleviated (non-medicated) conditions, and compared with the performance of seven non-Parkinson subjects matched for age and gender. All subjects completed 2,000 responses on the tracking task, which provided variations in directional probability and the distance to be moved. Overall, results suggested that once given sufficient practice to learn a novel task, and when under drug control, Parkinson patients were not significantly different from their age-matched controls. Two exceptions where Parkinson patients evidenced slower responses were noted: (a) their ability to make decisions when movement direction was less predictable: and (b) when they had to readjust their motor responses after an unexpected movement error.

Until now, family caregivers have been involved very little in the processes of assessing the quality of care delivered to a hospitalized relative. This study is the second phase of a broader research project whose aim is to develop measurement scales intended for elderly patients and their caregivers on their perceptions of the quality of services delivered in Geriatric Assessment Units. More specifically, the goal of this phase of the research is to document the criteria that caregivers use to judge the quality of these services: these criteria should constitute the content of the measurement scale that is intended for them. Four focus groups, bringing together 21 caregivers, allowed for the identification of 31 criteria of quality. These criteria have been classified according to six dimensions of quality: information, communication, attitude of staff, technical quality, continuity, and physical resources. The study highlights the dual concerns of participants: the well-being of the patient and support for caregivers. It shows that caregivers consider themselves to be clients of geriatric services.

This study aimed to develop an efficient data collection and curation process for all drugs and natural health products (NHPs) used by participants to the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). The three-step sequential process consisted of (a) mapping drug inputs collected through the CLSA to the Health Canada Drug Product Database (DPD), (b) algorithm recoding of unmapped drug and NHP inputs, and (c) manual recoding of unmapped drug and NHP inputs. Among the 30,097 CLSA comprehensive cohort participants, 26,000 (86.4%) were using a drug or an NHP with a mean of 5.3 (SD 3.8) inputs per participant user for a total of 137,366 inputs. Of those inputs, 70,177 (51.1%) were mapped to the Health Canada DPD, 20,729 (15.1%) were recoded by algorithms, and 44,108 (32.1%) were manually recoded. The Direct algorithm correctly classified 99.4 per cent of drug inputs and 99.5 per cent of NHP inputs. We developed an efficient three-step process for drug and NHP data collection and curation for use in a longitudinal cohort.

The age-friendly movement aims to ensure that people can live healthy and meaningful lives as they age. It is committed to activity and inclusion, with policies, services, and structures that enable older adults to remain engaged in activities that they value. We suggest that there is further opportunity for communities to increase inclusion and reduce ageism by improving their “death-friendliness”. A death-friendly approach could lay the groundwork for a community in which people do not fear getting old or alienate those who have. To this end, we consider the merits of the compassionate communities framework which has emerged out of palliative care and critical public health. Compassionate communities focus on end-of-life planning, bereavement support, and improved understandings about aging, dying, death, loss, and care. The age-friendly and compassionate communities initiatives are complementary in their objectives but have not yet converged in practice. We suggest that they should.

A prominent demographic trend throughout the industrialized world is population aging. Concerns about economic growth and labour force shortages have led many European nations to enact policies aimed at prolonging working life. Understanding how paid work among late-middle-aged and senior adults is associated with health is therefore important. Using a sample of persons who were 50–75 years of age in 2015 from waves six (2015) and seven (2017) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (n = 38,884), this study shows how a comprehensive set of six workforce involvement/transitions patterns are associated with health. The results show benefits of paid work, especially among respondents having financial difficulties. There is further heterogeneity by gender. The more fragmented employment histories of 50–75-year-old women are associated with stable paid work being of less benefit for addressing financial difficulties and with their health being especially vulnerable to unemployment while they are undergoing financial troubles.

Most older adults prefer to age in place, which for many will require home and community care (HCC) support. Unfortunately, HCC capacity is insufficient to meet demand due in part to low wages, particularly for personal support workers (PSWs) who provide the majority of paid care. Using Ontario as a case study, this paper estimates the cost and capacity impacts of implementing wage parity between PSWs employed in HCC and institutional long-term care (ILTC). Specifically, we consider the cost of increased HCC PSW wages versus expected savings from avoiding unnecessary ILTC placement for those accommodated by HCC capacity growth. The expected increase in HCC PSW retention would create HCC capacity for approximately 160,000 people, reduce annual health system costs by approximately $7 billion, and provide an 88 per cent return on investment. Updating wage structures to reduce turnover and enable HCC capacity growth is a cost-efficient option for expanding health system capacity.

