Developing a Conceptual Model with Policy Implications to Better Support Healthcare Providers Working with Older Adults during a Pandemic: An Interpretive Descriptive Qualitative Study.

Although many studies cover the experiences of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, few address the daily impact upon health care workers' lives. We used an adapted interpretive description approach to analyze narrative data from 54 practitioners working with older adults, June-October 2021. Stemming from research with those working in the health field, this approach applies knowledge directly back to policy and practice. Analysis of narrative data from open-ended survey questions produced themes and conceptual mapping of practitioners' experiences. Findings illustrate: Advantages and disadvantages of going virtual; challenges of quickly changing policies; concerns about personal and patient safety during the pandemic; needs of the organization and staff; and work-life balance issues. Clearly defining policy-based solutions for delivering services during emergencies offers ways to improve practitioners' and older adults' quality of life.

Re-Envisioning Aging in the Right Place to Disrupt Homelessness for Older People

Recent developments in the aging-in-place literature have recognized the significance of aging-in-the-right-place. That is, aging in a place that supports an individual’s unique values, vulnerabilities, and lifestyles. This symposium will build upon existing research by critically examining the potential for older persons with experiences of homelessness (OPEH) and/or housing insecurity to age-in-the-right-place. Presenters will include interdisciplinary researchers with a diversity of perspectives stemming from gerontology, social work, and environmental design. The symposium will begin with Weldrick and Canham presenting a conceptual framework for aging-in-the-right-place that has been developed to outline indicators relevant to OPEH and housing-insecure older people. Elkes and Mahmood will then discuss findings from a study of service providers working with OPEH to consider the relative benefits and challenges of temporary housing programs. Following, Brais and colleagues will present findings from an environmental audit, developed as a novel assessment tool to evaluate the accessibility and physical design of housing programs for OPEH. A final presentation by Kaushik and Walsh will highlight findings from a photovoice study on perspectives of aging-in-the-right place among OPEH during the Covid-19 pandemic. Joyce Weil, an expert in measurement of person-place fit and life course inequalities, will discuss the implications of these papers and reflect on the potential for the aging-in-the-right-place framework to address the diverse needs of the growing population of OPEH through policy and practice. Together, the participants of the symposium will advance this emerging scholarship using a wide range of methods and perspectives.

Telehealth as an Element of Home and Community-Based Services in a Pandemic: An Intrinsic Case Study in Two Rural Areas

COVID-19 has changed the face of health care delivery. Using technology as a way to ensure Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) as an option for older adults in rural areas is of increasing interest as a result of the pandemic. Literature suggests older adults do not adopt telehealth and/or medicine practices due to barriers (e.g., Internet and computer availability) and do not use telemedicine as a form of communication with medical staff. However, the combination of needing health care during the pandemic and having federal coverage via Medicare for telehealth virtual visit. Still studies suggest older adults may lack the necessary information about how to adopt telehealth and telemedicine and that they do not see their benefits. Additionally, the cost of technology, limited Internet access and rural connectivity issues persist. This study evaluates the potential for telehealth/medicine use in rural communities through two case studies of rural older persons in the Eastern Plains of Colorado and rural Western Nebraska. Results indicate, for older persons responding to the telehealth/medicine questions, there is support for its potential use with some using teleconferencing, health portals, along with the expectation that telehealth/medicine would be part of new health care systems. Resistance was met by some older adults in the Colorado sample who preferred face-to-face contact alongside other concerns about potential usage barriers such as the lack of Internet services or consistent connectivity. These participants indicated a lack of awareness in finding out how to access this form of medical support.

Digital Inclusion of Older Adults during COVID-19: Lessons from a Case Study of Older Adults Technology Services (OATS).

Older adults' relationship to information and communications technology (ICT) is often discussed in terms of the digital divide or technology gap. Older persons, those 65 years of age and older, are seen as excluded or marginally represented in the digital sphere, even though data show their use of technology is increasing. Challenges in technology adoption and models for improving digital inclusion are both well-known, but the COVID pandemic and its general shift to digital life have created a critical need to increase digital inclusion of older persons. A case study of Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) and the organization's migration from in-person to virtual programming is used as an example of reframing the way the relationship of older adults to technology is seen in the field and in practice. Policy and programming implications of this new view of technology are discussed in the conclusion.

Pandemic Place: Assessing Domains of the Person-Place Fit Measure for Older Adults (PPFM-OA) during COVID-19.

Place-based identity and person-place fit are called into question during a pandemic, such as COVID-19, when older adults' relationship to place may be in flux. Both academic and gray literature detail drastic changes in the way many aspects of place will be affected by a pandemic. While the dominant discourse focuses on medical and health changes, this brief report uses the Person-Place Fit Measure for Older Adults (PPFM-OA) and its broader, five subscale place domains (Primary or Basic Needs/Necessities; Neighborhood Changes and Moving; Identity and Place Attachment; Community Value; and Services and Resources) as a way to assess the pandemic's impact on the daily lives of older adults from their own points of view.