Relationships with companion animals, or “pets”, may promote health and well-being for older adults as they age-in-place. Less is known, however, about ways that pet-related challenges may simultaneously influence aging-in-place experiences. This study explores the relational qualities of having pets later in life by considering qualitative accounts of older adults who are aging in the community. Semi-structured interviews with 14 socio-economically diverse, community-dwelling older adult pet-owners (≥ 60 years) living in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, were analyzed reflexively. Four recurring themes suggested that companion animal relationships were valued in older adults’ lives and helped them cope with challenging circumstances, even when pets were central to these challenges. Findings also confirmed the relational nature of human-animal relationships as being shaped by both individual attributes and systemic factors. Methodological approaches to addressing these multifaceted complexities when studying pets and aging are considered. Enhanced cross-sectoral community and policy-level supports for aging-in-place with pets may have a population-level influence on health, well-being, and social justice across the socio-demographically diverse aging population.

Community support services are an integral enabler of aging in place. In social housing, older adult tenants struggle to access these services because of the siloed nature of housing and health services. This study examined the provision of government-funded community support services to 83 seniors’ social housing buildings in Toronto, Ontario. Although there were 56 different agencies operating within the buildings, only about one third of older tenants were actually receiving services. There was a subset of services that were available in more than 80 per cent of the buildings, and the most widely accessed services were food supports, crisis intervention, transportation, caregiver support, and hearing/vision care. There were also many cases in which multiple agencies offered duplicative services within the same building, suggesting that there are opportunities for improving service coordination. Practice recommendations for increasing access to community support services among low-income older adults in social housing are provided.

Passive remote monitoring is a relatively new technology that may support older adults to age in place. However, current knowledge about the effectiveness of this technology in extending older adults’ independence is lacking. Therefore, we conducted a scoping review of studies examining passive remote monitoring to systematically synthesize evidence about the technology’s effectiveness as an intervention. Our initial search of Embase, CINAHL, PubMed, and Scopus databases identified 486 unique articles. Of these, 14 articles met our inclusion criteria. Results show that passive remote monitoring technologies are being used in innovative and diverse ways to support older adults aging in place and their caregivers. More high-quality research on this topic is needed.

Most seniors in Canada live at home and consistently indicate that they prefer to stay there for as long as possible. Consequently, this desire places increasing pressure on supports such as informal caregivers and community services. The current rapid review set out to examine the psychosocial aspects of aging and dying in place that point to gaps in programs and services to support this preference. We searched PubMed, PsycInfo, and Google Scholar for peer-reviewed entries, and identified 42 articles for analysis, which we charted on a form we created and tested. Lack of attention to the whole person, lack of preparation for the journey ahead, and difficulties establishing collaborative and trusting relationships were, broadly, the challenges identified. A blend of initiatives in the community combined with an integrated palliative approach to care may mitigate some of the challenges that limit options for aging and dying in place.

Access to affordable housing is a rising concern, and social housing is one approach to support low-income, older renters. A scoping review was undertaken to understand the characteristics of older tenants and social housing services to identify strategies to promote aging in place. Seven peer review databases were searched to identify relevant articles. A total of 146 articles were included. Almost all examined socio-demographic and health characteristics of older tenants, while 72 per cent examined social housing services, including eligibility policies, staffing, and access to on-site services. This review points to a high vulnerability among older tenants and highlights the importance of co-locating services on-site with a tenant-facing support staff to identify vulnerable tenants and link them to services. More research on tenancy issues (e.g., unit condition, rental management) is needed to identify new opportunities for social housing landlords to help older tenants age in place.

The global population including Canada’s is aging, which demands planning for housing that will support older adults’ quality of life. This mixed-method study is the first Canadian study to examine the impact of cohousing on older adults’ quality of life and involved 23 participants. The older adults rated their quality of life very high, especially in the environmental, physical, and psychological domains of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL_BREF) survey; quality of life in the social domain was rated low, which was surprising in light of the focus group data findings. Four themes of “belonging in a community”, “life in the community”, “changes associated with aging,” and “aging in place” emerged from the qualitative data to explain factors that influence older adults’ quality of life. This research provides foundational, strong evidence that seniors’ cohousing is an innovative housing solution that can support older adults’ quality of life.

We aimed to determine protective factors distinguishing octogenarians with multiple sclerosis (MS) living at home from others their age and younger people with MS. Data from MS octogenarians (n = 23) and a matched group of MS young-old respondents (n = 61) were extracted from a Canadian MS aging survey. The MS groups were compared, along with a group of octogenarians from the general population, using national statistics. MS octogenarians lived with greater disability and higher prevalence of mood disorders but were more physically active than Canadian octogenarians without MS. MS octogenarians reported less stress and fatigue than the MS young-old group, and despite being more than a decade older, they reported similar levels of social support, financial flexibility, physical disability, and participation. Even when challenged by MS, maintenance of strong supports (social and financial), positive attitude, and participation in physical activity and life roles may contribute to aging in place.

Given the urgency of finding cost-effective and innovative solutions to providing community services for aging in place, novel solutions that take advantage of existing infrastructure are clearly needed. In this sequential mixed-method study, we chose to explore the role that nursing homes could play in offering services to a non-traditional target population, namely seniors with loss of independence living in the community. Forty-two (n = 42) nursing homes in the province of New Brunswick completed an online survey, and 10 agreed to participate in face-to-face interviews. Results show that 100 per cent of participants agreed that nursing homes could offer services to seniors in their communities for aging in place. Results suggest that nursing homes are cost-effective, innovative solutions for aging in place.

To address the issue of falls, which are increasing as the population ages, an intelligent video-monitoring system is being developed. The aim of the study is to explore caregivers’ perceptions of and receptiveness to a prototype of this fall detection system. A cross-sectional mixed-method study was carried out with individual interviews of 18 caregivers. Statistical frequencies and content analysis were conducted (SPSS and N’Vivo). The results show that most participants (n = 15/18) liked the intelligent video-monitoring system and were willing to use it. They would worry less if they could be alerted if a care recipient fell, but they were concerned about privacy and cost. Participants had a positive perception of the system and expressed their wishes regarding the kind of alert and the person to contact in case of a fall.

New Brunswick is one of the provinces most affected by the aging of the population. Moreover, aging at home in Francophone minority communities is a major challenge in rural areas. The goal of this paper is to identify the main advantages and disadvantages of aging at home and to expose organizational strategies deployed by seniors and their families in order to promote aging in place. The case study is the method of analysis that we have recommended. Our methodology is based on content analysis of 13 semi-structured interviews with seniors and their children. The results show that family and community support, resourcefulness and resiliency, the practice of leisure activities as well as the living environment are among the principal means used by older adults to promote aging at home.