Volunteering among Older Adults and Effects of Ethnic Minority Status before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Longitudinal Analyses of the CLSA.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented numerous challenges to older adults in Canada, including the ability to volunteer. The purpose of this study is to improve the understanding of the social context surrounding volunteering in Canada, by (a) determining changes in associations between human, social, and cultural capital and volunteering among older adults; and (b) examining the relationship between ethnic minority status and volunteering, using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), collected prior to and during the pandemic. This study utilized data from 24,306 CLSA Baseline, Follow-up 1 (FUP1), and COVID-19 Baseline Survey participants (aged 55+). Results confirm a decrease in volunteering during the early stages of the pandemic. Compared to pre-pandemic associations, volunteers during the early stages of the pandemic were more likely to be young-old, male, employed, and not involved in religious activities. Findings provide evidence of pandemic effects on volunteering among older adults in Canada.

Aging Parents and the Ties That Bind: Intergenerational Relationship Quality Among Culturally Diverse Canadian Families.

Drawing from a life course perspective, this paper examines mid/later-life parent-child relationship quality among ethnically diverse families. Focus is on the role of culture, child, and parental characteristics. Data are drawn from a study of 588 parents aged 50+ of a least one child aged 19-35 who reside in Metro Vancouver, B.C. from four Canadian cultural groups: British, Chinese, Persian/Iranian, and South Asian. Using OLS regression methods, we use two dependent variable scales: positive and negative support/interaction appraisals of the relationship. The positive relationship quality scale is associated with South Asian versus British-Canadian parents, mothers, those with greater income satisfaction, and daughters. The negative scale is inversely associated among South Asian versus British-Canadian parents, income satisfaction, parental health, and being unpartnered (vs. partnered). Interaction effects are found between gender and ethnicity. Implications for theorizing and applied recommendations for those who work with culturally diverse aging families are discussed.

Roles and experiences of informal caregivers of older adults in community and healthcare system navigation: a scoping review.

OBJECTIVE: Informal caregivers are playing a vital role in improving the degree to which older adults access community and healthcare systems in a more seamless and timely manner, thereby fulfilling their complex needs. It is critical to understand their experiences and perspectives while navigating these systems. This review aimed to identify and organise the research findings on the roles and experiences of informal caregivers of older adults while navigating community and healthcare systems. DESIGN: This scoping review was undertaken according to the Joanna Briggs Institute's Reviewer manual. Four databases were used: AgeLine, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Medline to capture literature with a focus on informal caregivers whose care recipients are aged 55 years or older. Articles were included if they focused on examining the experience, perspective and/or role of informal caregivers in providing care for their older care recipients, while articles were excluded if they only focused on healthcare professionals or older adults. RESULTS: A total of 24 studies were identified that met the study inclusion criteria. This review elucidated the roles of caregivers as a primary system navigator and as an advocate for older adults. Numerous challenges/barriers in system navigation were uncovered, such as lack of consistency in fragmented systems, as well as facilitators, including interface/coordination roles. Finally, recommendations for better system navigation such as caregiver engagement and integration of continuity of care services were identified. CONCLUSION: The need to raise the visibility of the roles and experiences of informal caregivers in system navigation was highlighted. Further research needs to focus on implementing interventions for informal caregivers incorporating a care coordinator to fill the care gap within community and healthcare systems. This review has the potential to foster greater integration of community and healthcare systems.

