Alert systems can engage the community to help locate missing persons with dementia. Evidence on the impact of implemented alert systems is minimal. Guided by three adapted Knowledge-to-Action Framework phases: identifying the problem, assessing barriers, and evaluating outcomes, this study aimed to examine understandings about alert systems and their implementation in Canada, Scotland, and the United States. A document review and interviews conducted with 40 interest holders (those with lived experience, first responders, service providers, and policymakers) underwent thematic analysis. Findings revealed variability in alert systems implementation and barriers at individual (limited understanding of alert systems, privacy concerns, alert fatigue) and organizational levels (sustainability, accessibility, privacy legislation). Participants recommended the following for successful implementation of alert systems: clear policy, collaboration, ongoing assessment, and a localized, opt-in system with accessibility, public education, and sustainable funding. This information indicates under what conditions alert systems for missing persons with dementia could be implemented.

Tamil immigrants in Canada face high rates of Type II Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and significant barriers in accessing T2DM-related services. These barriers are often amplified for older adults, whose age-related needs intersect with cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic factors. This study explored the lived experiences of Tamil older adults accessing T2DM-related health care services in the Greater Toronto Area. A qualitative interpretive description approach was used, involving in-depth semi-structured interviews with nine Tamil older adults. Participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling. Thematic analysis was applied, with findings organized using Levesque et al.’s framework (2013). Five key themes were identified: (1) timely and informed diabetes management, (2) reliance on trusted health service providers, (3) reliance on others for transportation, (4) financial factors, and (5) navigating health care through cultural and communication factors. Identified themes can inform potential solutions to improve access including centralized resource hubs, culturally tailored education programs, affordable transportation options, and an integrated health care approach.

Les enjeux éthiques de la pratique de l’ergothérapie auprès de personnes aînées en centre hospitalier n’ont pas été à ce jour documentés d’une manière large et globale. L’objectif de l’étude était de décrire ces enjeux suivant la perspective d’ergothérapeutes du Québec. Des entrevues individuelles ont été réalisées avec des ergothérapeutes dans le cadre d’une étude qualitative d’inspiration phénoménologique. Trois analystes se sont concertées lors de l’analyse des verbatims des entretiens. Vingt ergothérapeutes ont pris part à l’étude. Sept unités de sens émergent des données, lesquelles attestent que plusieurs valeurs sont bafouées dans le quotidien de la pratique, telles que l’autonomie décisionnelle des personnes aînées, leur autonomie fonctionnelle, leur dignité, l’accessibilité et la qualité des services ergothérapiques, la reconnaissance de la profession ergothérapique, la collaboration interprofessionnelle et la bientraitance des personnes aînées. Les résultats rejoignent ceux documentés dans les écrits, tout en identifiant plusieurs enjeux éthiques non documentés à ce jour.

Malgré le fait que le Nouveau-Brunswick est la seule province officiellement bilingue au Canada, l’accès aux soins de santé dans la langue officielle de la minorité semble demeurer un grand défi. La province est l’une de celles avec la plus grande proportion de personnes âgées de 65 ans et plus, dont 35 % sont francophones. Le but de cette étude qualitative de type théorisation ancrée était d’identifier comment les personnes aînées francophones en situation minoritaire accèdent aux soins en français. Des entrevues avec des personnes âgées provenant des trois communautés francophones minoritaires au N.-B. furent réalisées. Les résultats mettent en lumière le processus de « l’identité contre la vulnérabilité » en présentant six étapes qui illustrent le faible nombre d’actions entreprises pour accéder aux soins de santé en français. De plus, l’influence constante de facteurs extrinsèques et intrinsèques affecte l’étape où on s’identifie comme francophone, ce qui accentue la vulnérabilité de la personne aînée dans le système de santé.

Intergenerational programs can support social connectedness, and an important element is engaging in activities together, known as ‘co-occupation’. To address gaps in the literature, we explored how older adults and university students living together in a retirement home enacted co-occupations, the factors that shaped the co-occupations, and how the co-occupations affected intergenerational relationship-building and connections. We conducted a focused ethnography using a constructivist-interpretivist paradigm, interviews with university students and older adults, and on-site observations. We analysed data using reflexive thematic analysis. Co-occupations were critical in creating connections and mutually beneficial intergenerational relationships. Participants often transformed co-occupations to promote interactions. Important features of intergenerational housing appear to be access to co-occupations that are structured and unstructured, flexibility to modify co-occupations, and physical spaces that promote co-occupation. This research illustrates how co-occupation within intergenerational housing programs can support connection and relationship-building. Findings can be applied within intergenerational housing and other intergenerational programs.

