Plusieurs personnes atteintes d’un cancer incurable sont des hommes, âgés de plus de 65 ans. Même si, à notre connaissance, aucune recherche ne porte sur les souffrances de ces hommes, des écrits dévoilent que ces dernières pourraient être considérables. Les réalités du vieillissement au masculin couplées à celles d’être atteint d’une maladie incurable peuvent effectivement engendrer des souffrances particulières. Cette recherche qualitative vise à mieux comprendre les souffrances vécues par les hommes âgés atteints d’un cancer incurable (HACI). Nous explorerons si et comment leurs souffrances se rapportent à des enjeux identitaires de genre et/ou aux transformations de leurs rôles. Dix-sept hommes âgés de 65 ans et plus atteints d’un cancer incurable furent rencontrés en milieu urbain (Montréal) dans le cadre d’entretiens semi-dirigés. L’analyse thématique des résultats a permis de relever des enjeux identitaires et de rôles, la nature des changements affectant l’identité et ses rôles et les enjeux de genre vécus par les HACI.

The devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the missing voices of families and residents in long-term care (LTC) decision-making and policy processes. Family and resident councils constitute one method of raising these voices, but there is currently a gap in evidence of how to promote the effectiveness of these councils. We conducted five focus groups and two interviews with LTC home leaders, residents, family members, and advocates in British Columbia using a participatory approach integrating knowledge-users throughout the research process. Using a framework analysis, we found modifiable (communication, structure, recruitment/engagement, council leadership, culture/attitudes, and resources/supports) and non-modifiable factors (medical complexity of residents and short lengths of stay) affecting council effectiveness. We discuss strategies implemented by knowledge-users to address modifiable effectiveness factors and construct a preliminary tool (a 35-question survey) that operationalizes and identifies areas that can increase council effectiveness in practice to ensure that their voices are heard in LTC decision making.

Despite societal perceptions of older adults as vulnerable, literature on resilience suggests that exposure to adversity and resources gained with life experience contribute to adaptation. One way to explore the nature of resilience is to document assets supporting adaptation. Interviews were conducted with older adults living in Canada at two time points during the COVID-19 pandemic, September 2020–May 2021 (T1) and January–August 2022 (T2). Reflexive thematic analysis was completed to report on what older adults identified as assets and how they understood the value of those assets for resilience. Participants indicated that the potential value of their contributions went largely untapped at the level of the community but supported individual and household adaptation. In line with calls for an all-of-society approach to reduce disaster risk and support resilience, creating a culture of inclusivity that recognizes the potential contributions of older adults should be paired with opportunities for action.

We evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of frailty screening using handgrip strength with gait speed measures within four primary care-based memory clinics in Ontario. This mixed methods quality improvement initiative examined the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance of frailty screening from the perspective of patients (N = 216), care partners (N = 142), and healthcare providers (N = 9). Frailty screening was well-received by patients and care partners and perceived as quick and easy to administer and integrate into assessment processes by healthcare providers at all four memory clinics. The ease of integrating frailty screening into clinic processes was a key factor facilitating implementation; few challenges or suggestions for improvement were identified. All four clinics plan to continue frailty screening, three using the methods adopted in this study. Integrating frailty screening into memory assessments is feasible and acceptable and, given the interactional relationship between frailty and dementia, provides a significant opportunity to improve health outcomes for older adults.

To improve transitions in care, a new patient navigation (PN) program was introduced to support older adults with complex care needs transition from hospital to home. The patient navigator is a community social worker embedded in the hospital’s care teams. A cohort observational design was used to conduct the study by analysing the patient navigator’s clinical notes and hospital’s administrative data to describe the characteristics of patients, scope of the patient navigator’s activities, and patient outcomes. Ninety patients were assigned to the patient navigator’s caseload (November 2019–November 2021) in which the average age was 78.9 (range 55–95). The most frequent PN intervention types were referrals to community services (66%, n = 59) and discharge planning (61%, n = 55). The patient navigator supported 66% patients (n = 59) in returning home and provided follow-up care for 74 days (average). This study provides important insights into the patient navigator’s role to guide decision makers in implementing PN programs for older adults in a hospital setting.

As demographics and gender norms shift, more older men will be providing care for their wives living with dementia than ever before. Research on husbands as caregivers is limited and offers an incomplete picture of their role development and how they experience caregiving. This study examined husbands whose wives have dementia and how they provide care and construct their sense of self. Semi-structured interviews with 11 men aged 61–88 were conducted in Ontario, Canada. Data were analyzed using constant comparison analysis and a constructivist grounded theory (CGT) approach. Two categories were developed: Adapting to the Role of Caregiver and Staying a Husband. Caregiving as a husband for a wife living with dementia required revision of the role of husband to include that of caregiver by reimaging intimacy, being a protector in new ways, and finding new meanings to being a provider and the value of wealth.

