Long COVID (LC) affects physical health and cognition, limiting participation in social and leisure activities. As a novel disabling condition following a COVID-19 infection, informal caregivers of those with LC have taken on expanded roles, including educating themselves on this diagnosis. Gathering insights from people living with LC (PWLC) and their caregivers is crucial for understanding its impact on well-being and identifying targeted rehabilitation practices across the LC care pathway.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: People with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) self-report declining cognitive function, although objective cognitive performance remains normal. SCD is a risk factor for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. Previous research has found differences in cognitive performance in bilinguals compared with monolinguals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Older adults living with HIV face challenges accessing regular geriatric care, and while virtual care services could offer a solution, they may come with limitations.
Objective: This study aimed to co-design a culturally appropriate virtual care model tailored to older adults' needs using the experience-based co-design methodology.
Methods: We used a qualitative, experience-based co-design approach with 19 older adults living with HIV.
Introduction: Advances in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care have increased life expectancy, leading to more older adults living with HIV. This study examines older adults' perspectives on geriatric healthcare needs.
Methods: A community-based qualitative study in Ontario, Canada, recruited some adults aged 50+ years living with HIV through quota and purposive sampling.
Background And Objectives: Evictions are a major contributor to homelessness among low-income older renters, many of whom are living in social housing. Research indicates that social housing may protect individuals from eviction, but older adults may still be vulnerable, especially for nonpayment of rent. This research used a qualitative approach to understand the factors that place older adults in social housing at risk of eviction and identify strategies to promote housing stability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Recovery from a traumatic injury is a complex process that precipitates difficulties and isolation for survivors. Peers can provide valuable psychosocial support rooted in lived experience. The savings associated with peer support largely outweigh the costs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Traumatic injuries significantly impact individuals' physical and mental health and are a leading cause of disability worldwide. Trauma recovery is complex and entails patients interacting with multiple places of care before returning to the community. Despite trauma recovery being optimized when patients' psychosocial needs are addressed early on and throughout recovery, care remains overwhelmingly focused on physical and functional improvement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs global populations age, the prevalence of chronic illness among older adults is increasing, intensifying the burden on healthcare systems. Research shows that today's older adults, especially those over 65, are more likely to suffer from multiple chronic conditions than previous generations. This demographic shift underscores the urgent need for healthcare systems capable of addressing complex, long-term health needs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article describes the development of priorities and actions to improve the state of research, policy, and practice related to accessible housing in Canada for persons with disability or with accessible housing needs. A modified Delphi approach with an expert cross-sectoral panel was used to gain convergence on a set of priorities for advancing the accessible housing field in Canada. This included circulating an anonymous pre-meeting survey (N = 49) followed by an in-person planning meeting (N = 45).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/objectives: Despite the growing recognition of housing as a significant concern for individuals with a spinal cord injury/dysfunction (SCI/D), there is limited research available on this topic. This scoping review aimed to identify and describe the literature on housing across the continuum for people with an SCI/D.
Methods: This review utilized Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review framework.
Background: As the population of individuals with HIV ages rapidly due to advancements in antiretroviral therapy, virtual care has become an increasingly vital component in managing their complex health needs. However, little is known about perceptions of virtual care among older adults living with HIV.
Objective: This study aimed to understand the perceptions of older adults living with HIV regarding virtual care.