Transition Into the Caregiver Role Among Older Adults: A Study of Social Participation and Social Support Based on the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

OBJECTIVES: Older adults (65 years and older) are increasingly providing care for their spouses, family members, and nonkin others (e.g., friends and neighbors). However, available knowledge of older caregivers is limited to spousal caregivers and their psychological outcomes. Other caregiver role types or social outcomes among older caregivers are less well studied. Thus, this study examines the social participation and social support among older caregivers by comparing 3 types of older caregivers, including spousal caregivers, nonspouse family caregivers, and nonkin caregivers. METHODS: Participants for this study were drawn from the Baseline and Follow-up 1 data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. A total of 3,789 older adults became caregivers during the 2 data collection time points. Linear mixed models were applied to examine the change of social participation and social support among the three caregiver role types over the course of survey. RESULTS: The study finds that after transitioning into the caregiving role, spousal caregivers, and nonkin caregivers experienced a decline in social participation, and spousal caregivers also received less social support over time. When comparing the 3 caregiver role types, spousal caregivers reported the greatest decline in social participation and social support. DISCUSSION: This study adds to the relatively limited knowledge of older caregivers by presenting the changes in social participation and social support after transitioning into 3 types of caregiver roles. The results indicate the need to provide support for caregivers, particularly spousal and nonkin caregivers, to help them maintain social relationships and networks for participation and support.

Examination of the Healthy Caregiver Effect among Older Adults: Findings from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

INTRODUCTION: The Healthy Caregiver Hypothesis (HCH) suggests that caregiving is associated with beneficial health impacts for family caregivers. However, mixed results have been reported, particularly when different levels of caregiving intensity were examined. This study analyzes the relationship between caregiving intensity and three health indicators (functional health, chronic illness, and self-rated general health) among Canadian older adults over 3 years. METHODS: We drew upon a subsample of 11,344 participants aged 65 years and older from the Baseline and Follow-up 1 data of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging and used linear mixed models to test the hypothesis based on different levels of caregiving intensity. RESULTS: Older adults who provided low-intensity care recently or continuously reported better functional health and self-rated health than noncaregivers. In contrast, older adults with low-intensity caregiving responsibility reported more chronic conditions over time compared to noncaregivers, but this association was not found for high-intensity caregivers. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: This study elucidates the HCH by incorporating caregiving intensity to understand patterns of better functional health and perceived health but more chronic conditions. The findings yielded from different health indicators suggest the impact of caregiving on health may be domain specific.

Performance of Inaugural Student Cohorts in 1-Year Special Master's Program.

SUNY Upstate Medical University (Upstate) recently revised two 1-year special master's programs (SMPs), designed to enhance academics in preparation for medical school through rigorous graduate science coursework. Upstate SMP program success was measured by graduate performance during the first year of medical school. First-year performance measures included academic deficiencies, exam performance, and participation grades in a longitudinal case-based course on ethics and public health. Upstate SMP students with MCAT scores below the 50th percentile or who self-report classified as underrepresented in medicine outperformed controls on several metrics. Upstate SMP students consistently bested controls in the longitudinal course. Overall, Upstate SMP graduates performed commensurately with classmates.

Conservation Genomics of Two Threatened Subspecies of Northern Giraffe: The West African and the Kordofan Giraffe.

Three of the four species of giraffe are threatened, particularly the northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), which collectively have the smallest known wild population estimates. Among the three subspecies of the northern giraffe, the West African giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis peralta) had declined to 49 individuals by 1996 and only recovered due to conservation efforts undertaken in the past 25 years, while the Kordofan giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum) remains at <2300 individuals distributed in small, isolated populations over a large geographical range in Central Africa. These combined factors could lead to genetically depauperated populations. We analyzed 119 mitochondrial sequences and 26 whole genomes of northern giraffe individuals to investigate their population structure and assess the recent demographic history and current genomic diversity of West African and Kordofan giraffe. Phylogenetic and population structure analyses separate the three subspecies of northern giraffe and suggest genetic differentiation between populations from eastern and western areas of the Kordofan giraffe's range. Both West African and Kordofan giraffe show a gradual decline in effective population size over the last 10 ka and have moderate genome-wide heterozygosity compared to other giraffe species. Recent inbreeding levels are higher in the West African giraffe and in Kordofan giraffe from Garamba National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo. Although numbers for both West African and some populations of Kordofan giraffe have increased in recent years, the threat of habitat loss, climate change impacts, and illegal hunting persists. Thus, future conservation actions should consider close genetic monitoring of populations to detect and, where practical, counteract negative trends that might develop.

