The Vibrant Process of Active Aging

By Glenn Drexhage

VIU is busy establishing itself as a hub of excellence in healthy, active aging. From a new graduate diploma to dementia research and advocacy work carried out by an alum, VIU’s efforts and impact are helping address the many issues presented by a society that’s getting older.

Louise Stern is on a mission. “We have to stop looking at older people as a homogenous group that has the same needs, desires, resources, services and experiences,” says Stern, a social work professor at Vancouver Island University (VIU).

“They’re all going to be completely different. And yet when we think of older people, we still tend to think of them as sweet little ladies, drinking tea.”

It’s never easy to stifle stereotypes. But aging impacts us all – and a nuanced approach that addresses the rich diversity of older populations, along with the care and services they require, is crucial.

Enter VIU, which is busy establishing itself as a hub of excellence in healthy, active aging. From a new graduate diploma to dementia research and advocacy work carried out by an alum, VIU’s efforts and impact are helping address the many issues presented by a society that’s getting older.

On the Rise

In mid-Vancouver Island’s Qualicum region, for example, the population aged 75 and older is expected to surge by 104 per cent between 2015 and 2035, according to BC Stats. That compares with an expected increase in the overall population of about 20 per cent.

Aging is hardly isolated to the Island. Indeed, it’s projected that there will be more seniors than children in Canada by 2017 – a milestone, according to Statistics Canada.

Meanwhile, populations are aging in “nearly all countries,” and the number of those aged 60 and over is expected to more than double by 2050, states the World Population Ageing 2013 report from the United Nations. This trend also presents some daunting health care challenges, such as a predicted rise in cases of dementia – a complex disease that takes many forms, the most prevalent being Alzheimer’s.  In 2011, there were 747,000 Canadians living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, amounting to almost 15 per cent of Canadians 65 and older, according to the Alzheimer Society of Canada. If nothing changes, that figure will grow to 1.4 million by 2031. The associated price tag is staggering. As of 2016, health-system and out-of-pocket caregiver costs in Canada are estimated to be $10.4 billion annually, according to the Alzheimer’s Society. That’s expected to reach $16.6 billion by 2031 – a 60 per cent increase.

Interdisciplinary Approach

VIU’s Graduate Diploma in Gerontology, a 16-month offering that begins in January 2017, will train students to work with today’s seniors to address their varying needs: physical, social, cognitive and spiritual.

“We live in an area with many older adults,” says Stern, who heads up the new program. “I think VIU should be a centre of practice, research and community connections for professionals working with older adults – and for older adults themselves.”

Stern highlights the diploma’s interdisciplinary approach as one of its many unique aspects. While the program will be led by the Faculty of Health and Human Services, it combines VIU expertise from various areas, ranging from nursing to tourism and recreation management.

The goal is to train students in many different roles to support a wide range of needs for an aging population. This could include traditional positions, such as nurses and physical/occupational therapists, along with other specialists such as dietitians and social workers.

Business people, too, can benefit. “If you’re providing services on the Island, you’re going to be providing services to older people,” says Stern. “So how do you best serve older people, and have an understanding of their experiences – what they need and what they want?”

Active and Inclusive

Another noteworthy feature is an emphasis on active aging – that is, looking at aging as a vibrant process rather than a pathology, and ensuring that many different viewpoints and perspectives are included in the conversation.

“People over the age of 60, like the rest of Canadians, are a pretty diverse group,” says Stern. “There are multiple identities and cultural groups that we want to bring to light.”

For example, Aboriginal Elders associated with VIU will contribute their perspectives and knowledge to the program.

“Many Elders have dealt with trauma in their past – they may be survivors of residential schools,” says Stern. “So their points of view and lived experiences are something that needs to be considered when understanding how best to support them.”

The unique needs of other groups – such as 2SLGBTQ+ seniors – will also be explored.

“I think that’s fantastic,” says Dr. Marilyn Malone, Island Health’s Medical Director for Seniors Health. “That’s a very inclusive and modern approach to what the world needs now. With the aging demographic worldwide, it behooves us as a society to pay attention to understanding older people who are our neighbours but may be different from us.”