This study provides researchers, practitioners, and policy makers with a profile of older adults’ travel behaviour and the older adult population that reports unmet travel needs. In addition, we quantified associations between reporting an unmet travel need and measures of health and social connectedness. Data came from the second follow-up survey of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, collected from 2018 to 2021 (n = 14,167). Nine in ten (90.2%) older adults aged 65 years and older indicated that driving is the main way they get around. Older adults with an unmet travel need were more likely to be women, have lower household incomes and education levels, and have a mobility limitation. People with an unmet travel need had 2.7 times the odds of reporting fair or poor general health (OR = 2.66, 95% CI: 2.19, 3.22) and 3.1 times the odds of feeling socially isolated (OR = 3.10, 95% CI: 2.57, 3.72) compared to those without an unmet need.

Age-related changes can affect mental health, but aging-focused mental health research is limited. The objective was to identify the top 10 unanswered research questions on aging and mental health according to what matters most to aging Canadians. A steering group of experts-by-experience (e.g., older adults, caregivers, health and social care providers) guided three phases of a modified James Lind Alliance priority-setting partnership: (1) a broad national survey (n = 305) and a rapid literature scan; (2) a follow-up national survey (n = 703); and (3) four online workshops (n = 52) with a nominal group technique. Forty-two unique questions on aging and mental health resulted, of which 18 were determined to be answered by existing evidence. Of the 25 partially and unanswered questions, 10 were ranked as top priority. Findings can be used to prioritize future research, knowledge mobilization, and funding decisions, and to promote and support collaboration between longstanding siloed research and care fields.

The relationship between frailty and glycemic control in older adults with diabetes remains uncertain, mainly due to the fact that previous studies have not accounted for measures of body composition. In older adults with diabetes, we examined the association between three types of frailty measures and glycemic control, while accounting for fat-free mass (FFM) and waist circumference (WC). Eighty older adults (age ≥65, 27 women and 53 men, mean age 80.5 ± 0.6 years) had gait speed, Cardiovascular Health Study Index (CHSI), Rockwood Clinical Frailty Scale (RCFS), and glycosylated hemoglobin (HgA1C) measured. HgA1C showed a negative association only with CHSI (standardized β = −0.255 ± 0.120, p = 0.038), but no association with gait speed or the RCFS. Even after accounting for FFM and WC, we demonstrated a negative association between glycated hemoglobin and increasing frailty in older adults with diabetes.

As Western society becomes increasingly digitally dependent and many older adults actively engage in the online world, understanding the experiences of those who largely do not use digital technology in their daily lives is crucial. Individual interviews were conducted (pre-pandemic) with 23 older adults who, based on self-identification, did not regularly use digital technology, exploring how their experiences as limited digital technology users may have impacted their daily lives. An iterative collaborative qualitative analysis demonstrated three main themes: internet concerns, frustrations with digital technology, and conflicting motivators to use digital technology. Findings suggest that addressing digital concerns and providing effective digital skill learning opportunities may encourage some older adults to become more digitally engaged. However, as people, including older adults, can be uninterested in using these technologies, organizations and institutions should work to offer ways to support people of all ages who are not engaged online.

Functional decline following hospitalization remains an important problem in health care, especially for frail older adults. Modifiable factors related to reduction in harms of hospitalization are not well described. One particularly pervasive factor is emergency department (ED) boarding time; time waiting from decision to admit, until transfer to an in-patient medical unit. We sought to investigate how the functional status of frail older adults correlated with the length of time spent boarded in the ED. We found that patients who waited for 24 hours or more exhibited functional decline in both the Barthel Index and Hierarchical Assessment of Balance and Mobility and an increase in the Clinical Frailty Scale from discharge to 6 months post discharge. In conclusion, there is a need for additional investigation into ED focused interventions to reduce ED boarding time for this population or to improve access to specialized geriatric services within the ED.

This study explores vulnerability narratives used in relation to older adults and others during the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixed-method content analysis was conducted of 391 articles published in two major newspapers in Canada and the USA during the first wave of the pandemic. The findings indicated that during the early months of the pandemic, limited attention was directed towards its impact on older adults or other ‘vulnerable’ subpopulations in both countries. Where evident, intrinsic (individual-level) risk factors were most consistently used to frame the vulnerability of older adults. In contrast, vulnerability was more likely to be framed as structural with regard to other subpopulations (e.g., ethno-racial minorities). These narratives also differed somewhat in Canadian and US newspapers. The framing of older adults as intrinsically vulnerable reflects ageist stereotypes and promotes downstream policy interventions. Greater attention is needed to the role of structural factors in influencing pandemic-related outcomes among older adults.

Chaque année, les Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada (IRSC) subventionnent le Programme d’été sur le vieillissement (PEV). Cette année, la semaine de formation qui rassemblait des étudiants canadiens de tous les cycles supérieurs avait pour thème la recherche multidisciplinaire au quatrième âge. Cette note de recherche présente trois éléments de réflexion de deux participants de l’édition 2023 du PEV : 1) les enjeux liés au vieillissement sont des occasions de transformer les paradigmes de la recherche; 2) la recherche collaborative doit être sociétale, et s’étendre au-delà du cercle restreint des milieux universitaires; 3) les critères d’équité, de diversité et d’inclusion intégrés aux projets de recherche doivent se refléter au sein des organisations qui mènent la recherche.