This cross-sectional study examinee health and social concerns among community-dwelling older people, the resources they sought, and factors related to these concerns.

A convenience sample of 222 Nova Scotians aged 65 or over completed a semi-structured interview using the ACT® Assess, which assess 53 common health and social issues across six domains. Each item was linked to a database of corresponding local resources.

Over 40% of participants reported loneliness, moderate or greater pain, sleep problems, and/or bereavement – all within the Mental Health domain. However, only 32% sought Mental Health resources, compared to over 60% who sought resources for Accommodation and Finances. Participants receiving care showed greater challenges in activities of daily living and mobility.

Findings suggest a high level of concern, even among a relatively healthy sample, and indicate a progression of concerns from psychosocial and home maintenance issues to mobility and functional challenges.

We undertook a qualitative descriptive study to explore participants’ perceptions of whether marital status shapes how functional social support (FSS) relates to memory.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 community-dwelling middle-aged and older people representing various marital status categories. Each interview was audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed.

Participants did not perceive marital status to shape the FSS–memory relationship. Three themes emerged to explain this view: learning to cope – participants used alternatives besides a spouse to deal with memory challenges; context matters – factors such as marital satisfaction must be considered; and doing more harm than good – some spouses may provide excessive support, reducing participants’ autonomy to stimulate their own cognitive processes.

These themes highlight that marital relationships are complex and that contextual factors such as marital quality and support adequacy should be considered to provide a comprehensive understanding of how social and marital dynamics shape cognitive trajectories in aging populations.

Receiving a dementia diagnosis is a complex experience that can provide clarity about symptoms but often creates uncertainty. Support during and after diagnosis is essential to help individuals navigate living with dementia. This qualitative descriptive study examined experiences during and after diagnosis among people with dementia and care partners in New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec.

Interviews with 5 people with dementia and 15 care partners were conducted and then analysed using qualitative content analysis to identify barriers, facilitators, and contextual influences related to a positive experience.

Barriers included limited resources, poorly coordinated care, disorganized diagnostic pathways, and stigma. Facilitators included access to information, person-centred care, support networks, recognition of personhood, and structured care navigation. The COVID-19 pandemic further shaped experiences.

Findings highlight the importance of compassionate care, accessible information, and coordinated services while underscoring systemic gaps, stigma, and the impact of the pandemic.

This research note assessed the relationship between health status and union dissolution in middle and later life in the Canadian context.

Data were drawn from four waves (2014–2020) of the Canadian Longitudinal and International Study of Adults aged 45 and older. Logistic regression analyses examined the effects of stability and changes in self-rated health (SRH) and psychological distress on subsequent marital and cohabiting union dissolution.

Unlike those whose SRH declined over time, those who experienced continuing fair/poor SRH had a greater likelihood of subsequent union dissolution compared to those experiencing continuing good/very good/excellent or improved SRH. In contrast, those reporting increased psychological distress were more likely to experience union dissolution later on.

Policies and interventions that limit poor physical and mental health of individuals as they age may also serve to reduce the occurrence of union dissolution and its implications.

Older refugees often navigate complex health care needs while aging in resettlement contexts. For Syrian refugees in the Greater Toronto Area and surrounding regions, barriers within the Canadian health care system may shape how care is accessed, coordinated, and supplemented through transnational practices.

This study examines how older Syrian refugees aging in the Greater Toronto Area and surrounding regions navigate health care and construct hybrid health care pathways across local and transnational contexts.

A qualitative interpretive descriptive design was used. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 Syrian refugees aged 55–63. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis to identify patterns in participants’ experiences of accessing, coordinating, and supplementing health care.

Participants described persistent linguistic barriers, long wait times, and limited access to culturally aligned services within the Canadian health care system. In response, they developed hybrid health care pathways that combined Canadian health care with transnational practices, including consultations with clinicians abroad, cross-border medication use, family support, traditional remedies, and digital technologies. Digital tools played a central role in bridging language and geographic gaps and supporting care coordination. While these hybrid pathways enhanced autonomy, continuity of care, and perceived control, they also introduced risks related to medication safety, fragmented care, informal decision-making, and digital inequities.

The findings show that older Syrian refugees’ health care navigation extends beyond formal Canadian health services and is shaped by transnational relationships, cultural knowledge, digital access, and prior health system experiences. Hybrid health care pathways can support continuity and culturally meaningful care, but they also require careful attention to safety, communication, and equity. Health systems should develop culturally responsive and digitally inclusive models that recognize transnational care practices while supporting safer integration with local care.

Immigrant and racialized Canadians constitute an increasing percentage of the older adult population. Attention is needed to the role of municipalities and their key partners in creating urban environments that are supportive of aging in place.