Patients from equity-deserving populations, such as those who are from racialized communities, the 2SLGBTQI+ community, who are refugees or immigrants, and/or who have a disability, may experience a unique set of challenges accessing virtual models of care. The objective of this qualitative study was to describe the experiences of patients from equity-deserving communities and their family members who received care from a Virtual Emergency Department (ED) in Toronto, Canada. Forty-three participants (36 patients and 7 family caregivers) with different and intersecting identities who used the Virtual ED participated in the study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: People with aphasia often experience semantic memory (SM) impairment. To improve diagnostic outcomes, SM tasks should recruit various sensory input channels (oral, written, and pictographic), permitting accessible, complete evaluation. There is a need for SM batteries for French-speaking Quebecers that use multiple input channels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Widespread visitor restrictions were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic at acute and inpatient rehabilitation hospitals. Family caregivers were physically isolated from their loved ones, which challenged engagement in patient care and readiness for their role. Thus, we aimed to explore the involvement of family caregivers in COVID-19 patients as they journeyed across the care continuum during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article describes the Quality Improvement (QI) initiative of a culture change model, CareTO. CareTO is a made-in-Toronto, resident-driven, person-centred approach to care that was implemented across all units of a City of Toronto-operated Long-Term Care (LTC) home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The City of Toronto's Seniors Services and Long-Term Care (SSLTC) Division partnered with an external QI team to support the implementation of CareTO at the pilot site.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aimed to better understand the extent to which older adult centres are a focal point for recreation and social activities for their members. Travel diaries completed by 261 members of 12 older adult centres across Ontario provided comprehensive and real-time (24-hour) data over two consecutive weeks concerning time away from home, trip purposes, and modes of travel. The data showed that nearly one-third of their trips included a stop at their older adult centre.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, discharge timelines were accelerated and patients were moved across the continuum of care, from acute to post-acute care, to relieve the strain in health system capacity. This study aimed to investigate the COVID-19 care pathway from the perspective of patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers to understand their experiences with care and recovery within and across care settings.
Methods: A qualitative descriptive study.
Community support services are an integral enabler of aging in place. In social housing, older adult tenants struggle to access these services because of the siloed nature of housing and health services. This study examined the provision of government-funded community support services to 83 seniors' social housing buildings in Toronto, Ontario.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: This study explored the experiences of patients, caregivers, healthcare providers, and health service leaders of compassion in the care of people hospitalized with COVID-19.
Materials And Methods: This study is a secondary analysis of qualitative data deriving from primary research data on recommendations for healthcare organizations providing care to people hospitalized with COVID-19. Participants comprised patients with COVID-19 ( = 10), family caregivers ( = 5) and HCPs in COVID-19 units ( = 12).
J Gerontol Soc Work
January 2023
Tenant experience surveys are a key tool for social housing landlords to gauge their success in providing high quality housing. This paper examines feedback from a tenant experience survey facilitated in a low-income housing seniors' housing community to: (1) examine their perceptions of their housing across key domains related to tenant satisfaction; and (2) identify opportunities they felt would improve their housing experience. A total of 1,114 households completed the survey.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Gerontol Soc Work
January 2023
Including people with lived experience in knowledge co-creation and sharing processes is critical for enhancing the value and quality of health and social care research. In this brief report, we reflect on a collaboration between researchers and older people to judge a student poster competition at a virual seniors housing conference. We describe the steps taken to facilitate the judging process and present five recommendations to foster meaningful partnerships with older people at academic conferences and increase opportunities for emerging and established gerontological researchers to involve older people in their work.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOlder adults living in social housing are disproportionally impacted by poverty, social isolation, and chronic health conditions that negatively impact their housing stability. In response, service coordination models of care that provide proactive case management have seen widespread adoption across low-income seniors housing communities. We examined the design and implementation of a new "seniors services coordinator" (SSC) role that was introduced by a social housing provider in Toronto, Canada.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Eval Clin Pract
December 2022
Rationale: Patients recovering from significant COVID-19 infections benefit from rehabilitation; however, aspects of rehabilitative care can be difficult to implement amidst COVID infection control measures.
Aims And Objectives: We used the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to evaluate the rapid implementation of a COVID zone in an in-patient rehabilitation hospital at the onset of the first wave of the pandemic.
Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with health care providers (n = 12) supporting the COVID zone, as well as with patients (n = 10) who were discharged from the COVID zone and their family caregivers (n = 5).
Introduction: Healthcare facilities adopted restrictive visitor policies as a result of the COVID-19 (COVID) pandemic. Though these measures were necessary to promote the safety of patients, families and healthcare providers, it led to isolation and loneliness amongst acute care inpatients that can undermine patient rehabilitation and recovery. The study objectives were to (1) explore how infection prevention and control (IP&C) measures impacted stakeholders' perceptions of care quality and interactions with others and (2) investigate how these experiences and perceptions varied across stakeholder groups and care settings.
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