Levels of Depression and Anxiety Among Informal Caregivers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study Based on the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

OBJECTIVES: Studies on informal caregiving during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have mainly focused on subgroups of caregivers using cross-sectional or convenience samples, limiting the generalizability of findings. Conversely, this longitudinal study examines the effects of the pandemic and caregiving factors on depressive symptoms and anxiety over 9 months among informal caregivers in Canada. METHODS: This study uses data from the Baseline (2011-2015), Follow-up 1 (2015-2018), and COVID-19 Study Baseline survey (April to May 2020) and Exit surveys (September to December 2020) of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). A total of 14,118 CLSA participants who were caregivers at Follow-up 1 and participated in the COVID-19 studies were selected. Linear mixed models were used to examine the effect of sex of caregiver, changes in caregiving (increase in caregiving hours and inability to care), and location of care (same household, another household, and health care institution) on depressive symptoms and anxiety from COVID-19 studies Baseline to Exit surveys (about 6-7 months apart). RESULTS: Informal caregivers reported more frequent depressive symptoms from the COVID-19 Baseline to Exit surveys, but not anxiety. Female caregivers reported greater depressive symptoms and anxiety, and male caregivers exhibited a greater increase in depressive symptoms and anxiety over time. More caregiving hours and inability to provide care were significantly positively associated with depressive symptoms and anxiety. Also, in-home caregivers reported more depressive symptoms and anxiety than those who cared for someone in health care institution, and more anxiety than those who cared for some in another household. DISCUSSION: The findings shed light on the change in mental health among informal caregivers during the outset of the pandemic. The demonstrated associations between studied variables and mental health among informal caregivers provide empirical evidence for intervention programs aiming to support caregivers, particularly those who are female, and providing intensive care at home.

COVID-19 and Beyond: A Prototype for Remote/Virtual Social Work Field Placement.

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated an abrupt conclusion of field placement for social work interns at a comprehensive cancer center. In response to social distancing requirements, social workers, but not interns, were granted access to work remotely. Virtual programming became necessary to meet the interns' remaining educational requirements and provided an opportunity for proper termination from the program. This article will delineate the program redesign for oncology social work interns using remote/virtual modalities. This melded approach involved creating simulated clinical interactions, based on selected points along the illness trajectory targeting specific clinical competencies, which were presented to interns by phone and/or videoconference. Examples will be provided related to developing clinical skills and critical thinking and preparing for professional responsibilities within a broad range of healthcare settings. Guidelines for working with individuals, couples/families, and groups will be included. Issues of individual and group supervision will be explored, with sensitivity to the parallel experience of existential uncertainty and mortality awareness among the interns in the context of the pandemic. Although in-person training is preferable, there are advantages to virtual learning for both supervisors and interns. This creative adaptation of field education provides an innovative programming model that can be used to enhance the experience for social work interns moving forward in various healthcare settings during ordinary or extraordinary circumstances.

A Study of Social Isolation, Multimorbidity and Multiple Role Demands Among Middle-Age Adults Based on the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

Given the increasing complexity and fluidity of parenting, caregiving, and paid work patterns, in tandem with an increased risk of multimorbidity in mid-life, this study examines the relationship between these three concurrent roles and social isolation among middle-aged persons across multimorbidity statuses. Drawing upon life course theory, we applied linear mixed models to analyze 29,847 middle-aged participants from two waves of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Findings reveal that participants experience greater social isolation over time, albeit the difference is extremely small. Among participants without multimorbidity, holding multiple roles is associated with lower social isolation. For those with multimorbidity, being employed full-time and providing intensive care are associated with social isolation. The occurrence of multiple roles demonstrates unique associations with social isolation among those with and without multimorbidity over time. Future research should study multimorbidity as a salient contextual variable. Moreover, enhanced support is needed for multimorbid middle-aged individuals with different role demands.

