iAging: Optimizing Health, Design and Well Being for Older Adults Using Technology

The Sheridan Centre for Elder Research has been conducting applied research that explores ways to support older adults through technology for over a decade. This talk provided a retrospective look at that body of work, highlighting the lessons learned about implementing technology-based solutions with community groups, industry partners and older adults of varying physical and cognitive abilities. There was also be a discussion of the ways the Centre plans to build on its past success and leverage upcoming technological advances to continue to improve the quality of life of older adults

Online Elder Circles: A Follow-up Study

This participatory qualitative research project is a follow-up study to an earlier (2013) Centre for Elder Research (hereafter referred to as the Centre) research project – Online Elder Circles: A Guide to their Creation and Benefits – that explored the experience of creating and delivering an elder circle program in an online format as well as the benefits to the participants. Elder circles are learning circles, facilitated small closed groups of older adults who explore collaboratively the experience of growing older and living in old age. In the earlier study, the researcher and the project’s participants successfully translated the face-to-face elder circle model to an online one with significant self reported benefit to all participants. The present project provided a further opportunity to learn about the online elder circle model. Seven participants, aged 83 to 65, recruited through the Centre’s online database, met online for facilitated asynchronous discussion on a password-protected website for a period of six weeks. This time, technological issues contributed to a much less satisfactory experience for the participants. The report describes what was done and what was learned, with participants’ reflections on their experience as well as their insight into what worked and what did not. Conclusions and recommendations are included

Online Elder Circles: A Guide to their Creation and Benefits

This participatory research project explored the experience of creating and delivering an elder circle program in an online format as well as investigating the benefits to the participants. Elder circles are facilitated, elder-centred small closed groups of older adults who explore collaboratively the experience of growing old and living in old age. The researcher, with the help of her participant co-researchers, successfully translated a face-to-face elder circle model to an online format. The six participants, aged 70 to 87, met online without previously knowing each other and for six weeks engaged in facilitated asynchronous discussion on a secure dedicated website. The online format was shown to be an effective alternative to face-to-face delivery of an elder circle, with significant – even transformative – benefits to the participants. The report presents an overview of the process of creating and delivering an online elder circle, participants’ reflections on their learning and the benefits received, key considerations for the effective implementation of the online program, and recommendations for future research

Concerts in Care Ontario: Evaluation of Performances, May-June 2021

Background: Concerts in Care Ontario (CiCO) is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing older adults with access to musical performances. During COVID-19, CiCO has transitioned to an online delivery of their programming, using Zoom to reach older adults living independently and in congregate care settings. This project explores the potential benefits of virtual CiCO performances for older adults and their care partners, with a focus on specific pandemic-related concerns for the older adult population, including mood and social connection. Method: Data were collected in a variety of ways: 1) through observation of CiCO performances (n = 13), 2) a questionnaire (n = 59 senior participants and n = 3 staff), and 3) interviews and standardized evaluation forms from staff (n = 6). Results: Satisfaction with the performances was very high, with 100% of participants reporting benefits for their well-being. Participants indicated feeling more relaxed and connected, and that they appreciated the educational/learning aspect of the performance structure. Participants were observed to react in positive ways to the performances, including outward displays of appreciation for and curiosity with the music, performers, and instruments. Staff indicated that the performances were extremely positive for the older adults in their care and had a secondary benefit for the well-being of staff within the congregate care settings. Conclusions: Virtual delivery of Concerts in Care Ontario programming was very successful, with both the older adults and the staff who attended (via Zoom) the concerts responding positively to the experience. Future exploration of a hybrid model of performance delivery post the COVID-19 pandemic may help even more Ontario older adults access the healing power of music

From the Lab to Student and Graduate Success: The Benefits of Developing Research Skills

The Centre for Elder Research conducts innovative, multidisciplinary research that enhances the quality of life of older adults while serving as an education and resource hub for the Sheridan College community. The unique perspectives of student Research Assistants, graduates, faculty and researchers will inform this panel presentation about the value of providing opportunities for students to develop research skills while addressing real-world challenges, and strategies for embedding research results into curriculum

Preparing the Leaders of Tomorrow: A Model of Applied Research Training in a Community College

Depending on their program of study, many students graduating from colleges and universities will have had few educational opportunities to learn about the influence of a changing Canadian demographic. However, the reality is that an aging population can be expected to impact their careers regardless of their chosen field of work. At Sheridan College, the Sheridan Elder Research Centre (SERC) has developed a comprehensive applied research training and mentorship program for college students. This training is designed as a week-long immersive and interactive series of workshops. In addition to laying a solid theoretical foundation, exploring current issues in the field of aging and the principles of applied research, students participate in role-playing and team-building exercises that build a variety of applied research and communication skills. The use of a newly designed applied research board game is one of the innovative ways that SERC helps to build interdisciplinary relationships while teaching applied research skills. Two years after implementation, SERC has seen the effects of the program on student success within the classroom and after graduation. The training materials support SERC’s research goals on a variety of age-related topics while showing students how to apply the skills they learn in the classroom to ‘real world’ problems. This model for training the leaders of tomorrow is flexible, relatively simple to implement and has lasting benefits for both students and researchers. The curriculum and program outcomes will be discussed along with a demonstration of how the board game is used as a teaching tool

