SimoN FRaSeR UNiveRSity, vaNCoUveR, CaNada volUme 32 No.3 2013 GRC NEWS the NewSletteR oF the GeR oNtoloGy ReSearch CeNtRe 2. Message from the director 2. Recent Centre activities 3. GRC Seminar Series 4. New Publication: living well as an older adult with multiple Chronic Conditions 5. Recently Completed theses & Projects 5. Gerontology Graduate Caucus Update 6. Spotlight on GRC/dept Research and initiatives 7. Round table discussion on Caregivers 7. SFU Presentation at the 42nd annual Scientific meeting of the Canadian association on Gerontology 8. 2013 Senior leadership awards 9. Ellen m. Gee memorial lecture 10. Donor Recognition; Friesen 2014 Save-the-date SeniorS’ houSing update iNSidE thiS issuE The GRC is the Secretariat of the International Society for Gerontechnology North American chapter with President Andrew Sixsmith, Ph.D. Happy Hollidays The GRC is the Secretariat of the International Network for Prevention of Elder Abuse with President Gloria M. Gutman, Joyeux Noel Ph.D. GRC News 1 MeSSage froM recent centre activities GRC SeMinar SerieS the director PuBLiCAtiONS Barakat, A., Woolrych, r., Sixsmith, a., Kearns, W., by andrew Sixsmith & Kort, H. (2013). E-healthcare competencies for healthcare professionals. Medicine 2.0, 2(2), e10. Available at http://www.medicine20.com/2013/2/e10/ coatta, K., & Wister, a. (2013). Living well as an older would like to extend my best wishes for the holiday season adult with multiple chronic conditions: An annotated to all our readers. This issue highlights research conducted bibliography. Burnaby, B.C. LiVWELL Research Group, I by our students as well as our faculty (see: GRC Seminar Simon Fraser University. Series: THE ELECTRONIC SANDBOX, presented by Dr. Piper Garcia, L.J., McCleary, L., Emerson, V., Léopoldoff, H., Jackson (Post-doctoral Research Fellow); and STAFF ATTI- Dalziel, W., Drummond, N., Cohen, C., Koehn, S., & TUDES IN LONG-TERM CARE, presented by Laura Booi (PhD Silvius. (2013). The pathway to diagnosis of dementia Student, SFU Gerontology). for francophones living in a minority situation. The I am also pleased to announce another new publication, Gerontologist, October 19, 2013 [early access]. LIVING WELL AS AN OLDER ADULT WITH MULTIPLE Gibson, M., & gutman, g.M. (2013). Mitigating the CHRONIC CONDITIONS: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, risk of late-life mental health problems for veterans: that was prepared by Katherine Coatta (MA student, SFU Contributions of the Life Course Perspective to Gerontology) and Dr. Andrew Wister. emergency management. Disaster Medicine and The GRC hosted our 11th Annual Ellen M. Gee Memorial Public Health Preparedness, 7(3), 332-335. Lecture: Who Cares? Aging Boomers and Caregiving Policy in Sixsmith, J., Sixsmith, a., Callender, M., & Corr, S. (2013). Canada that was presented by Dr. Janice Keefe to an over-capacity Wartime experiences and their implications for the audience. This lecture also served as the venue for the presentation everyday lives of older people. Ageing and Society / of our Senior Leadership Awards. This year 3 individual and 2 FirstView Ariticles, 1-25. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/ organizational awards were presented. As well, please note our S0144686X13000214 SAVE-THE-DATE for the upcoming FRIESEN2014 conference. Wister, a.v., et al [The National Seniors Council. These public events demonstrate SFU Gerontology’s commitment [Canada]] (2013). Older workers at risk of withdrawing to engagement beyond the usual confines of academe. from the labour force or becoming unemployed: Our newsletters also highlight both the collaborative Employers’ views on how to retain and attract older research links that the GRC has forged as well as our work in workers. March 2013. Ottawa, ON: Her Majesty the the area of housing and the built environment: CHÉOS Work in Queen in Right of Canada. Progress Seminar Series – UNDERSTANDING QUALITY OF LIFE IN ASSISTED LIVING: INFLUENCE OF THE BUILT AND iN thE NEWS ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENT, presented by Dr. Sharon gloria gutman – RE: DISCUSSING THE CASE OF A Koehn; the Round table discussion on Caregivers with The SENIOR BEING SENT HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL Honourable Alice Wong with Dr. Gloria Gutman representing IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND PHYSICIAN SFU GRC; the article on SENIOR HOMELESSNESS IN METRO ASSISTED SUICIDE. CBC, EARLY EDITION, OCT 2013 VANCOUVER: STRATEGIES AND BEST PRACTICES by Ryan [podcast] Woolrych and Nora Gibson who collaborated with Lookout gloria gutman – RE: PREVENTION OF HEAT-RELATED Emergency Aid Society, Homeless Seniors Community of Practice ILLNESS IN SENIORS. FAIRCHILD TV NEWS, AUG among other BC organizations; the 2nd International Conference 2013 [podcast] http://www.fairchildtv.com/news.php?n= on Age-Friendly Cities where presentations were made by Catherine 251dbb5e528421776ff6e17c87be507f Bigonnesse (Doctoral Student, SFU Gerontology) and Dr. Gutman; Barbara Mitchell – LIVING APART, TOGETHER. and HOUSING AND AGE FRIENDLY COMMUNITIES that was Macleans, Manisha Krishnan interviewer, September presented by Dr. Ryan Woolrych in Jeju, South Korea as a guest 17, 2013 http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/09/17/living- speaker and panel discussant presenting research on the role of apart-together/ assistive technology in supporting older adults to aging-in-place. Barbara Mitchell – CUT THE DIGITAL ‘TETHER.’ STOP I would also like to take this opportunity to request your TEXTING MOM! IF STUDENTS TEXT TOO OFTEN, donor support for the Centre and Department to enhance our THEY DON’T LEARN INDEPENDENCE. Macleans, teaching and research efforts. I am sure that 2014 will see our Cathy Gulli interviewer, November 2, 2013 http:// existing collaborations go from strength to strength along with www2.macleans.ca/2013/11/02/stop-texting-mom/ many exciting opportunities for new collaborations. andrew Wister – LIVING TO 100: NOW WITHIN SIGHT FOR THOUSANDS OF CANADIANS. Postmedia News, By Erin Ellis interviewer, August 03, 2013. http:// www.leaderpost.com/entertainment/Living/8745816/ story.html GRC News 2 recent centre activities GRC SeMinar SerieS thE ELECtRONiC SANdBOX: COMPutAtiONAL SiMuLAtiON StAFF AttitudES iN LONG-tERM CARE OF AN AGiNG SOCiEtY Presented by Laura Booi (PhD Student, SFU De- Presented by dr. piper Jackson (Post-doctoral Research Fellow, GRC/ partment of Gerontology). MOCSSY). dr. Piper presenting at the GRC Research Seminar Series laura Booi presenting at the GRC Research Seminar Series [Editor’s Note: Dr. Jackson has worked on computer simulations of car thieves, [Editor’s Note: Laura Booi is a third year doctoral urban residents, insurgents, rioters, and binge drinkers. In this talk, Dr. Jackson student conducting a qualitative study in long-term presented his research as examples of how computational methods can be residential care that examines three items surrounding used as part of social science exploration.] the perceptions and attitudes nursing staff have of their residents. Firstly, how nursing staff attitudes and model is a description of a phenomena, entity, or system that perceptions affect staff interactions with residents; captures our general understanding of that topic. As such, they secondly, how they affect the quality/quantity of care Atend to be simple, but this simplicity improves their utility and residents receive from staff and finally, the implications widens their applicability. Models are at the heart of how we interact with these attitudes and perceptions have for residents’ the world. Computing technology has allowed us to explore new ways of wellbeing and health in long-term care.] building and exploring models. Further, simply the process of develop- ing software models can be useful in developing and testing theory, as The current literature shows that nursing staff we are forced to make our ideas explicit, and are able to test them in provide the majority of direct care for institutionalised conjunction with one another. older adults with dementia and thus have the There are several modelling techniques currently in use to investigate biggest impact on the quality of life of residents. social phenomena. Fuzzy logic allows us to describe complex relationships Unfortunately, in all sectors of health care, there is between ideas and entities, and it can be used even when expert opinion a general lack of interest for work in gerontological is the only data available. Cellular Automata boil down local interactions or long-term residential care settings. This may be to a grid of squares affecting their neighbours. Agent-based modelling caused by less positive attitudes to older people and constructs human actors who play out their behaviours and priorities in jobs associated with caring for them. As one could a simulated environment. These techniques were used in my research to assume, attitudes and perceptions of residents model the social aspects of obesity, peer influence on binge drinking, and directly relate to quality of care delivered. the movement of car thieves, respectively. I have also used hybrid models Moreover, the burnout, sick days and employee incorporating multiple techniques, such as a mixed Fuzzy Cognitive Map/ turnover rates for nursing staff are significantly Cellular Automata program that simulates crowd behaviour at public events. higher in long-term residential care facilities than Gerontology, due to its tight interweaving of the social and the scientific, in other healthcare sectors. Job satisfaction in is a natural subject for modelling. The history of modelling in gerontology long-term care is also significantly