March 2023
ILCA member Prof. Janelle Taylor’s research examines the circumstances and needs of older adults who were “kinless,” defined as having no living spouse or children, when they developed dementia, and highlights the importance of non-family caregivers, and participants’ own roles as caregivers.
February 2023
ILCA member Raza Mirza presents Homeshare solutions helping older adults age at home and younger people in need of affordable housing
Institute member Prof. Alison Chasteen on ageism in leadership
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/joe-biden-2024-older-leaders-1.6743235
December 2022
ILCA study shows Excellent Mental Health among those with COPD
Two-thirds of COPD patients are happy and/or satisfied with their life and don’t suffer from common mental health issues such as depression, anxiety or addiction to drugs, the new study found. The key to well-being seems to be having the support of loved ones and not being isolated or lonely, according to a new study by senior researcher Esme Fuller-Thomson, director of the Institute for Life Course and Aging at the University of Toronto and her co-author, Sally Abudiab, a recent MSW graduate of the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.
November 2022
‘Human Library’: Seniors tell stories to debunk discrimination towards old age
“UnJudge Aging” event at Toronto Public Library allows attendees to “check out” older adults for a 30 minute conversation to combat Canadian ageism through storytelling in the hope that giving seniors the space to tell their stories would deepen connections and bridge gaps that alienate and isolate the aging community.
October 2022
New Study on Elder Mistreatment in Canada
A new study by ILCA member David Burnes and colleagues found that one in ten older adults across Canada experience some form of elder mistreatment each year. Older adults who experienced higher levels of childhood maltreatment were more likely to experience elder mistreatment in later life. Older adults with greater vulnerability related to physical, cognitive and mental health status and shared living were at higher risk of elder mistreatment. Higher levels of social support were protective against elder mistreatment. Older adults identifying as Black or reporting financial need were at heightened risk of elder mistreatment. This population-based study, published in Nature Aging, was based on data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, uses a national, longitudinal, population-based design to advance our understanding of elder mistreatment risk and protective factors beyond the existing cross-sectional research on the topic. It examined a comprehensive set of potential risk/protective factors spanning several biopsychosocial domains. This study advances our understanding of elder mistreatment risk and protective factors and informs the development of prevention strategies. Dr. Burnes holds a Canada Research Chair in Older Adult Mistreatment Prevention. Article Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43587-022-00280-2
September 2022
Opinion
Laura Tamblyn Watts is the founder and CEO of CanAge: Canada’s National Seniors’ Advocacy Organization, assistant professor (status) Factor Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, Fellow of the Institute for Life Course & Aging, University of Toronto, and author of The 3 am Guide to Your Aging Parents, a book coming next year.
July 2022
Mental health during the pandemic
Charlene Chu of the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing studies the mental health toll on long-term-care residents and their loved ones.
(TVO: The Thread – clip starts at 15:59)
May 2022
Is this the end of retirement as we know it?
The ‘retirement ideal’ has been changing for years. Older people are increasingly unretiring, changing the shape of this life stage. Institute member Prof. Michelle Silver shares her research.
Article
April 2022
What is Intergenerational Storytelling? Defining the Critical Issues for Aging Research in the Humanities
Intergenerational storytelling (IGS) has recently emerged as an arts- and humanities-focused approach to aging research. A newly published paper co-authored by Institute Research Affiliate, Celeste Pang, proposes evidence-based recommendations for evolving IGS as a humanities-based approach to research in aging and intergenerational relations
Article
March 2022
Prof Alison Chasteen on Ageism
How older workers can push back against the reality of ageism
Article
February 2022
Digital Ageism
Is AI ageist? Researchers examine impact of technology on older users
Article
December 2021
NICE HomeShare program in the News
How intergenerational housing can help solve Toronto’s housing crisis and let seniors age in place: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/homeshare-seniors-students-1.6284430
October 2021
Recent publications by Collaborative Specialization Students
MSW students also enrolled in the Collaborative Specialization in Aging, Palliative and Supportive Care across the Life Course recently published two studies. Click on titles below to read the news releases:
- Families and practitioners adapting to virtual funerals during the COVID-19 pandemic
- More appropriate support needed for older residents with dementia in subsidized housing
Medical anthropologist Janelle Taylor is part of US$56M NIH grant to study Alzheimer’s disease
In 2021, Prof. Taylor became a member of the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) project, a long-term study of individuals aged 65 years and older designed to gain a greater understanding of dementia and Alzheimer’s and make possible more effective prevention and treatment. Since it began in 1994, ACT researchers have tracked an active cohort of 2,000 individuals to see which remain healthy as they age and which develop dementia.
ACT is led by Kaiser Permanente Washington, the University of Washington School of Medicine, and the University of California, San Diego, and was recently awarded a five-year grant of US$56 million by the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health. With the new funding, those involved in three projects within the study will grow to include 41 investigators at 10 research institutions in the United States and Canada. It will also allow ACT to increase the number of study participants to 3,000.
CTV News and CBC Radio interview with Prof. Esme Fuller-Thomson regarding her study on ADHD in girls and women
Our director, Esme Fuller-Thomson’s research on women with ADHD has been in the news:
- https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/video?clipId=2295739
- https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-96-radio-west/clip/15873439-social-work-professor-esme-fuller-thomson-talks-adhd-gets
June 2021
Prof. M. Kathleen Pichora-Fuller honoured with SAC Lifetime Achievement Award
Every year, Speech-Language & Audiology Canada’s (SAC) strives to ensure members and associates are recognized for their achievements. The Awards and Recognition Program celebrates excellence in the professions of speech-language pathology and audiology.
The Eve Kassirer Award for Lifetime Achievement is awarded to a member or associate of SAC who have demonstrated a long history of distinguished and dedicated service to both SAC and the professions of speech-language pathology or audiology in the areas of education, clinical services, administration or public awareness and has fostered the development and advancement of the professions, nationally or internationally.
This year’s recipient, Dr. M. Kathleen (Kathy) Pichora-Fuller, is currently Professor Emerita (Psychology, University of Toronto) and Adjunct Professor (Gerontology, Simon Fraser University). Kathy translates her research on auditory and cognitive aging to address the needs of older adults with age-related hearing and cognitive impairments, including a new focus on social engagement and healthy aging.
Biography
April 2021
Prof. Alison Chasteen in TIME magazine
Ageist Attacks Against President Biden Reinforce Outdated Stereotypes—and Hurt Younger People, Too
Article
June 2020
Prof. Alison Chasteen’s editorial “We’re all in this together” – the rise of ageism during the pandemic
Measures such as restricting the movement of anyone over the age of 70 in order to protect seniors from either contracting the virus or passing it on to others have coincided with a parallel outbreak of ageism and a rise in instances of prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person’s age.
Prof. Scott Schieman article Will the pandemic change the world of work?
Will the new standard for office workers be working from home? How will airlines, the film industry or retailers survive the pandemic and what impact will it have on jobs? And what will happen to the millions of workers who were furloughed? How does this affect their mental health?