Social isolation can be hard for people living in long-term care homes, make sure to schedule window visits while lockdowns are in place.
(Shutterstock)
As people living in long-term care homes brave another lockdown, communication is key and the presence of family members (virtually or through the window) is needed.
What it’s like to get older? A course on the psychology of aging helped students gain empathy and curiosity.
(Shutterstock)
Social isolation in older adults can contribute to negative health outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this, but an arts-based program can alleviate some of the loneliness.
Technology can improve quality of life for older adults.
(Shutterstock)
National policies could improve long-term care, but major party election platforms do not address the pressing needs of seniors in care, even after the catastrophic toll of COVID-19 in care homes.
Robot pets can be useful, but won’t replace the love and companionship of a living animal.
(Shutterstock)
Robot pets are marketed as substitutes for living animals. Rather, we should use existing technologies to design robots that provide other services, like health care and lifestyle support.
A worker is seen cleaning surfaces inside Little Mountain Place, a not-for-profit long-term care home in Vancouver where dozens of residents have died in the COVID-19 pandemic.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
The failure of for-profit long-term care homes to protect residents during the pandemic is well-known. But non-profits also under-performed governments in preventing COVID-19 deaths.
New research shows that people who suffer from mental disorders earlier in life were more likely to subsequent develop physical diseases, age faster, and also die earlier than those who did not.
Older racialized and low-income adults in rural British Columbia were initially left out of the media’s early COVID-19 coverage.
(Shutterstock)
Older adults in rural areas in Canada are more vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19, including related ones like social connections and public health information outreach.
In the absence of guidelines or training regarding sexual expression in long-term care homes, most staff are ‘just winging it’ on potentially sensitive issues.
(Shutterstock)
In the absence of guidelines or training regarding sexual expression in long-term care homes, most staff are ‘just winging it’ on potentially sensitive issues.
Isolation and segregation create and reinforce another kind of barrier to those with dementia: stigma.
(Shutterstock)
‘Dementia friendly’ communities seek to support people with memory loss, recognize them as equals, celebrate their contributions and enable them to live with purpose in welcoming communities.
Seniors wait after receiving a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic in Montréal, in March 2021.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Loss of muscle mass is a growing concern for the tens of millions of older Americans. It leads to falls and increased isolation, already a huge problem during coronavirus.
Older caregivers report unprecedented and unrelenting levels of responsibility, stress and isolation due to COVID-19 and pandemic-related protocols.
(Shutterstock)
Older adults who are caregivers to someone with a health condition or disability report severe and unrelenting levels of stress and isolation during COVID-19 due to pandemic-related protocols.
Residents of the remote town of Norris Point launched their own meals-on-wheels program to help the community cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Roza Tchoukaleyska
Despite greater human rights protections, LGBTQ+ people in Canada still face challenges and discrimination when it comes to housing.
People protest outside the Tendercare Living Centre long-term-care facility in Scarborough, Ont. on Dec. 29, 2020. This LTC home has been hit hard by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette)
Canadians are living longer, but are they living well? The challenges to aging well go beyond the problems in long-term care. Substantial change to Canada’s support service systems is long overdue.
Many older adults are learning new digital skills to help them socialize virtually.
Eva-Katalin/Getty Images
Older adults – despite their awareness of increased risk of COVID-19 – are not reporting more feelings of anxiety, anger or stress than younger age groups.
Elderly users of public transit face complex challenges to their mobility.
(Shutterstock)