ABSTRACT
La pandémie de la COVID-19 et l'état d'urgence publique qui en a découlé ont eu des répercussions significatives sur les personnes âgées au Canada et à travers le monde. Il est impératif que le domaine de la gérontologie réponde efficacement à cette situation. Dans la présente déclaration, les membres du conseil d'administration de l'Association canadienne de gérontologie/Canadian Association on Gerontology (ACG/CAG) et ceux du comité de rédaction de La Revue canadienne du vieillissement/Canadian Journal on Aging (RCV/CJA) reconnaissent la contribution des membres de l'ACG/CAG et des lecteurs de la RCV/CJA. Les auteurs exposent les voies complexes par lesquelles la COVID-19 affecte les personnes âgées, allant du niveau individuel au niveau populationnel. Ils préconisent une approche impliquant des équipes collaboratives pluridisciplinaires, regroupant divers champs de compétences, et différentes perspectives et méthodes d'évaluation de l'impact de la COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent state of public emergency have significantly affected older adults in Canada and worldwide. It is imperative that the gerontological response be efficient and effective. In this statement, the board members of the Canadian Association on Gerontology/L'Association canadienne de gérontologie (CAG/ACG) and the Canadian Journal on Aging/La revue canadienne du vieillissement (CJA/RCV) acknowledge the contributions of CAG/ACG members and CJA/RCV readers. We also profile the complex ways that COVID-19 is affecting older adults, from individual to population levels, and advocate for the adoption of multidisciplinary collaborative teams to bring together different perspectives, areas of expertise, and methods of evaluation in the COVID-19 response.
Subject(s)
Aging , Communicable Disease Control/methods , Coronavirus Infections , Health Services for the Aged/organization & administration , Pandemics , Patient Care Management , Patient Care Team , Pneumonia, Viral , Aged , Aging/physiology , Aging/psychology , Betacoronavirus/isolation & purification , COVID-19 , Canada/epidemiology , Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Coronavirus Infections/therapy , Health Services Needs and Demand , Humans , Interdisciplinary Communication , Mental Health , Patient Care Management/methods , Patient Care Management/standards , Patient Care Management/trends , Patient Care Team/organization & administration , Patient Care Team/standards , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , Pneumonia, Viral/therapy , Quality Improvement , SARS-CoV-2Subject(s)
Research/history , Sociology/history , Widowhood/history , Female , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Humans , Male , United StatesABSTRACT
Conventionally, the definition of translational research describes a two-way process of translation from the "bench" to the "bedside" and the "bedside" to the "bench." In this article, however, I suggest that those at the bottom (i.e., the clinicians) are likely to pay more attention to what those at the top (i.e., the scientists) say than vice versa. I argue that the experience of the patient, omitted from consideration, has much to add to the understanding of both clinicians and scientists. In this address I recommend using qualitative research to give voice to the experience of patients. I use examples from my own research with older widows to demonstrate its usefulness.