Leisure Time Satisfaction and Activity Preferences Among Ethnically Diverse Aging Parents in Metro Vancouver.

It is well established that family and work-retirement transitions are increasingly becoming more complicated, extended, and reversible among aging parents. Combined with improved life expectancy, older parents are now confronted with new opportunities and challenges including their access to leisure activities. However, a paucity of research exists with regard to the extent to which older-aged parents are satisfied with their amount of leisure time as well as their ideal leisure preferences. Drawing upon socio-cultural life course theory, this paper examines how socio-demographic and ethnocultural variables (i.e., gender, ethnic identity), family-related factors (e.g., presence of children in the household), and socio-economic and work contexts (i.e., income satisfaction and retirement status) shape leisure time satisfaction and activity preferences. Data are drawn from the "Families and Retirement Project," a sample of 588 diverse (British-, Chinese-, Iranian/Persian-, South-Asian Canadians) aged 50 + (mean age = 59.6) residing in Metro Vancouver with at least one young adult child aged 19-35. Quantitative analyses reveal that leisure time satisfaction is higher among: those reporting lower levels of parental stress, the fully retired, those with less education, and among Chinese parents (compared to British). Moreover, strong variations by ethnic background are shown in preferred leisure activity, based on a thematic analysis of data. Results are discussed in terms of contributions to a socio-cultural family life course activity theory. Implications for community service provision (e.g., culturally sensitive and relevant recreational programs and services) are also highlighted, given the salience of participation in enjoyable leisure activities to healthy aging.

Social Isolation Among Spousal and Adult-Child Caregivers: Findings From the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

OBJECTIVES: The caregiving outcomes of spousal and adult-child caregivers are widely studied since they are the most common source of support provided to adults. However, the literature on social isolation among spousal and adult-child caregivers is very limited. In order to further elaborate and specify unique caregiving outcomes, this study focuses on social isolation, both longitudinally and comparatively between spousal and adult-child caregivers. METHODS: This study was based on the Baseline and Follow-up 1 data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. A total of 5,226 participants (1,293 spousal caregivers and 3,933 adult-child caregivers) were selected. The Linear mixed models were used to examine the effect of caregiver type and caregiving intensity on social isolation over the course of survey. RESULTS: Spousal and adult-child caregivers reported greater social isolation over time, and spousal caregivers exhibited a steeper increase in social isolation from Baseline to Follow-up 1 than adult-child caregivers. Also, an increase in caregiving hours resulted in greater social isolation. Finally, male spousal or adult-child caregivers were more likely to be socially isolated over time than their female counterparts. DISCUSSION: The findings of this study contribute to the existing literature on caregiving outcomes by demonstrating an association between family caregiving and social isolation. The results indicate a strong need for intervention programs that aim to enhance social connectedness among family caregivers, and especially for those who perform intensive caregiving, are older age, and are from a lower socioeconomic status.

Linking Lives in Ethnically Diverse Families: The Interconnectedness of Home Leaving and Retirement Transitions.

Drawing from a sociocultural life course perspective, this study examines the linkages between two age-related family transitions: young adult children leaving home and parental retirement. A sample of 580 ethnically diverse parents aged 50+ with at least one adult child aged 19-35 living in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, was used in this study based on four cultural groups: British-, Chinese-, Persian/Iranian-, or South Asian-Canadian. Separate survival analyses are used to predict the timing of, and associations between children's leaving home and parents' retirement. Later timing of adult children's leaving home is associated with delays in retirement of parents and is influenced by a number of predictors. Main and interaction effects were supported for ethnicity, where belonging to the Persian/Iranian ethnic group (compared to British) delays home leaving, and belonging to Persian/Iranian and South Asian ethnic groups (compared to British) delays retirement timing.

