Now That You Have Retired -What's Next?

PLANS A, B, AND C It's important to have your plan A but also a plan B or even a plan C. As an example, you may have envisioned lots of travel, and then along came COVID, or a new partner, or health problems that make travel less likely. Amenities in these retirement communities include gyms, restaurants, golf courses, tennis courts, swimming pools, and interesting lectures\classes that make your retirement pleasurable. [...]you might want to improve your gardening skills, landscape your yard, paint the fence, clean the garage, and sit and watch the sunset. Look into courses at a local community college or university;many higher education centers allow individuals to take non-credit classes at a low cost.

COVID-19: Pandemic Risk, Resilience and Possibilities for Aging Research

The COVID-19 global crisis is reshaping Canadian society in unexpected and profound ways. The significantly higher morbidity and mortality risks by age suggest that this is largely a "gero-pandemic,” which has thrust the field of aging onto center stage. This editorial emphasizes that vulnerable older adults are also those most affected by COVID-19 in terms of infection risk, negative health effects, and the potential deleterious outcomes on a range of social, psychological, and economic contexts – from ageism to social isolation. We also contend that the pathogenic analysis of this pandemic needs to be balanced with a salutogenic approach that examines the positive adaptation of people, systems and society, termed COVID-19 resilience. This begs the question: how and why do some older adults and communities adapt and thrive better than others? This examination will lead to the identification and response to research and data gaps, challenges, and innovative opportunities as we plan for a future in which COVID-19 has become another endemic infection in the growing list of emerging and re-emerging pathogens.

The lived experience of older, independent residents during the COVID-19 pandemic

The growing older population confronting the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic have a story to tell of their experiences that may influence the way society confronts future pandemics. Little research has been done on older adults in independent living communities and their experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to fill that gap using the biopsychosocial model as a framework to guide the exploration of the research question addressing the lived experiences of older, independent residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a basic qualitative analysis design, a purposive sample of 10 participants from a continuing care retirement community were recruited by flyer for telephone interviews. Participant inclusion criteria were they must be 65 years old or older, lived at the facility since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, display no self-reported cognitive disability, and be fluent in English. The interview questions were developed from the literature review, theoretical framework, and pilot tests. Each interview was transcribed verbatim, coded in vivo, and sorted by codes before being analyzed thematically. Results indicated that participants were resilient and grateful while at the same time suffering from loneliness and grief. A surprising result was that the majority of participants responded in the negative to questions about depression and anxiety, known as the positivity effect. The implications for positive social change are twofold;the findings can be used (a) for the prospective development of marketing applications in health that take advantage of the positivity effect evidenced by older adults and (b) to develop a greater understanding of the older adult and improve communication with this cohort. . (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Residents' perception of the use of smart-home technologies in a retirement community

Purpose In the past, older adults had ambivalent attitudes regarding the use of technology (Pirzada et al., 2022). However, the pandemic has been a catalyst for the use of technology. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced individuals to change habits and increase their trust in technology (Umair et al., 2022). This is an opportunity for older adults in general, specifically long-term care communities can take advantage of this and adapt their living spaces with assistive technologies. Smart home technology includes automation, social connectivity, activity, and health monitoring, among others. The use of smart home technology will benefit not only older adults' quality of life but also may reduce costs and improve the quality of care within long-term facilities (Borelli et al., 2019). Therefore, this qualitative study explored the perception of residents living in a retirement community regarding the use of a portal that integrated smart-home technology. Method Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with nine residents. The interviewer asked about demographics, use of devices, and the internet. Also, residents expressed their experiences living in smart-cottages that had a responsive platform (portal). The portal allowed older adults to control domestic devices and appliances, and communicate with the retirement community using a tablet. The interviews were transcribed, coded, and organized in themes using NVivo software. Results and Discussion The findings are presented in Table 1. Residents indicated that the portal was a protected and supportive tool. Older adults felt a strong sense of being cared for because if something went wrong with home services (such as the furnace, air conditioner, or lights), maintenance was notified automatically through the portal. Also, the motion sensors notified the nursing staff if residents fell or if they stayed in bed too long. A resident said, "They keep track. To make sure we are alive”. Residents enjoyed scheduling services directly in the portal without contacting staff. Older adults chose what services they wanted to use. Some of them used the portal for communication with family members, but not with other residents because they preferred face-to-face communication. Residents associated the portal with safety, care, and support from the facility. The use of smart home technologies in retirement communities is perceived as a high-quality service by the residents. It increases technology literacy and improves residents' quality of life. Furthermore, the use of technology can save energy and reduce costs to the retirement community, increase customer satisfaction, and it can be a potential solution to the shortage of professionals in the aging field. Finally, the use of smart-home technologies can help residents to age in their cottages (aging in place) without moving to sections of the community that require a higher level of care such as assisted living or nursing homes. © 2022, Gerontechnology. All Rights Reserved.