The ‘Brain Gym’ Approach: Testing a Community-based Brain Training Model for Older Adults

Computerized brain training programs represent an area of increasing interest because of the protective and restorative effects of regular, targeted cognitive training. As we consider the increasing number of older Canadians (Statistics Canada, 2011) these programs take on particular significance as potential interventions to protect against age-related cognitive declines (Kueider et al., 2012) In a large-scale RCT study, Smith et al. (2009) investigated the efficacy of the commercially available Brain Fitness Program software (BFP) from Posit Science. Older adult participants completed the training program in their homes and showed improvements on generalized measures of memory and attention (Smith et al., 2009). Despite positive results, both the efficacy and transferability of these effects may be limited (Buitenweg, Murre & Ridderinkhof, 2012). Nevertheless, some authors speculate that such interventions might still be practically useful for the user (Rabipour & Raz, 2012). In view of this hypothesis, we sought to evaluate the effects and implementation of a community-based brain training program specifically for older adults. Using a novel community-based brain training model (the ‘brain gym’ model), we established ‘brain gyms’ (BGs) in several community locations attended regularly by older adults, including a senior’s recreation centre, a public library and a retirement residence. Participants were required to complete 40 hours of training using the Posit Science BFP software (1 hour per day, 5 days per week) at their BG location. Standardized measurements of memory, attention and activities of daily living (ADLs) were collected pre- and post-training, and qualitative data relating to the enjoyment and usefulness of the training and the BG location were also collected. Eleven older adults aged 68-75 completed the training across four community locations. Cognitively, participants showed slight, non-significant improvements in memory and attention; there was no significant effect of training on their ADLs. Subjectively they reported greater alertness, improved concentration and memory, and decreased distractibility. Most participants also reported enjoying the challenge of the program, the opportunities for socialization at the BG locations, and were motivated to continue brain training activities independently. Most participants felt that it was moderately easy to incorporate training at the BG into their daily schedule, suggesting that the BG model may be an effective and innovative approach to encourage cognitive training at the community level. Challenges inherent in community-based delivery, as well as recommendations for implementation (including online and at-home options) will be discussed

Evaluating iPad Use in the Field for Social Service Worker Gerontology Students

Sheridan College offers a Social Service Worker-Gerontology (SSW-G) program that is well respected in the college system. The Sheridan Centre for Elder Research sought to evaluate how providing students with iPads for use during field placement would affect their interactions with older adults and support their learning outcomes. The students were given a thorough orientation to the use of technology with older adults and assigned an iPad for 8 weeks. They were asked to journal their experiences weekly and participate in a follow-up debriefing meeting. The journals described the initial reactions of older adults as they were introduced to new technologies and applications. As the weeks passed, the students became aware of the physical and cognitive challenges some older adults experience when using technology and chronicled the ways they adapted their approaches. Additionally, some students were able to overcome some of the environmental factors that affect the use of other technologies in the field by leveraging the portability and flexibility of the iPads to maintain interest and engagement. Using both the curated set of mobile applications provided to them, and their own discoveries, students were able to use the iPads as a tool to engage older adults in reminiscence, promote social inclusion, overcome physical barriers and therefore promote well-being. This project gave students an opportunity to apply the communication and listening skills they had learned in class to real-life challenges while enhancing the level of care they provided to their clients

Inclusive Community Building at Sheridan: A Wayfinding Journey (Report)

In early 2023 a Sheridan College Generator Growth Grant was awarded for a project titled, “Inclusive Community Building at Sheridan: A built environment review of the Trafalgar Campus for an aging population”. The goal of this project was to better understand how individuals aged 55+ of all abilities interact, access and navigate post-secondary built environments, aiming to identify what is, and what is not, working. This contributes to Sheridan College’s campus planning processes and the improvement and expansion of existing wayfinding systems at Sheridan’s Trafalgar Campus

Supporting Optimal Aging through the Innovative Use of Virtual Reality Technology

Although virtual reality (VR) technology has been implemented as a tool to address the health issues of older adults, its applicability to social connectedness is underrepresented in the literature, and less is known about its efficacy in this area in contributing to overall wellness and well-being in later life. Expanding the VR possibilities beyond traditional entertainment purposes holds considerable potential for the older adult market. Technological tools have been employed in the elder health care field for many years, and cutting-edge developments such as virtual and augmented reality have begun to be used to facilitate optimal wellness in aging. Such technological advances have the potential to significantly impact one of the most important issues that older people face: social isolation and loneliness. This paper will serve as an introductory exploration of what is currently known about the use of virtual reality technology with an older cohort