Dedicated to Dementia Research

Laura Booi, a VIU graduate who has dedicated her academic career to dementia research, echoes this view. “We need many more people who are doing gerontology research and are educated about these issues,” she says.

When Booi began at VIU, she was interested in studying schizophrenia; she switched her focus to dementia after living with her grandfather in Edmonton for a summer. “I thought it was interesting how sometimes he was treated differently than I was,” she says.

Her grandfather had significant hearing loss – a condition that can lead onlookers to mistake the condition as dementia. Booi recalls an instance when her grandfather was ignored by employees at a bank, aside from a teller who knew him. “This took me aback, because how could my favourite human be invisible?” she says.

Booi graduated with a BA in Psychology from VIU in 2009; since then, she’s gained her MA in Health Psychology from the University of British Columbia and is now completing her PhD in Gerontology from Simon Fraser University. Her dissertation research is focused on improving long-term, institutional care for persons with dementia, and bettering the working conditions of their caregivers.

In part, this includes drawing attention to the fact that aging and dementia are women’s issues (women are two to three times more likely to develop dementia).

“That’s why it’s so important that more money goes into research,” Booi says. “There’s not enough research looking at why women get dementia more often than men.”

In addition, she aims to work with care aides to create supportive employer guidelines (the majority of nursing home employees are also women). When she graduates with her doctorate, hopefully by spring 2017, she’ll be one of the only people in Western Canada to hold such a title.

Her efforts have led her to serve as a co-founding member of the World Young Leaders in Dementia, a network for young professionals working to find creative solutions to support the millions of people who will be directly or indirectly influenced by this disease in coming decades.

Closer to home, Booi has helped spearhead an initiative to make her hometown of Qualicum Beach a leading “dementia-friendly community” in Canada Ð one that acknowledges the issue and addresses it in meaningful ways. In January 2016, the town council passed a motion to pursue this goal, and Booi is working closely with the town in an advisory role.

Moving forward, steps include educating search and rescue workers and other frontline responders (such as police and paramedics) about dementia and how to deal with it. Another effort involves developing a “dementia-friendly community” label to be featured in storefronts, signaling that local businesses are educated about the issue and aware of the population’s needs. While Booi notes that there’s no “one size fits all” model for creating such communities, she stresses the importance of being open-minded and understanding.

As she says, “Education and awareness reduce the stigma and fear surrounding dementia.”

Music and Memory: Comforting, calming and boosting interaction for seniors with dementia

Thanks to her grandmother’s inspiration, Carly Breault has brought the healing power of music to local seniors living with dementia.

Last year, Breault – a VIU psychology graduate – became involved with an initiative called Music and Memory. This project’s beginnings were informed by a non-profit of the same name (musicandmemory.org). It launched in 2013, thanks to the efforts of VIU psychology professor Rachel Cooper and some of her students.

Music and Memory involves creating playlists of favourite songs for local care home residents, who listen to the music on iPods. The songs can trigger poignant and comforting memories, calm listeners and boost interaction. Breault became involved with Music and Memory because of her grandmother, who lived with Alzheimer’s and passed away a few years ago.

In the spring of 2015, she helped introduce the project to the Nanaimo Travellers Lodge, an elder care facility. Breault – who began her Master’s in Occupational Therapy this fall at the University of Alberta – was joined by a handful of other VIU students studying nursing, social work and physical education.

At Nanaimo Travellers Lodge, she witnessed the project’s impact on seniors. “The music really opened them up – it became a path to social interaction again,” she says. “It gave me hope that there is something that can help ease some of the symptoms of dementia.”

Breault and her colleagues volunteered for the program for a semester. Music and Memory has continued at Nanaimo Travellers Lodge since then, and the facility is now looking for more volunteers.

”It’s such a simple activity, but it clearly benefits the residents – they all love it,” says Carolina Ponsford, the Lodge’s Program Manager.

For more information, visit nanaimotravellerslodge.com and go to the “How you can help” tab. VIU’s Rachel Cooper can be contacted at rachel.cooper@viu.ca.

*This article originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2016 issue of VIU Magazine. Check out more stories from the latest issue of VIU Magazine here.