We conducted a qualitative descriptive sub-study of policy partners’ perceptions of age-friendly policies and initiatives as part of a larger community-based participatory project in Edmonton (Alberta, Canada).

Nineteen participants, including elected municipal representatives, city administrators, advisory committee volunteers and seniors-serving organization staff, took part in semi-structured interviews, which was followed with a reflexive thematic analysis of the data. Participants described high levels of awareness about inequities faced by immigrant and racialized older adults. Advocacy and policy efforts, however, were constrained by insufficient funding, lack of capacity for sustainable initiatives, unclear jurisdictional boundaries and competing priorities.

Pulse pressure (PP) calculated as systolic minus diastolic blood pressure is a surrogate measure of arterial stiffness that may affect executive function; however, this relationship could be moderated by age and genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We therefore examined relationships among PP, age, AD risk (i.e., APOE genotype) and executive function measured by the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB) in older adults.

PP was determined in 216 older adults without dementia (mean age: 77.5 ± 7.9 years, education: 16.8 ± 2.4 years, 55% women, 34.8% APOE ϵ4+) who were tested with the NIHTB-CB as part of the Advancing Reliable Measurement of Alzheimer’s Disease and Cognitive Aging (ARMADA) study.

Multiple linear regression revealed PP × Age × APOE genotype interaction effects for List Sorting Working Memory (β = 0.04; p = .007) and Picture Sequence Memory (β = 0.04; p = .006); higher PP was associated with worse scores in younger APOE ϵ4+ older adults (same pattern for fluid and total cognition composite scores). Higher PP was associated with lower Picture Vocabulary scores in ApoE ϵ4+ (PP X APOE interaction: β = −0.19; p = .022). Higher PP was associated with lower Flanker Inhibitory Control scores (β = −0.13; p = .005) across all participants.

Arterial stiffness measured by PP in older adults is associated with worse performance on NIHTB-CB tests of executive function, working memory, and episodic sequence memory, particularly in younger APOE ϵ4 carriers. Arterial stiffness and AD risk may work synergistically in an age dependent manner to adversely affect cognition.

To develop regression-based normative data for a set of widely used neuropsychological tests and to provide a freely accessible normative data calculator for use in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Participants were drawn from a large clinical dataset and selected to reflect preserved global cognition, intact memory performance, and functional independence. Regression-based norms were developed for the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Verbal Fluency, Trail Making Test, and Digit Span tasks. For each model, predictors included age, sex, and years of education, as well as polynomial terms and interaction effects; final models were obtained via stepwise backward elimination procedures. Model assumptions were evaluated, and predictive performance was estimated using 10-fold cross-validation.

393 participants met inclusion criteria. Age was negatively associated with verbal memory, fluency, and executive function, whereas higher educational attainment was associated with better performance. Women outperformed men in verbal memory and phonological fluency. Demographic variables explained between 2% and 23% of variance across tests. An open-access calculator was developed to facilitate individualized normative estimation in clinical settings.

This study provides locally developed, regression-based norms for neuropsychological assessment in Buenos Aires – Argentina, addressing the lack of culturally relevant norms and limitations of traditional methods.

This study examines how intensive caregivers in Nova Scotia who receive the provincial government’s Caregiver Benefit interpret and experience the program, particularly in the context of its ambiguous goals.

A qualitative descriptive methodological design was used to ensure that the reporting of findings remained close to participants’ own words and to emphasize the practicality of findings. Twenty family caregivers with experience receiving the Caregiver Benefit participated in a semi-structured interview.

Our analysis captured four themes: (a) caregiving intensity shaping perceptions of the Benefit, (b) financial relief provided by the Benefit, (c) systemic barriers to access, and (d) policy problems.

To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the firsthand accounts of caregivers’ experiences with the Caregiver Benefit in Nova Scotia.

Older refugees are often depicted in deficit-oriented terms in policy and scholarly discourse, leading to limited recognition of their capacities, agency, and social contributions.

This study examines the sociocultural roles and contributions of older African refugees in Calgary, Canada.

Drawing on qualitative storytelling and diagramming, with 11 older African refugees serving as co-researchers, to illuminate how they support younger generations and strengthen community resilience.

The results demonstrate that older refugees actively contribute through cultural and linguistic transmission, moral and civic mentorship, financial guidance, and culturally grounded support. Co-researchers described themselves as heritage keepers safeguarding language, culture, and identity amid perceived cultural risks in the host society. These contributions challenge prevailing assumptions of older refugees as passive or dependent and highlight the importance of recognizing their community influences.

The study underscores the need for strength-based policies and services that acknowledge older refugees’ sociocultural roles in supporting intergenerational well-being and community integration.