Healthy Aging CORE Research Spotlight - June 2023

Research Spotlight: Canadian Rental Housing Index

BC Non-Profit Housing Association is the provincial umbrella organization for the non-profit housing sector in BC. BC Non-Profit Housing Association recently updated their Canadian Rental Housing Index. The Canadian Rental Housing Index was compiled using data from the 2021 long-form census, obtained through a Statistics Canada custom data request. The Index is a comprehensive database that compiles rental housing statistics for cities, regions, and provinces across Canada. You can explore rental housing trends by age, gender, immigration status, Indigenous status, and racialized groups. 

New Research Reports on CORE

• Healthy Outcomes: Understanding the Impact of Adequate, Stable and Secure Retirement Income on the Ability of Canadians to Age Well and in the Right Place [Madison Brydges, Natalie Iciaszczyk, He Chen, Kristina Kokorelias, Samir Sinha]

New Knowledge Mobilization Materials on CORE

• Community Dance for Older Adults Research Summaries [Community Dance for Older Adults]
• Dementia-inclusive Streets and Community Access, Participation and Engagement [DemSCAPE BC]

New Journal Articles

Closed Access Journal Articles

Articles that require a paid subscription. If you are a student or alumni of a college or university you may be able to access these through your institution’s library.

Windt, S., Sims-Gould, J., Mackey, D. C., & McKay, H. (2023). Older Mens' Experiences with and Preferences for Physical Activity. Canadian Journal on Aging, 1–15. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0714980823000211

Windt and colleagues interviewed 19 older Canadian men to learn more about their experiences with physical activity. From the interviews a range of barriers to physical activity were identified (e.g., poor health, lack of time, finances, fear of injury, etc.) as well as facilitators (e.g., active transportation opportunities, chores, time, skilled fitness instructors, etc.). Generally, the men preferred physical activity programs that were: small group programs, provided individualized attention/programming, had an equal number of men and women, had experienced instructors, and were sports programming or physical activity classes.

Open Access Journal Articles

Articles that are free and accessible to the general public.

Lu, M., Bronskill, S. E., Strauss, R., Boblitz, A., Guan, J., Im, J. H. B., Rochon, P. A., Gruneir, A., & Savage, R. D. (2023). Factors associated with loneliness in immigrant and Canadian-born older adults in Ontario, Canada: a population-based study. BMC Geriatrics, 23(1), 380. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-023-04092-w

Using data from the Canadian Community Health Survey, Lu and colleagues examined the factors associated with loneliness among immigrant and Canadian-born older adult populations. Unique factors that were associated with loneliness for older immigrants included widowhood, poor health, less time in Canada, and lower neighborhood-level ethnic diversity and income.

Paglione, V., Magrath, J., McDonough, M. H., Din, C., & Kenny, S. J. (2023). ‘Promoting wellness, having fun, and creating community’: A dance instructor’s pedagogical practices and perspectives on the influence of community dance classes for older adults. Research in Dance Education, 1 – 18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14647893.2022.2159359

In this article, the authors report on the lessons learned from a dance instructor offering a community dance program for older adults. Based on a series of interviews with the dance instructor, key lessons emerged regarding the importance of facilitating social connection, ensuring attendees feel successful, creating a space where attendees can be expressive and creative, and the classes as a way to support the physical, emotional and psychological needs of older adults.

Research Participation Opportunities

Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health Survey on Social Isolation and Loneliness

The Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health is working on a new project on Social Isolation and Loneliness. This project is intended to create Canadian Guidelines for health and social service providers so they can identify and address social isolation and loneliness among older adults. The focus of this survey is to hear from older adults on this topic. You can access the survey here.