Health behaviors and multimorbidity resilience among older adults using the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

OBJECTIVE: Recently, there has been a growing interest in examining forms of illness-related resilience. This study examines associations between lifestyle behavioral factors and multimorbidity resilience (MR) among older adults. METHODS: Using baseline data from the Comprehensive Cohort of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, we studied 6,771 Canadian adults aged 65 or older who reported two or more of 27 chronic conditions, and three multimorbidity clusters: cardiovascular/metabolic, osteo-related, and mental health. Associations were explored using hierarchical linear regression modeling, controlling for sociodemographic, social/environmental, and illness context covariates. RESULTS: Among older adults with two or more illnesses, as well as the cardiovascular/metabolic and osteo-related illness clusters, having a non-obese body mass, being a non-smoker, satisfaction with quality of sleep, having a good appetite, and not skipping meals are associated with MR. However, the mental-health cluster resulted in different behavioral lifestyle associations, where MR was not associated with obesity, smoking, or appetite, but inactivity demonstrated moderate positive associations with MR. DISCUSSION: While there are similar patterns of lifestyle behaviors across multimorbidity and multimorbidity clusters involving physiological chronic illnesses, those associated with mental health are distinct. The results have implications for healthy aging among persons coping with multimorbidity.

Development and Concurrent Validity of a Composite Social Isolation Index for Older Adults Using the CLSA.

ABSTRACTSocial isolation, given its established association with mortality, and risk of poor physical and/or mental health over the life course, has attracted the attention of researchers. However, such measures have been highly variable and often lack conceptual clarity. This study, which drew on a conceptual framework for classifying social isolation measures, provides a rationale for the development and validation of a composite Social Isolation Index (SII) using the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), together abbreviated as CLSA-SII. CLSA-SII was developed using standard methodology for developing other measures, including the multimorbidity resilience and successful aging indices. Associations of the CLSA-SII and four key outcome variables (life satisfaction scale, depression, perceived mental health, and perceived health) were performed using regression analyses. Associations between the CLSA-SII index and the four outcome variables resulted in statistically significant moderate associations in the expected direction, and are consistent with prior research, demonstrating good concurrent validity.

Development and validation of a multi-domain multimorbidity resilience index for an older population: results from the baseline Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

BACKGROUND: Multimorbidity is recognized as a major public health issue that increases with age and affects approximately two-thirds of older people in Canada, the US, Australia and many European countries. This study develops and tests a three domain (functional, social and psychological) multimorbidity resilience composite index based on a previously developed lifecourse model of multimorbidity resilience, incorporating measures of adversity and positive adaptation. The criterion validity of the measure is demonstrated by means of an analysis of key outcome variables drawn from the literature. METHODS: We used the baseline data from the Comprehensive Cohort of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Associations of functional, social, psychological as well as total resilience with two health utilization and three illness context outcome variables were examined using logistic regression analyses, adjusted for age, gender, marital status, income, education, region, and number of chronic conditions. RESULTS: The sample included all 6771 Canadian adults aged 65 or older (mean age 73.0, 57% women) who reported two or more of 27 possible chronic conditions. Total resilience was associated with: perceived health (OR = 1.68, CI 1.59-1.77); sleep quality (OR = 1.34, CI 1.30-1.38); perceived pain (OR = 0.80, CI 0.77-0.83); hospital overnight stays (OR = 0.87, CI 0.83-0.91); and emergency department visits (OR = 0.90, CI 0.87-0.94)., after adjusting for socio-demographic factors, and number of chronic conditions. These associations were similar for the unadjusted models, as well as for the functional, social and psychological resilience sub-indices. CONCLUSIONS: Combining components of adversity and positive adaptation within functional, social and psychological domains produces a measure of multimorbidity resilience that is associated with more positive health outcomes. Several implications of a composite multimorbidity resilience measure for clinical practice are identified. This measure can be replicated using measures found in other secondary health data sets. Future validation using longitudinal data is warranted.

Curbing Our Enthusiasm: An Analysis of the Check-In/Check-Out Literature Using the Council for Exceptional Children's Evidence-Based Practice Standards.