Digitization of Aging-in-Place: An International Comparison of the Value-Framing of New Technologies

Planning for aging populations has been a growing concern for policy makers across the globe. Integral to strategies for promoting healthy aging are initiatives for ‘aging in place’, linked to services and care that allow older people to remain in their homes and communities. Technological innovations—and especially the development of digital technologies—are increasingly presented as potentially important in helping to support these initiatives. In this study, we employed qualitative document analysis to examine and compare the discursive framing of technology in aging-in-place policy documents collected in three countries: The Netherlands, Spain, and Canada. We focus on the framing of technological interventions in relation to values such as quality of life, autonomy/independence, risk management, social inclusion, ‘active aging’, sustainability/efficiency of health care delivery, support for caregivers, and older peoples’ rights. The findings suggest that although all three countries reflected common understandings of the challenges of aging populations, the desirability of supporting aging in place, and the appropriateness of digital technologies in supporting the latter, different value-framings were apparent. We argue that attention to making these values explicit is important to understanding the role of social policies in imagining aging futures and the presumed role of technological innovation in their enactment.

Different media, same relationships: What the Iris Piano Trio learned from the COVID-19 pandemic

The Iris Music Project is a non-profit dedicated to reimagining residential and healthcare communities as spaces of creative exchange. By February 2020, our chamber music group, the Iris Piano Trio, had developed a model for music programming at Charles E. Smith Life Communities (CESLC) in Rockville, Maryland (United States), that emphasized collaborative relationships between professional musicians and community members. The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted the Trio’s work and tested its model. In this article, we describe how the Trio remained connected and relevant to CESLC residents by experiment-ing with virtual programmes that adapted our model to a digital setting. We argue that our prior relationships with residents and staff enabled us to impact their lives throughout the pandemic despite the isolation created by COVID-19 closures. The pandemic strained, but did not fundamentally change, the Trio’s ensemble-in-resi-dence model, suggesting its potential as a generalized model in the field of music and health. © 2021 Intellect Ltd Notes from the Field. English language.

Staying At Home Or Moving To A Retirement Community After Covid-19

This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 on the consumer's retirement choice regarding the Event System Theory and Theory of Planned Behavior. This study examines the consumer's retirement intention preference - staying or moving. The research question is that whether the COVID-19 event affects the consumer's retirement intention. This study aims to examine the relationship between the event strength of the COVID-19 pandemic consisting entirely of (a) the event novel, (b) the event critical, and (c) the event disruptive, and the consumer's intention. A Chinese professional research firm conducts an online survey to gather 981 respondents. The data obtained is analyzed by using the confirmatory factor analysis of the structural equation modeling. The findings reveal that the COVID-19 pandemic affects the consumer's retirement intention. The consumer tends to move to a retirement community instead of staying at home. The contribution of this study summarizes two. First, in practical operation, the enterprise is advised to minimize an unforeseen event on the consumer. Second, from the theoretical development, the consumer's experience of an unexpected event incorporates the purpose. The impact of an event on a consumer's experience leads to intention and behavior.

Educational impact of the COVID-19 third wave on a competency- based orthopedic surgery program

Background: The COVID-19 third wave in Ontario from April to June 2021 led to a province-wide cancellation of elective surgeries and the development of policies to minimize in-person patient encounters. We aimed to assess the educational impact of the third wave on the orthopedic surgical trainees in a competency-based program. Methods: Qualitative post-third-wave surveys were distributed to residents in postgraduate years (PGY) 1-4 in a competency-based orthopedic training program in Ontario (n = 48). Results: Thirty-one residents (64.5%) responded to the survey. Overall average work hours per week were reduced from 79.3 to 73.3 hours among the junior residents (n = 16) and from 79.7 to 72.5 hours among the senior residents (n = 15). More than half of the residents saw their overall patient encounter volume either decrease or significantly decrease. More senior residents (66.7%, n = 10) reported significant decreases in their operating volume than the junior residents (43.8%, n = 7). Five senior residents (33.3%) and 6 junior residents (37.5%) did not receive credits for their rotation. Of those residents, 4 senior residents (80%) and 2 junior residents (33.3%) perceived that they achieved all expected competencies to pass the rotation. Conclusion: Several residents, especially residents in PGY3 and PGY4, perceived that they achieved the necessary competencies to progress to the next level of training despite seeing reduced work hours, decreased patient encounters, and reduced operating volume during the COVID-19 third wave in Ontario. Further studies on identifying and managing discrepancies pertaining to assessment of residents' performance and faculty's perception of their competence in orthopedic surgery training may be warranted.

Seeking a Sense of Belonging

This article draws on investigations by its authors, and from American and Italian interventions to provide recommendations for decreasing social isolation in older adults for policy makers, researchers, and other professionals committed to supporting the improved social integration of older adults. The article argues that to mitigate social isolation it is critical to foster a sense of belonging (personal involvement in a system or environment so people feel they are an integral part of that system or environment). Suggestions are provided on how to leverage systematic interventions to foster isolated older adults' sense of belonging to their communities.

Responding to COVID-19: Lessons Learned from a Senior Living and Social Service Organization.

This case study analyzes one senior living and social service organization's coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis response. We conducted interviews with n = 14 department managers to explore the organization's pivot to remote work and service provision. We used the Pearson and Mitroff Crisis Management Framework to organize themes. A pre-existing culture of teamwork, willingness to adapt and adopt new approaches, and responsiveness to new policies and procedures facilitated the COVID-19 crisis response. However, low levels of digital literacy among staff, decreased job satisfaction due to no face-to-face interaction between care recipient and service provider, and lack of proactive policies for crisis response, which decreased the speed of enacting remote service provision, were obstacles in effective crisis response. Lessons learned from this case study highlight the need for pre-emptive policy creation on remote service provision and work from home policies, as well as training considerations for senior living and social service organizations.