Healthy Aging CORE Research Spotlight: March

Research Spotlight

The Canadian Coalition for Seniors' Mental Health (CCSMH) is committed to improving the quality of care and support for older adults throughout Canada by working tirelessly to bridge gaps in knowledge and practice, ensuring that mental health receives the attention it deserves within the realm of aging. The Coalition’s mission is rooted in evidence-based approaches, compassionate advocacy, and the unwavering belief that every older adult deserves the best possible mental health care. On their website you can find clinical guidelines, brochures, fact sheets, and other resources related to mental health topics such as depression, anxiety, substance use and addiction, and delirium. In 2024, the CCSMH launched the first Canadian clinical guidelines to support health and social service providers to assess and address social isolation and loneliness among older adults. Some additional social isolation and loneliness resources related to this project that are available on their website include:

• Social Connection and Healthy Aging Brochure
• Social Isolation And Loneliness In Older Adults: A Survey of Canadian Older Adults
• Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: A survey of Canadian health and social service providers

New Research on CORE

• [Resource] Dementia in a New Light (PiDC Alliance)
• [Report] Enhancing Care for Older Adults in Canada and Down Under: What Canadian and Australian Long-Term Care Systems Can Learn from Each Other (National Institute on Ageing)

New Journal Articles

Open access articles that are free and accessible to the general public.

Verschoor, C. P., Theou, O., Ma, J., Montgomery, P., Mossey, S., Nangia, P., ... & Savage, D. W. (2024). Age-and sex-specific associations of frailty with mortality and healthcare utilization in community-dwelling adults from ontario, Canada. BMC Geriatrics, 24(1), 1-10.

In this 10-year retrospective analysis of data from the Ontario Health Study, the authors examined the relationship between frailty and healthcare utilization and mortality for 161,149 adults aged 18 and up. Frailty consistently increased with age and was higher for women at all ages. A 0.1-increase in frailty was significantly associated with mortality (HR = 1.47), the total number of outpatient (IRR = 1.35) and inpatient (IRR = 1.60) admissions over time, and length of stay (IRR = 1.12). The relationships between frailty and mortality and hospital admissions were strongest among the younger age groups.

Li, H., Kilgour, H., Leung, B., Cho, M., Pollock, J., Culbertson, S., ... & Haase, K. R. (2024). Caring for older adults with cancer in Canada: Views from healthcare providers and cancer care allies in the community. Supportive Care in Cancer, 32(3), 1-12.

Based on focus groups and interviews with 71 local healthcare professionals and cancer care allies in BC, the authors investigated the barriers and facilitators to caring for older adults with cancer. At the system level, key barriers included lack of space, lack of staffing, the siloed health care system, transportation barriers, and technology-related barriers. At the individual level, barriers included the complex health needs of individuals, financial barriers, language barriers and lack of social supports. Key facilitators identified included available cancer care resources, providing care close to home, available community and non-clinical resources, and supports for caregivers.

 Calls for Abstracts for Upcoming Conferences

Canadian Association on Gerontology

The Canadian Association on Gerontology (CAG) is pleased to announce a Call for Abstracts for CAG2024, our 53rd Annual Scientific and Educational Meeting. The meeting will be held October 24-26, 2024 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada at the Delta Hotels Edmonton South Conference Centre. Abstracts are due April 15, 2024.