Longitudinal qualitative inquiry from a social gerontological perspective can offer unique insights into older adults’ wellbeing and home care service trajectories. This temporal case study of 12 older home care clients analysed 136 interviews over three time points with 53 home care network actors in Manitoba and Nova Scotia. Many clients and families grappled with service changes almost daily, even if the level or type of service appeared officially stable. The pandemic added further disruption, shaping clients’ lives, wellbeing, and relationships, as well as their access to and use of service. Notably, changes in clients’ wellbeing and needs for help were not necessarily straightforward nor always apparent to case coordinators, especially when these were tied to social, emotional, or relational wellbeing, or to clients’ living arrangements, housing, family, and community integration. Findings can enhance theorizing of change for older adults receiving home care and guide equity-informed policy and practice.

La gestion socioterritoriale du vieillissement constitue un enjeu fondamental au Nouveau-Brunswick. Comme cette province ne possède pas de stratégie territoriale du vieillissement, il revient aux municipalités d’aménager leur territoire afin de favoriser le vieillissement sur place. L’objectif de cet article consiste à évaluer la perception des élus municipaux, des intervenants communautaires et des aînés en ce qui a trait à la gestion socioterritoriale du vieillissement dans quatre villes du Nouveau-Brunswick. L’approche utilisée est celle des représentations sociales des acteurs à partir d’entrevues semi-dirigées. Sur le plan théorique, notre analyse s’appuie sur le modèle de gérontologie environnementale. Bien que les résultats de nos entretiens révèlent une satisfaction généralisée des répondants concernant l’implication des élus à la gestion socioterritoriale du vieillissement, des disparités persistent notamment au chapitre de l’accessibilité par rapport à certains édifices et au manque d’infrastructures dédiées spécifiquement aux aînés. Pour pallier ces difficultés, le déploiement d’une stratégie territoriale du vieillissement multiniveau constitue une piste de solutions à envisager.

Contemplative practices offer a promising lens for thinking about how people navigate change, vulnerability, and the emotional texture of later life. This article examines how such practices extend ideas of healthy aging, drawing on interviews and focus groups (n = 24) from an 8-week mind–body course. Participants reported strong satisfaction with the course, noting improvements in physical and mental health, and a notable shift towards greater kindness, openness, and curiosity towards themselves and others. Aiming to understand the key elements of contemplative training, our analysis identified three notable themes: learning to be with emotionally challenging experiences; normalizing change and vulnerability; and the ongoing development of a toolkit. Participants also reported a heightened ability to cope with challenges, make intentional life choices, and foster a positive attitude. From a gerontological perspective, the program offered helpful resources for adapting to change and embracing vulnerability as fundamental components of healthy aging. We also suggest the value of a life course perspective, which enables us to imagine contemplative practice as a form of training for aging well.

Naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs) are geographic areas that have come to house a high proportion (≥30%) of older residents. Implementing onsite social programming in NORCs, or other places where older adults are clustered, can support aging in place. As such it is important to be able to identify sites that could benefit. We describe a data and equity-driven process used to select NORC and social housing sites for a program aimed at empowering older adults and strengthening aging in place in Toronto, Canada. We (1) created a data-driven shortlist of buildings with population-level data, (2) prioritized equity by targeting buildings with high health needs and neighbourhood-level diversity, and (3) facilitated building and resident engagement to assess interest and suitability. This process offers a novel and replicable approach for selecting sites for enhanced, place-based programming that can inform site selection for other community-based programming for older adults across diverse contexts.

The aim of the current exploratory study was to understand the experiences of Canadian Jewish older adults following the October 7, 2023 attack and the Israel–Hamas war. Relying on a qualitative approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 older adults (ages 65–92; 60% women) and with 11 service providers (ages 33–67; 72% women) who work with Jewish older adults in the greater Vancouver area. Participants were deeply affected by the October 7 attack and the ensuing Israel–Hamas war. Furthermore, they experienced the public discourse surrounding the attack and the war as anti-Israeli and at times antisemitic, upending their sense of safety and belonging. Some individuals were doubly impacted by these events, among them Holocaust survivors and their offspring and Jewish older adults who were LGBTQ+. Future avenues are suggested for improving the well-being of Jewish older adults living in the Diaspora in the current political and social climate.

Preparing and filing taxes has become an increasingly digital task. Older adults need to file taxes to qualify for benefits, but little is known about how older adults in Canada manage tax preparation, nor about how they get help. We investigated delegation mechanisms provided by the Canada Revenue Agency, documenting workflows needed to set up delegation and identifying privacy and security risks. We conducted a semi-structured interview study (n = 19) with older adults, formal tax volunteers, and informal tax helpers to understand the challenges and experiences in tax delegation. Our results show that the CRA’s delegation mechanisms are lightweight and enable older adults to delegate tasks to others with minimal privacy and security risks. However, we found these lightweight mechanisms were not known about or used by the older adults who delegated to informal tax helpers, nor were they known about or used by any of the informal tax helpers we interviewed.