Micro-data from a 1984 survey of adult education in Canada are used in the study. The data for persons 65 years of age and over are analysed using probit techniques. Prior level of education is found to be of considerable importance in determining the probabilities that elderly people will make use of adult education facilities. It is argued that future elderly population cohorts will have higher average education levels than present ones and that their members will therefore be more likely to take courses. Projections of increases in course enrolment by persons 65 and over are made for the next quarter century, based on the results of the probit analysis and projections of the population.

Despite the extensive literature on the effects of relocation on the aged, most investigators have examined changes following relocation. Very little is known about the cognitions and emotions an older person experiences, or about the meaning of home during the pre-relocation period. The present study attempted to address these issues. Sixty-three older people awaiting relocation to age-segregated rent-subsidized apartment buildings were interviewed twice over a one year period: they received the PGC Multilevel Assessment Instrument as well as measures assessing coping strategies and their perceived meaning of home and relocation. Respondents did not demonstrate decrements on any domain of the PGC MAI over the year period; indeed, those who moved significantly increased their level of environmental satisfaction. Finally, participants reported dealing with stress by exercising personal control over, or actively manipulating, their environment; “home”, moreover, most often had meaning and importance because it was the place in which this personal control was optimized and ensured.

This study examined the food variety and the effects of seven factors reflective of social, economical and health indices on the food choices of sixty-two urban dwelling individuals between sixty to seventy years of age. Food variety was assessed in terms of 157 foods grouped into eight food groups. The relative impact of the seven factors on food use was determined by Kendall's tau statistic. A salient identified factor was the use of dentures which reduced overall food variety. Living situations, particularly single dwelling conditions, exerted negative influences on food variety with the reduction of use frequency of foods in both bread and meat groups. The other five factors: education level, satisfaction with disposable income for food, social activity, emotional state and smoking habits limited food variety to a lesser extent than the aforementioned variables. The findings confirmed that attention to dental health and accommodation arrangements may aid in ensuring the diet quality of elderly persons.

Nursing home aides are the primary care providers for the institutionalized elderly but, until recently, aides have received very little formal training. Recognizing this, some community colleges have implemented in-service training programs. This paper presents the results of an impact assessment of the Saskatchewan program offered by Kelsey Institute of Applied Arts and Science. The sample included 86 aides from 16 nursing homes selected at random from both rural and urban areas. Results from this study show that program graduates knew significantly more about simple nursing skills, the aging process, and the philosophy of long term care in comparison to aides from nursing homes that did not offer this in-service training (non-participants). Program graduates were also significantly more likely to describe their health care team as functioning effectively. However, attitudes of program graduates toward the elderly were not significantly different from non-participants. The vast majority of the aides, whether trained or untrained, held positive attitudes toward the elderly. Implications and limitations of these results are discussed in conjunction with information from interviews with three Directors of Care who have experience implementing and supervising this in-service training program.

Fries predicted in 1980 a continuing rectangularization of the survival curve, and trends toward delayed age of onset of chronic disease and toward compression of morbidity in late life. Others have presented evidence that challenges the first two predictions. However, direct evidence regarding the last one has been lacking.

The study reported here analyzed death certificate data on the longest interval between the onset of any condition listed as causing or contributing to the death and the occurrence of the death, from a representative sample of 500 Ontario death certificates in 1975 versus 1985, to deceased individuals aged 65 +. There was a statistically significant decrease between 1975 and 1985 in the frequency of the shortest intervals (under a month) and a not statistically significant increase in the frequency of the longest intervals (5+ years or “years”). Adjustments regarding not-stated intervals and attempts to control for a confounding factor did not change the picture. This study did not yield any statistically significant evidence of a compression of morbidity in late life, and did yield statistically significant findings that were inconsistent with that hypothesis.