There is a pressing need to find effective ways to promote health and well-being of ethnoculturally-diverse older adults. To do so, it is important to foster trust between researchers and ethnocultural communities; yet our understanding of how to do so is limited. Therefore, we propose to convene scholars from implementation science, ethno-gerontology and healthy aging; community partners that serve diverse groups of older adults; and older adults themselves to explore the idea of trust and how to foster trust between researchers and ethnocultural communities in Canada. Using a âCafĂ© Scientifiqueâ approach that encourages âdeepâ discussion these groups will get together to: i. explore the role of trust in health-promoting programs for older adults from ethnocultural communities and identify effective approaches that foster trust; ii. co-create a âTrusted Partnership Roadmapâ with guidelines for research and practice, that identifies culturally appropriate trust-building strategies, and iii. plan for a CIHR Project Grant in cultural adaptation of Choose to Move-an effective health-promoting program for older adults.
Award Partner: Tai Hung Fai Charitable Foundation and Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Health Aging
Help BC Hear Better: Identifying gaps in knowledge and setting our research agenda
Approximately 1 in 5 Canadians aged 20 to 79 has hearing loss that affects their ability to hear speech. Left unmanaged, hearing loss can contribute to social withdrawal, loneliness, decreased mental and physical health, and increased risk of hospital readmission. The burden of hearing loss increases with age, rising to 65% in adults over 70 years old. Despite how common hearing loss is, there are many barriers to accessing hearing healthcare. Barriers at the individual level (e.g., hearing aid appearance, minimal perceived benefit) have been well researched, while social and systemic barriers (e.g., policy gaps in hearing aid funding; inequitable access) have received relatively less attention. This project will explore the feasibility of funding hearing healthcare for seniors aged 60+ in BC. This grant will fund two activities: a data scan and a workshop. The data scan will identify existing published and unpublished data on hearing loss prevalence, individual and societal impacts of unmanaged hearing loss, and economic models of hearing health funding programs. The workshop will bring together stakeholders to discuss the existing data, plan for how to fill in gaps, and start a conversation about advocacy messaging.
What healthy aging means to me: a community-collaborative knowledge mobilization initiative with, by, and for, women living with HIV.
UBC researchers, Ribbon Community, and local service organizations, such as Central Interior Native Health Society, will harness our collective experiences in supporting WLWH to host five women-centred knowledge mobilization (KM) events. Ribbon Community has supported the HIV community since 1983, with services including peer-to-peer programming, case management, and grocery support. Researchers at UBC are investigating healthy aging in women living with HIV, from cell-to-society, in the community-based British Columbia CARMA-CHIWOS Collaboration (BCC3) study. We aim to host a series of âmini-retreatsâ – or full-day KM events that will be held in natural settings (e.g. Loon Lake). Here, WLWH and organizers will share nourishing food and discuss research findings through interactive activities surrounding the theme âWhat is healthy aging.â Events will take place in the five geographical regions visited by the research team during prior study enrollment. KM topics will focus on womenâs sexual and reproductive health as they age, with specific topics chosen in consultation with WLWH. Participants will leave each event with a lay-language KM summary and an appreciation bag of health-promoting items.