Canada and other countries are changing the age for public pension eligibility. A policy concern is the welfare of those individuals exiting the labour force before the age of pension eligibility. This study, through the use of the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics data, addressed early retirements by (a) examining the incomes of those who are not working at near-retirement ages, and (b) examining how these Canadians avoid economic hardship. It found that around three-quarters of those not working have been able to avoid low-income status. Most important for avoiding low income are other family income sources, good health, and employment-related pension income.

The purpose of this study was to determine the key determinants of loneliness of older Canadians. We drew on the assumptions concerning the importance of person-environment fit to test the relative importance of personal characteristics, deprived living conditions, social network/social engagement, and satisfaction in explaining loneliness. Data comprised a sample of 3,799 respondents over age 65 drawn from Statistics Canada’s General Social Survey, Cycle 22. Personal characteristics, social network size and composition, and satisfaction with network contact were found to be related to loneliness, as were indicators of living in economically and socially challenging conditions. Older adults who had experienced a recent downturn in their financial situation, and who lacked the help needed to cope with a recent personal challenge, reported higher levels of loneliness. A striking feature of our findings is the relatively low scores on loneliness of older Canadians compared to older adults in other countries.

This study investigated the reciprocal relationship between parental caregiving and labour force participation to determine whether (1) caregiving related to subsequent employment; (2) employment related to subsequent caregiving; (3) caregiving and labour force participation had a reciprocal relationship across time; and (4) gender differences existed in these relationships. A cross-lagged panel design was applied with structural equation modeling. The study sample included adult children aged 51 or older with living parents or parents-in-law. No reciprocal relationship was found between caregiving and labour force participation, but gender differences were evident. Women caregivers in 2006 were less likely to be working in 2008, whereas employment status was not related to subsequent caregiving. In contrast, men working in 2008 were less likely to be caregiving in 2010, whereas caregiving was not related to subsequent employment status. Findings suggest that gender plays an important role in the relationship between caregiving and labour force participation.

This study described prescribing trends before and after implementing a provincial strategy aimed at improving osteoporosis and fracture prevention in Ontario long-term care (LTC) homes. Data were obtained from a pharmacy provider for 10 LTC homes in 2007 and 166 homes in 2012. We used weighted, multiple linear regression analyses to examine facility-level changes in vitamin D, calcium, and osteoporosis medication prescribing rates between 2007 and 2012. After five years, the estimated increase in vitamin D, calcium, and osteoporosis medication prescribing rates, respectively, was 38.2 per cent (95% confidence interval [CI]: 29.0, 47.3; p < .001), 4.0 per cent (95% CI: –3.9, 12.0; p = .318), and 0.2 per cent (95% CI: –3.3, 3.7; p = .91). Although the study could not assess causality, findings suggest that wide-scale knowledge translation activities successfully improved vitamin D prescribing rates, although ongoing efforts are needed to target homes with low uptake.

Our study’s premise was that normative care beliefs can inform the current care policy debate. We conducted latent class regression analyses on two waves of Netherlands Kinship Panel Study data (n = 4,163) to distinguish care ideals that captured multiple dimensions of normative care beliefs simultaneously. We also assessed how these care ideals have shifted in the early twenty-first century. We distinguished four care ideals: warm-modern (family and state jointly responsible for caring, egalitarian gender roles), cold-modern (large state responsibility, restricted family responsibility, egalitarian gender roles), traditional (restricted state responsibility, large family responsibility, moderately traditional gender roles), and cold-traditional (large state responsibility, restricted family responsibility, traditional gender roles). Between 2002 and 2011, there has been a shift away from warm-modern care ideals and towards cold-modern care ideals. This is remarkable, because Dutch policy makers have increasingly encouraged family members to take on an active role in caring for dependent relatives.

The principal objective of this study, the first of its kind to use this population, is to describe the factor analysis and validity of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (EAD) among 895 French Canadian seniors living as couples. A confirmatory factor analysis was carried out using structural equation modeling. Results support Spanier’s hierarchical model questionnaire (1976). Results also indicate evidence of validity and reliability satisfactorily set aside for the Affective Expression subscale having a lower Cronbach alpha coefficient. The results also indicate strong validity of the scale according to indices of convergent and discriminant validity. Finally, a discussion is presented addressing considerations to be taken into account for using the questionnaire among older couples.

Quality of life (QoL) of long-term care (LTC) facility residents is an important outcome of care. This cross-sectional, descriptive study examined the self-reported QoL of LTC facility residents in Canada using the interRAI Self-Report Nursing Home Quality of Life Survey instrument. A secondary purpose was to test the instrument’s psychometric properties. Psychometric testing of the instrument supported its reliability and its convergent and content validity for assessing the residents’ QoL. Findings showed that residents rated positively several aspects of their life, such as having privacy during visits (76.9%) and staff’s being honest with them (73.6%). Residents gave lower ratings to other aspects such as autonomy, staff-resident bonding, and personal relationships. The findings point to gaps between facility philosophies of care and their translation into a care environment where care is truly resident-directed. Moreover, the findings have potential implications for resident care planning, facility programming, social policy development, and future research.

An aging population and immigration-based population growth necessitate research, practice, and policy focusing on the mental health of older immigrants in Canada, especially, because their mental health appears to deteriorate over time. This review focuses on: What is known about the social determinants of mental health for older immigrants in Canada and what are the barriers they face in accessing mental health services? Findings reveal that: (1) the key social determinants of mental health are culture, health services and gender; (2) older immigrants use fewer mental health services than their Canadian-born counterparts due to cultural beliefs, lack of culturally and linguistically-appropriate services, financial difficulties, and ageism; and (3) regardless of the subcategories within this population, older immigrants experience mental health inequities. The research evidence provides a clear message that addressing mental health service gaps for older immigrants should be a policy and practice priority for Canada’s health care system.