Check-in/Check-out (CICO) is an intervention designed to improve behavioral outcomes for students identified as at-risk for school failure. Core principles of the intervention include clearly defined behavioral expectations and rules, precorrections for meeting behavioral expectations, high rates of feedback and reinforcement for demonstration of desired behavior, use of data to monitor outcomes, and a system for school-to- home communication. The purpose of this investigation was to use the 2014 Council for Exceptional Children's quality indicators and standards for establishing evidence-based practices in special education to review the existing research for CICO. Implications regarding the use of different sets of quality indicators to evaluate extant research are provided, and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Multimorbidity, health and aging in Canada and Australia: a tale of two countries.

BACKGROUND: Multimorbidity has been recognized as a major public health issue, negatively affecting health-related quality of life, including physical, functional, mental, emotional, and social domains, as well as increasing health care utilization. This exploratory study examines selected health outcomes associated with multimorbidity across older age groups/cohorts and gender, comparing Canada and Australia. METHODS: Data were drawn from the 2008/09 Canadian Community Health Survey and the 2009 Australian HILDA survey. Seven major chronic conditions were identical across the two data sets, and were combined into an additive measure of multimorbidity. OLS and logistic regression models were performed within age group (45-54, 55-64, 65-74, 75+) and gender to estimate associations between multimorbidity and several health-related outcomes, including: loneliness, life satisfaction, perceived health, mobility restriction, and hospital stays, adjusting for marital status, education and foreign born status. RESULTS: Overall, country-level differences were identified for perceptions of loneliness, life satisfaction, and perceived health. Australians tended to experience a greater risk of loneliness and lower self-rated health in the face of multimorbidity than Canadians, especially among older men. Canadians tended to experience lower life satisfaction associated with multimorbidity than Australians. No country-level differences were identified for associations between multimorbidity and hospital stays or mobility limitations. CONCLUSIONS: The associations between multimorbidity and health are similar between the two countries but are variable depending on population, age group/cohort, and gender. The strongest country-level associations are for indicators of health-related quality of life, rather than health care or mobility limitation outcomes.

On and Off the Mat: Yoga Experiences of Middle-Aged and Older Adults.

This article explores potential differences in yoga practice between middle-and older-aged adults. A health belief - life course model frames this research, and a mixed-methods analytic strategy is employed to examine life course pathways into yoga and motivations to practice, as well as perceived barriers and health benefits. For the quantitative analyses, a convenience sample of 452 participants was collected using an online questionnaire. For the qualitative analyses, face-to-face interviews were conducted with a sub-set of 20 participants. Unique differences between the age groups (both current age and age when started yoga) as well as by gender were found for selected pathways, reasons/motivations, and barriers to engage in yoga as well as for perceived health benefits. In addition, results underscore the importance of informational cues and social linkages that affect how individuals adopt and experience yoga. Implications for health promotion programs that target older adults are discussed.

Midlife Challenge or Welcome Departure? Cultural and Family-Related Expectations of Empty Nest Transitions.

Mid- and later-life parental transitions to the "empty nest" are characterized by increasing complexity, uncertainty, and variability. Drawing upon a life course perspective coupled with a sociocultural stress model, this mixed-methods study focuses on parental perceptions of anticipated emotional challenge associated with their children's homeleaving and how this is shaped by ethnic culture and other family-related factors. Data entail a subsample of 174 midlife parents (mean age=51.8) with at least one adult child aged 18 to 35 living at home, collected as part of the "Mid/Later Life Parenting Project." Study participants belonged to British-, Chinese-, Southern European-, or South-Asian groups living in Metro Vancouver, BC. Analyses indicate that societal and ethnic group norms, relationship quality, and living arrangement preferences, as well as supportive exchanges and economic constraints (e.g., housing costs) influence empty nest perceptions and pathways. Implications of these findings are applied to aging families and family development.