Older adults have an increased risk of complications or death from influenza. Despite the benefits of vaccination for older adults, vaccination coverage among older adults ages 65 years and over is still below Canada’s national target of 80 per cent. As health–care-seeking behaviours are influenced by several factors, including life satisfaction, we investigated the relationship between life satisfaction and influenza vaccination among older adults. A sample (n = 22,424) from the 2015–2016 Canadian Community Health Survey data was analysed using descriptive and multinomial logistic regression analyses. Higher life satisfaction was associated with a more recent influenza vaccination history. Vaccination differed by gender, age, and self-reported health status, as women, much older adults, and those with the poorest health status were more likely to be vaccinated. The study suggests an association between life satisfaction and influenza vaccination. More research into the factors that impact influenza vaccination in older adults is needed to increase vaccination coverage in the older adult population.

This cross-sectional study investigated staff’s attitudes towards the use of mobile telepresence robots in long-term care (LTC) homes in western Canada. We drew on a Health Technology Assessment Core Model 3.0 to design a survey examining attitudes towards nine domains of mobile telepresence robots. Staff, including nurses, care staff, and managers, from two LTC homes were invited to participate. Statistical analysis of survey data from 181 participants revealed that overall, participants showed positive attitudes towards features and characteristics, self-efficacy on technology use, organizational aspects, clinical effectiveness, and residents and social aspects; neutral attitudes towards residents’ ability to use technology, and costs; and negative attitudes towards safety and privacy. Participants who disclosed their demographic backgrounds tended to exhibit more positive attitudes than participants who did not. Content analysis of textual data identified specific concerns and benefits of using the robots. We discuss options for implementing mobile telepresence robots in LTC.

This study aims to assess changes in long-term care (LTC) residents’ quality of life (QoL) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A pre-test post-test study of 49 QoL measures, across four dimensions from the interRAI self-reported QoL survey, was conducted. Secondary data from 2019 (n = 116) and 2020 (n = 128) were analysed to assess the change in QoL. A significant decline in 12 measures was observed, indicating a change in QoL of LTC residents during the pandemic. Social life was the dimension mostly affected with residents reporting less opportunities to spend time with like-minded residents, explore new skills and interests, participate in meaningful religious activities, and have enjoyable things to do in the evenings. Several measures of personal control, staff responsiveness and care, and safety also demonstrated a significant change. The results can inform future strategies for pandemic and outbreak preparedness. Balancing the safety of residents with attention to their QoL should be a priority moving forward.

In Canada, long-term care and retirement home residents have experienced high rates of COVID-19 infection and death. Early efforts to protect residents included restricting all visitors as well as movement inside homes. These restrictions, however, had significant implications for residents’ health and well-being. Engaging with those most affected by such restrictions can help us to better understand their experiences and address their needs. In this qualitative study, 43 residents of long-term care or retirement homes, family members and staff were interviewed and offered recommendations related to infection control, communication, social contact and connection, care needs, and policy and planning. The recommendations were examined using an ethical framework, providing potential relevance in policy development for public health crises. Our results highlight the harms of movement and visiting restrictions and call for effective, equitable, and transparent measures. The design of long-term care and retirement policies requires ongoing, meaningful engagement with those most affected.

Canadian health regions are required to set priorities and allocate resources within a limited funding envelope. Program budgeting and marginal analysis (PBMA) was piloted in continuing care in Claresholm, Alberta, with the aim of improving overall benefit from available resources. A marginal-analysis expert panel was used to assess options for continuing-care delivery. Inputs into the decision-making process included evidence from the literature, regional and provincial reports, program budgeting information, and local knowledge. Recommendations included implementing adult, day-and-night support programs and converting long-term beds to convalescent beds. Changes were funded through allocating provincial Broda funding and altering nursing assistant and physiotherapy activity. PBMA was demonstrated to be an effective framework in aiding decision makers with redesigning services in Claresholm. This case study is one of several which indicate PBMA to be a valuable aid to priority setting in health care service provision.

The level of liver polyploidy was compared in three groups of humans: a young group aged 20–46, an older group aged 62–68 and the oldest group aged 70–79. The most important trend showed by the data was that there is a depletion of 2N and 4N cells, accompanied by an increase in 8N and 16N cells as a function of advancing age. There was a high degree of variability in the percentage of cells in each ploidy class from one individual to the next for all age groups. For this reason, polyploidy appears to be a less effective biomarker of aging in humans than it is in experimental animals.

One thousand, four hundred and six seniors were asked about their consumer spending preferences. While some could name a product spending preference, others could not. This study examines the characteristics that best distinguish those elders who are uninterested in spending on consumer products from those who choose product specific preferences. Discriminant function analyses show that age best distinguishes the non-interested group from the others, supporting a previous report by Walker and Schwenk (1991). Income and health status most reliably separate those whose most important spending priority is a recreational product from those most interested in basic needs or housing products. Those whose spending priority is a housing item tend to be home-owners who have lived in their residences for long periods of time. The results confirm that the heterogeneity among seniors documented in other areas (such as health and social characteristics) extends to their consumption preferences. The diversity in spending preferences can be understood in terms of a desire to enhance quality of life.