Cultural adaptation is important to assess; however, most acculturation measures are unidimensional with little psychometric data for older immigrants. This study assessed a bidimensional measure, the Vancouver Index of Acculturation (VIA; Ryder, Alden, & Paulhus, 2000), among 149 (mean age: 73.92 years) Chinese Canadians. Internal consistencies were .84 and .83 for the Mainstream and Heritage subscales respectively, and they were orthogonal. Convergent and discriminant validity were demonstrated by predicted correlations between the VIA subscales and age at immigration, years in Canada, English fluency, and the Belief in Chinese Culture and Values Scale (BCCV; Lai & Chau, 2007). The VIA accounted for significantly more variance in language ability than the BCCV, above and beyond acculturation proxies. Exploratory factor analysis replicated the two-factor structure reported by Ryder et al. (2000). A confirmatory factor analysis indicated poor fit. This study supports a bidimensional model of cultural adaptation among older Chinese Canadians.

Cognitively impaired and cognitively intact older adults seemingly differ regarding engagement in aspects of advance care plans (ACPs). Through informant reports in the Canadian Study on Health and Aging, we examined differences between deceased cognitively impaired and intact older adults in components of ACPs: (1) discussions/arrangements for end-of-life care; (2) creation of legal documents; and in ACP outcomes, (3) location of death; and (4) dying in accordance with wishes. Cognitively impaired older adults were more likely to have made arrangements for a substitute decision-maker (OR = 1.90) and to have created legal documents (OR = 2.64 for health care preferences, OR = 2.00 for naming a decision-maker). They were less likely to have discussed preferences for end-of-life care (OR = 0.62). These findings suggest that ACPs differ for cognitively impaired persons, indicating a need for further investigation. This is a step towards understanding this complex process in a particularly vulnerable population.

This Research Note proposes a rationale, and offers a set of initial parameters, for an explicit effort to forge a policy and scientifically relevant family gerontology for Africa. It builds on a critical appraisal of dominant policy discourses in the region and existing research efforts on families and aging, specifically in sub-Saharan Africa.

To address the issue of falls, which are increasing as the population ages, an intelligent video-monitoring system is being developed. The aim of the study is to explore caregivers’ perceptions of and receptiveness to a prototype of this fall detection system. A cross-sectional mixed-method study was carried out with individual interviews of 18 caregivers. Statistical frequencies and content analysis were conducted (SPSS and N’Vivo). The results show that most participants (n = 15/18) liked the intelligent video-monitoring system and were willing to use it. They would worry less if they could be alerted if a care recipient fell, but they were concerned about privacy and cost. Participants had a positive perception of the system and expressed their wishes regarding the kind of alert and the person to contact in case of a fall.

The People’s Republic of China has the largest population of older persons of any country in the world. It is a nation that has experienced enormous economic, social, and demographic changes over the past three and a half decades. Traditionally, the family was the main social support for older persons; this changed somewhat under early socialism, but in recent years, the importance of family support has been reasserted. However, over this time, the family’s ability to support its older members has been considerably altered and arguably weakened. This article reviews four key issues (population change, the hukou system, economic reform, general features surrounding modernization) that have gradually changed families’ capacity to provide support for older members. Research foci and public policy directions are considered under which the state might take some responsibilities from the family, support capacity to care, and improve the quality and quantity of support for older citizens.

Surveys of chronic health conditions provide information about prevalence but not incidence and the process of change within the population. Our study shows how “age dynamics” of chronic conditions – the probabilities of contracting conditions at different ages, of moving from one chronic condition state to another, and of dying – can be inferred from prevalence data for those conditions that can be viewed as irreversible. Transition probability matrices are constructed for successive age groups, with the sequence representing the age dynamics of the health conditions for a stationary population. We simulate the life path of a cohort under the initial probabilities, and again under altered probabilities, to explore the effects of reducing the incidence or mortality rate associated with a particular condition. We show that such surveys of chronic conditions can be made even more valuable by allowing the calculation of the transition probabilities that define the chronic conditions aging process

Older adults living in residential long-term care or nursing homes have increasingly complex needs, including more dementia than in the past, yet we know little about the unregulated workforce providing care. We surveyed 1,381 care aides in a representative sample of 30 urban nursing homes in the three Canadian Prairie provinces and report demographic, health and well-being, and work-related characteristics. Over 50 per cent of respondents were not born in Canada and did not speak English as their first language. They reported moderately high levels of burnout and a strong sense of their work’s worth. Few respondents reported attending educational sessions. This direct caregiver workforce is poorly understood, has limited training or standards for minimum education, and training varies widely across provinces. Workplace characteristics affecting care aides reflect factors that precipitate burnout in allied health professions, with implications for quality of care, staff health, and staff retention.

Accessibility to buildings promotes social participation through the application of inclusive design. However, architectural frameworks for constructing accessibility ramps are based on scant scientific evidence. This article presents a statement of established standards for construction criteria for accessibility ramps and makes recommendations from the perspective of inclusive design. A literature review was performed using the databases Medline, OTseeker, PsycINFO, and CINAHL (2000 to 2013), combining keywords referring to: universal accessibility, inclusive design, accessibility ramps, biomechanics, obesity, and disabilities. Non-scientific literature was also explored (e.g. building codes). The fifty-eight articles selected were grouped under five themes: 1) ramps and users; 2) materials and climate; 3) visual reference; 4) "wayfinding"; 5) durability, aesthetics and culture. Recommendations encouraging interdisciplinary practice, pegged to inclusive design, are exhibited (e.g. tracking, tilt, contrast).