Applying an employment-income-based procedure for determining retirement, we analysed a large longitudinal data file of Canadian personal income tax returns for individuals to determine who has retired and to assess how successful they are in maintaining their incomes after retirement. The methodological approach may be of interest for possible application in other countries that have suitable data. Our main conclusions are as follows. First, in the two years immediately after retirement, the after-tax income replacement ratios average about two thirds when calculated across all ages of retirement. Second, the ratios tend to increase with the age of retirement. Third, the ratios increase with years in retirement, at least in the first few years. Finally, income replacement ratios are highest in the lowest income quartile and generally decline as income increases; within each quartile, the replacement ratios are higher for those who retired later than for those who retired earlier.

To explore the predictive value of cognitive and coping resources for problem- and emotion-focused coping with age, we collected data from community-dwelling adults between 20 and 90 years old. We hypothesized that age, perceived stress, self-efficacy, working-memory capacity, and mental flexibility were predictors of coping. We collected data using French versions of the Perceived Stress Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and Way of Coping Checklist. Cognitive assessments comprised the WAIS III digit-span subtest and the Trail Making Test parts A and B. In multivariate analyses, neither working-memory nor mental-flexibility deficit predicted problem-focused coping. Age was found to predict only problem-focused coping. Self-efficacy predicted problem-focused coping, and perceived stress predicted emotion-focused coping. Our results confirmed that use of an emotion-focused coping style would not significantly change with age. Problem-focused coping increases with age and depends primarily on participants’ confidence in their ability to successfully solve problems (i.e., self-efficacy).

Worldwide, falls among older people are a public health concern because of their frequency and adverse consequences in terms of morbidity, mortality, and quality of life, as well as their impact on health system services and costs. This epidemiological review outlines the public health burden of falls and fall-related injuries and the impact of population aging. The magnitude of the problem is described in terms of the classification of falls and measurement of outcomes, including fall incidence rates across settings, sociodemographic determinants, international trends, and costs of falls and fall-related injuries. Finally, public health approaches to minimize falls risk and consequent demand on health care resources are suggested.

The monograph Changing Residence: The Geographic Mobility of Elderly Canadians (Northcott, 1988) reviewed the research that had been done up to the mid-1980s on the geographic mobility of older persons in Canada and elsewhere. The purpose of this article is to provide an update and overview of developments in the study of the geographic mobility of seniors since the mid-1980s with a particular emphasis on Canada. In this review, we first examine progress over the past 25 years in research about seniors’ geographic mobility and focus on three topics: the relocation and geographic concentration of seniors, seasonal migration (“snowbirds”), and international migration. Second, we assess the current status of research on elder migration in Canada. Finally, we identify future challenges and unanswered questions, and make suggestions for future research.

Hospitalization of nursing home residents can be futile as well as costly, and now evidence indicates that treating nursing home residents in place produces better outcomes for some conditions. We examined facility organizational characteristics that previous research showed are associated with potentially avoidable hospital transfers and with better care quality. Accordingly, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of nursing home directors of care in Vancouver Coastal Health, a large health region in British Columbia. The survey addressed staffing levels and organization, physician access, end-of-life care, and factors influencing facility-to-hospital transfers. Many of the modifiable organizational characteristics associated in the literature with potentially avoidable hospital transfers and better care quality are present in nursing homes in British Columbia. However, their presence is not universal, and some features, especially the organization of physician care and end-of-life planning and services, are particularly lacking.

Because medication prescribing and use have become a normative aspect of health care for older adults, we seek to understand how individuals navigate prescribed-medication use within the context of aging. We reasoned that, for those who are ambulatory, medication use is likely influenced by ethnocultural meanings of health and experiences with alternative approaches to health care. Accordingly, we conducted a qualitative study, with in-depth interviews, on a diverse sample of older adults in order to identify elderly persons’ perceptions and uses of medicines. Our findings depict older adults as active agents – who draw on a lifetime of experience and knowledge – who take responsibility for adherence (or non-adherence) to medicines and their associated effects on their own bodies. We represent the older person as a “pharmaceutical person” whose experiences of aging are inextricably tied up with the negotiation of medicine-reliant health care.

Research on rural aging has developed considerably since publication of the book Aging in Rural Canada (Butterworths, 1991). The purpose of this article is twofold: to provide a retrospective on issues in rural aging from this book, and to review Canadian literature on rural aging since its publication. The review highlights new directions in conceptual definitions of rural, and in issues of social engagement, independence, family and social networks, and rural services and health. Two main research lenses are evident. The marginalization lens focuses on rural seniors with health problems, but has not included those marginalized by poverty or gender. The aging-well lens focuses on contributions and engagement, but has omitted research on social relationships and quality of family interaction. The report includes a call for interrogation about interaction between people and place, and for understanding issues of rural diversity and processes of rural aging.

