"But I survived": A phenomenological study of the health and wellbeing of aging Black women in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada.

Studies that assess the association between race and health have focused intently on the cumulative impact of continuous exposure to racism over an extended period. While these studies have contributed significantly to the general understanding of the life experiences and health status of racialized people, few studies have explicitly bridged the experiences of aging with gender and the wide structural barriers and social factors that have shaped the lives of racialized older women. This study aimed to investigate the origins of health inequities to highlight factors that intersect to affect the health and wellbeing of older Black women across their life course. Descriptive phenomenology was used to describe older Black women's health and wellbeing, and factors that impact their health across their life course. Criteria-based sampling was used to recruit study participants (n = 27). To be eligible women needed to be 55 years or older, speak English, self-identify as a Black female, and live in the Greater Toronto Area. Data analysis was guided by phenomenology. Themes identified demonstrated that participants' health and wellbeing were influenced by gender bias, racism, abuse, and retirement later in life. Participants reported having poor mental health during childhood and adulthood due to anxiety and depression. Other chronic illnesses reported included hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. Qualitative methods provided details regarding events and exposures that illuminate pathways through which health inequities emerge across the life course.

Using volunteers to improve the experience of older patients in the emergency department.

OBJECTIVES: The Maximizing Aging Using Volunteer Engagement in the Emergency Department (MAUVE + ED) program connects specially trained volunteers with older patients whose personal and social needs are not always met within the busy ED environment. The objective of this study was to describe the development and implementation of the MAUVE + ED program. METHODS: Volunteers were trained to identify and approach older patients at risk for adverse outcomes, including poor patient experience, and invite such patients to participate in the program. The program is available to all patients >65 years, and those with confusion, patients who were alone, those with mobility issues, and patients with increased length of stay in the ED. Volunteers documented their activities after each patient encounter using a standardized paper-based data collection form. RESULTS: Over the program's initial 6-month period, the MAUVE + ED volunteers reported a total of 896 encounters with 718 unique patients. The median time (interquartile range [IQR]) a MAUVE volunteer spent with a patient was 10 minutes (IQR = 5, 20), with a range of 1 to 130 minutes. The median number of patients seen per shift was 7 (IQR = 6, 9), with a range of 1 to 16 patients per shift. The most common activities the volunteer assisted with were therapeutic activities/social visits (n = 859; 95.9%), orientation activities (n = 501; 55.9%), and hydration assistance (n = 231; 25.8%). The least common were mobility assistance (n = 36; 4.0%), and vision/hearing assistance (n = 13; 1.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary data suggest the MAUVE + ED volunteers were able to provide additional care to older adults and their families/carers in the ED.

Raising the bar: using program evaluation for quality improvement.

The Cancer Quality Council of Ontario has undertaken 3 programmatic reviews, in partnership with Cancer Care Ontario, to evaluate an emerging or existing program and to provide future directions. The reviews are a quality improvement tool consisting of an assessment of the program's current state, a critical appraisal, and an environmental scan in advance of an event where attendees hear best practices from jurisdictions and participate in a discussion leading to a set of recommendations for the program.