Lori E. Weeks

Strengthening resources for midlife and older rural women who experience intimate partner violence

ABSTRACT Little is known about midlife and older women who experience intimate partner violence living in rural places and their resource needs. Guided by a strengths perspective, we provided insights into resources that midlife and older women use, or would like to use, in their journey in leaving an abusive partner. Eight women who had left an abusive partner participated in a face-to-face interview. They drew on a wide variety of paid and unpaid resources, while each woman had a unique set of resources that contributed to her being able to make such a significant life transition. It is clear that we need to have a variety of formal and informal resources available to older women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) in rural places, and new forms of resources need to be developed. Our results also indicate that increased efforts are needed in improving both public and professional education regarding older rural women and IPV.

The Feasibility of Creating Partnerships Between Palliative Care Volunteers and Healthcare Providers to Support Rural Frail Older Adults and Their Families An Integrative Review

Background/Question: Volunteers are important in the support of frail older adults requiring palliative care, especially in rural areas. However, there are challenges associated with volunteer supports related to training, management and capacity to work in partnership with healthcare providers (HCP). This review addresses the question: What is the feasibility of a volunteer-HCP partnership to support frail older adults residing in rural areas, as they require palliative care? Methods: This integrative review identified ten articles that met the identified search criteria. Articles were appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklists, designed for use across a range of quantitative and qualitative studies. Results: Studies were drawn from international sources to understand how volunteer roles vary by culture and organization; the majority of studies were conducted in North America. Studies varied in methodology, including quantitative, qualitative and educational commentary. Identified factors that were crucial to the feasibility of volunteer-HCP partnerships in rural areas included volunteer training dynamics, relationships between volunteers and HCP, and rural environmental factors. Conclusion: Preliminary evidence indicates that a volunteer-HCP palliative partnership is feasible. However, training policies/procedures, volunteer-HCP relationships, and rural specific designs impact the feasibility of this partnership. Additional research is needed to further establish the feasibility of implementing these partnerships in rural settings.

Gerontology across the professions and the Atlantic: Development and evaluation of an interprofessional and international course on aging and health

ABSTRACT The need for interprofessional teamwork and the global challenges for health care systems of dramatically increasing numbers of older adults have received increased recognition in gerontological and geriatrics education. The authors report on the pilot development of a hybrid course on aging and health for graduate-level health professions students from Norway, Canada, and the United States. International faculty from partnering universities developed, taught, and evaluated the course. Course assignments included online forum postings, reflections, and a problem-based learning group assignment and presentation. Directed readings and discussion included topics related to health care systems and services in the three participating countries, teamwork, and patient-centered care. To evaluate the course, quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. Results indicate a significant impact on student learning outcomes, including understanding of issues in international aging and health, attitudes and skills in teamwork, and application to clinical practice. This course clearly established the importance of developing innovative interprofessional educational experiences that respond to the increasingly universal impacts of aging populations on health and social care systems around the world.

Technology in Teaching Family Science: What We Do and Why We Do It

ABSTACT. Technology is impacting the way we teach and the way students learn. The purpose of this study was to gather information on technology choices in Family Science courses and to explore what is driving the way Family Science instructors are choosing to integrate technology in their courses. What sets our study apart is our focus on the use of technology in Family Science classrooms. The adoption of technology is often done without fully taking time to analyze why we are using it, what is accomplished through its use and what the consequences may be. Ideally instructors engage in critical reflection about what technology we are using and why and how the selected technology should facilitate learning, encourage student engagement and higher order learning outcomes.

Planning an Intergenerational Shared Site: Nursing-Home Staff Perspectives

ABSTRACT Nursing-home staff perspectives on the development of intergenerational shared sites involving nursing homes and child-care centers is lacking. We use a strengths-based and community capacity framework to learn of the perceived benefits and burdens for nursing-home staff within a nursing home planning to implement a shared-site intergenerational program. Forty-two nursing-home staff completed a survey. Almost three-quarters of the participants either indicated strong positive support or saw more pros than cons in opening the child-care center. Over 25% of participants indicated that it was very possible they would use this service if it were available. Quantitative and qualitative results indicated existing strengths and areas to build capacity around four themes: nursing-home residents; nursing-home staff; children attending the child-care center; and the buildings and grounds. Our research emphasizes the importance of ensuring that other stakeholders, such as nursing-home staff, are also fully informed, consulted, and engaged in the process of developing a new colocated intergenerational program to contribute to the success of these programs.

Exploring gender and elder abuse from the perspective of professionals

ABSTRACT We conducted an online survey of professionals working in two Canadian provinces to learn about their knowledge of elder abuse from a gender-based perspective. A total of 169 professionals (90% women) completed a survey in either French or English. Five topic areas emerged from the analysis: the influence of gender on the risk of abuse; types of abuse detected; knowledge gaps; capacity to respond to gender-based abuse; and awareness of resources. To gain further insight into these results, we conducted three focus groups with a total of 24 professionals. Professionals held relatively little recognition of, or knowledge about, gender related to elder abuse. Our results indicate the need to develop educational and awareness raising opportunities for professionals who work with abused older adults in both French and English to identify and respond to the unique needs of older women and men.

Factors Influencing Family-Member Perception of “Homelikeness” in Long-Term Care Homes

ABSTRACT Background: A number of long-term care homes in Nova Scotia, Canada, have been built or redesigned with new models of care with expanded care aide scope of practice and neighborhood-style layouts. Our objective was to examine what physical characteristics (bed size, owner-operator), model of care, and relational (family–staff relationship, perceived staff–resident relationship) factors were associated with increased family-member perception of homelikeness in long-term care homes. Methods: We analyzed surveys collected from 273 family members from 23 long-term care homes in Nova Scotia, Canada. We conducted a multivariate linear regression to assess variables associated with increased family-member perception of homelikeness. Results: We found that relationships between family and staff, perceived resident-to-resident relationships, and family involvement in decision making were positively associated with increased family perception of homelikeness. We found no significant associations between model of care or physical characteristics and increased family perception of homelikeness. Conclusion: Relationships among family members, residents, and staff are integral to family members feeling at home in their loved ones long-term care home. Feeling at home in long-term care is largely related to family-member perception of meaningful social interactions between family and staff, and between residents.

Identifying important factors for older adults’ physical activity participation across individual/group, structured/unstructured contexts

Most Canadian older adults do not meet physical activity recommendations. Researchers have investigated participation barriers and facilitators, with little consideration given to how specific factors influence activity participation for older adults. The purpose of this study was to identify unique factors that influence older adults’ activity selection and to determine in which type of setting they are preferred. Using a two-phase methodology, identification of 25 factors affecting participation was followed by 45 older adults ranking the factors within four categories of activities: individual unstructured, group unstructured, individual structured, and group structured. Phase 1 analysis ranked each factor within each category. Further analysis found that there was a statistical difference between categories, indicating that older adults found different factors important, depending on the category of physical activity in question. This led to phase 2 analyses which identified three levels of factor groupings including the following factors: level A: fun, satisfaction, commitment, and energize; level B: safety, learning, awareness, internal motivation, and productive; and level C: meaningful contribution, intensity, and motivation. Additionally, some factors which were not identified in all categories were identified as unique to certain categories. These included creativity, hobbies, meaningful contribution, spiritual, competence, interaction casual, regularly scheduled, competition, self-efficacy physical, and team. This information can be used by individuals as well as program providers to nurture these factors within physical activity programs, which may lead to increased participation in this age cohort.