The aim of this exploratory study was to better understand interpersonal communication between frail elders and caregivers in the context of long-term care giving. In addition, in light of the Communication Accommodation Theory, the goal was to determine the extent to which communication can be a transmitter of ageism, particularly of implicit ageism. A total of 26 semi-structured interviews were conducted among elders and caregivers of a Quebec long-term care facility. Results suggest a close convergence between the perception of seniors and caregivers in regards to a quasi total absence of daily communication and moreover, in regards to the highly instrumental nature of this same communication. Finally, results of the content analysis also suggest that implicit ageism is indeed reflected in interpersonal communication between frail elders and caregivers.

Following the example of other Canadian provinces, those in Atlantic Canada are affected, albeit to a lesser degree, by the increase in the number of persons aged 65 or over, a trend that we can define as gerontogrowth. In addition, this region of Canada seems particularly affected by the trend of an aging population, that is, the rise in the proportion of people in the total population aged 65 or more. For example, on a national scale, New Brunswick is the third oldest province according to the last five-year period (2001–2006), having advanced from the fourth position it held between 1981 and 2001 and from the fifth position occupied between 1971 and 1981. In addition, these trends evolve in different manners in different places, contrasts that are strongest at the regional and local level. The goal of this article is to examine the strength of these disparities during the period 1981 to 2006 and to identify some potential solutions for a territorial development strategy for seniors.

PubMed lists over 6,000 references (700 reviews) on unintentional falls in older adults. This article traces key methodological milestones in the application of epidemiologic methods since the earliest publications in the late 1940s. Within the context of advances in case definition, sampling, measurement, research design, and statistical analysis, the article reviews estimates of frequency of occurrence, risk factor associations, morbidity and mortality consequences, demonstration of the multiple risk factor theory of falls using fall prevention interventions, and the challenges of fall risk prediction models. Methodological explanations are provided for observed heterogeneities, and the case is presented for moving beyond undifferentiated lists of risk factors by focusing on balance and gait as the factors through which the mechanistic effects of distal risk factors can be understood. Moreover, the case is made to advance our statistical analyses by looking at interactions among intrinsic risk factors and between intrinsic, extrinsic, and environmental factors.

An aging population is best served by social, personal, and health support focused on maintaining and maximizing personal independence. The Internet affords numerous opportunities for individuals of all ages to communicate, access information, and engage in recreational activities. A community-based sample of 122 adults over 60 years of age completed a questionnaire which assessed three clusters of characteristics: (a) frequency and patterns of Internet use, (b) well-being (loneliness, life satisfaction, self-efficacy, social support, and depression), and (c) demographics (age, income, education). Significant correlations emerged between the three clusters of measured variables. Controlling for demographic differences, Internet use and self-efficacy remained significantly related. Among the sample of older adults, individuals who used the Internet more had higher perceptions of self-efficacy than those who used the Internet rarely or not at all.

This analysis reviews the ways in which both the experience of widowhood in old age and the nature of research on widowhood have changed since the publication of the book Widowhood in Later Life in 1991. Patterns of decline in widowhood in both its duration and incidence in later life are examined. Widowhood research has advanced conceptually by moving beyond understanding widowhood solely in terms of role loss. Life course perspectives, and concepts of multiple narratives and of resilience, have also contributed to the field. New methodologies, including prospective and longitudinal designs involving larger data sets, and more in-depth qualitative studies, have advanced our understanding of complexities and variations in widowhood. These include issues of gender and ethnocultural diversity, as well as the intersection of wealth, health, and class. This article also examines how patterns of labour force affiliation, social policy, and the changing nature of marriage shape widowhood in later life.

Most studies on seniors’ driving practices are based on self-reports; none have objectively examined winter driving patterns. We used electronic devices, together with trip logs, digital maps, and weather archives, to examine the driving patterns of seniors aged 65 to 91 over two consecutive weeks between November 2008 and March 2009. Night driving differed by month showing the importance of seasonal factors, particularly the amount of daylight. Although 69 per cent of the sample drove on days with adverse conditions, seniors were significantly more likely to make trips for social/entertainment purposes on days with good weather, and out-of-town trips on days with good road conditions. Driving comfort scores, particularly for night driving, were significantly related to multiple indicators of exposure and patterns, including radius from home. Compared to men, women had significantly lower driving comfort scores and were less likely to drive on days with adverse weather and road conditions.

Falls and fragility fractures are common, dangerous, and important public health challenges. They are best understood as geriatric syndromes with close relation to frailty and other aging-related health problems. They are associated with many risk factors, in all health domains – physical, psychological, social, and environmental. At a population level, the challenge is to improve the health and well-being of all older people to reduce the incidence of falls. At a clinical level, the challenge is to assess the individual risk factors and apply evidence-based individually tailored, multifactorial interventions. The most powerful component is strength-and-balance exercise training.