Recent discourses on aging emphasize the value of older people’s social participation. How participation is defined in policy, however, may not correspond with seniors’ realities. This article reports on the results of a critical discourse analysis conducted on aging policy in Quebec between 2005 and 2011. Results indicate that participation definitions can be problematic recommendations, standards, and expectations. Over time, participation increasingly came to be defined as productivity. The participation context also changed from collective responsibility to community adjustment and personal choice. Finally, policy texts reflected a polarization between activity and a loss of autonomy that linked participation with health status. Results suggest that, although innovative in the Canadian context, articulation of participation in Quebec’s recent policies on aging lacks the politics from which to discuss difference, otherness, and access to participative opportunities. The case of older people’s aging with disabilities illustrates the challenges of the new participatory agenda.

A qualitative study, within a life course perspective, explored the transition into marriage for mid- to later-life same-sex couples. Twenty individuals (representing 11 couples) were interviewed – 12 lesbians, seven gay men, and one bisexual man. At the time of their marriages, participants were between 42 and 72 years old (average age: 54) and had been with their partners from six months to 19 years (average: 7.5 years). Three processes highlighted the ways in which these same-sex couples’ experiences of deciding to marry were influenced by their life course experiences. First, individuals had to integrate marriage into their psyches (integration). Second, they had to consider why they would marry their specific partner (rationale). Third, the study participants demonstrated how their experiences of wedding planning and their wedding characteristics were imbued with intentionality as a result of lifetime experiences of homophobia and/or heterosexism (intentionality).

Rates of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and sexual-risk behaviour for those aged 50 and over in the United States are highest and increasing in Florida, where many Canadian “snowbirds” winter. This pilot study examined the sexual-risk behaviour and predictors of HIV testing in a convenience sample of Canadian snowbirds who winter in Florida (n = 265). Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that the odds of testing were increased for the unmarried, those aged 50–64, those who had talked to a doctor about sexual-risk behaviour since age 50, and those who agreed that sex was important in their lives. Dating males were more likely to test than non-dating males. Dating females were not more likely to test than non-dating females; and males who dated were 13.6 times more likely to test than females who dated. Further research will improve understanding of Canadian snowbirds’ sexual interactions and HIV-testing behaviour.

The association of health and disability factors on the perception of involuntary retirement in Canada was investigated with a multivariate logistic regression analysis of the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey data. The study investigated the role that choice or control plays in the decision to retire. Study participants were adults, with disabilities, aged 45 to 74 and who retired during the period 2001–2006. The analysis revealed that health at the time of retirement was not significantly associated with the perception of involuntary retirement, whereas disability characteristics were strongly associated with the type of retirement when health and other characteristics were controlled. Further, persons with disabilities who had to permanently retire because of their condition were eight times more likely to retire involuntarily than those whose conditions did not force involuntary retirement, suggesting the importance that control over the retirement decision has on the perception of involuntary retirement.

This article describes British Columbia’s regulatory model for assisted living and used time series analysis to examine individuals’ use of health care services before and after moving to assisted living. The 4,219 assisted living residents studied were older and predominantly female, with 73 per cent having one or more major chronic conditions. Use of health care services tended to increase before the move to assisted living, drop at the time of the move (most notably for general practitioners, medical specialists, and acute care), and remain low for the 12-month follow-up period. These apparent positive effects are not trivial; the cohort of 1,894 assisted living residents used 18,000 fewer acute care days in the year after, compared to the year before, their move. Future research should address whether and how assisted living affects longer-term pathways of care for older adults and ultimately their function and quality of life.

The purpose of this mixed-methods research study was to examine the impact of organizational change on patient outcomes and staff experiences in a rehabilitation program for older adults. Program restructuring focused on reducing patient length of stay and increasing admissions to the rehabilitation program. Study findings revealed that patients admitted after restructuring, as compared to the time period just prior, experienced shorter lengths of stay yet made similar progress towards rehabilitation goals. The average discharge Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scores between the two time periods were not significantly different. Yet FIM efficiency scores improved after the restructuring. With this reorganization, rehabilitation staff reported working harder to help patients achieve satisfactory outcomes, although initially staff reported lower morale. Findings extend the current literature and have practical implications for health care professionals interested in facilitating successful organizational change.

The impact of exposure to cold on individuals’ motor skills demands a deeper understanding of the ways in which cold weather influences psychomotor and haptic performance. In this study, various facets of psychomotor performance were evaluated in order to determine the impacts of ambient cold exposure on older persons. Healthy younger and older persons performed a battery of haptic psychomotor tests at room (23° C) and cold (1° C) ambient temperatures. The results indicate that older individuals do not perform as well as younger persons across the battery of tests, with cold temperature further degrading their performance in dexterity tasks (in, for example, Minnesota Manual Dexterity test placing: F [1, 16] = 10.23, p < .01) and peak precision grip force generation (F [1, 16] = 18.97, p < .01). The results suggest that cold weather may have an impact on the occupations older persons are able to perform during the winter months.

Frail older patients suffer from multiple, complex needs that often go unmet in an acute care setting. Failure to recognize the geriatric giants in frail older adults is resulting in the misclassification of this population. This study investigated “sub-acute” frail, older-adult in-patients in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Although identified as being no longer acutely ill, all participants (n = 62) required active medical and/or nursing care. Frail older patients, often acutely ill, were being misclassified as sub-acute when the acuity of their illness went unrecognized which resulted in equally unrecognized disease presentations. The majority of participants wished to be cared for at or closer to home. The lack of post-acute-care service within our health care system and risk aversion on the part of hospital staff resulted in lengthy hospital stays and/or in patients being funneled into existing services (nursing homes) against their desire to go home.