Hoping for the Best or Planning for the Future: Decision Making and Future Care Needs.

Research has shown that relatively few older adults make plans for future care needs. In this study, we explore the thinking processes involved in planning or failing to plan for the future. Interviews were carried out with 39 older adults ( M age = 81 years) who were experiencing disability and illness but who lived in their own home. Guiding questions for the interview focused on present living circumstances, but for the present qualitative analysis, all references to the future, and to future residence changes, were extracted. This approach allowed us to observe how older adults spontaneously address issues of future planning when not constrained to do so. Results supported the use of a positivity bias, as well as a risk-aversive decision-making style. These older adults seemed to be prioritizing present emotional well-being by avoiding thoughts of future risks and thereby eschewing proactive coping.

[The influence of minority sociolinguistic context on home support for seniors in a rural devitalized area: the case of Acadieville New Brunswick]. / L'influence du contexte sociolinguistique minoritaire sur le maintien à domicile des aînés en milieu rural dévitalisé: le cas d'Acadieville au Nouveau-Brunswick.

New Brunswick is one of the provinces most affected by the aging of the population. Moreover, aging at home in Francophone minority communities is a major challenge in rural areas. The goal of this paper is to identify the main advantages and disadvantages of aging at home and to expose organizational strategies deployed by seniors and their families in order to promote aging in place. The case study is the method of analysis that we have recommended. Our methodology is based on content analysis of 13 semi-structured interviews with seniors and their children. The results show that family and community support, resourcefulness and resiliency, the practice of leisure activities as well as the living environment are among the principal means used by older adults to promote aging at home.

Strategies for Aging in Place: The Experience of Language-Minority Seniors With Loss of Independence.

For healthy and independent older adults, aging in place can be seen as identical to any other adult living at home. Little is known about how frail seniors, particularly those who speak a minority language, manage the challenges of aging in place. The present qualitative descriptive study explores the strategies that Canadian French-speaking seniors have put in place to counter their loss of independence and promote their ability to stay in their home. Semistructured individual interviews were conducted with 39 older adults and transcribed, followed by content analysis to identify common themes related to study objectives. Six themes emerged in response to strategies described for aging in place. Findings reveal the limited extent to which language issues were perceived as a barrier by participants. In conclusion, the results of this study provide us with fruitful insights to guide community nursing practice, future research, and public policy.

[The perception of seniors Francophones in a minority situation coping with the challenges and issues related to the maintenance at home in urban areas New Brunswickers]. / La perception des aînés francophones en situation minoritaire face aux défis et aux enjeux liés au maintien à domicile en milieu urbain néo-brunswickois.

OBJECTIVE: Explore the needs and the degree of satisfaction of Francophone seniors living in a minority socio-linguistic urban community in regards to aging-in-place. METHOD: An ethnographic case study was conducted in an urban community in the province of New Brunswick between October 2010 and June 2011. Individual interviews were completed with leaders of different community organizations (n=9) and focus groups were held with socio-linguistic minority French-speaking older adults (n=19). RESULTS: Francophone seniors explained their willingness to age-in-place; however, the lack of services and support in the community makes aging-in-place difficult. Despite this identified absence of services, leaders of various community organizations have no plans to review current services in order to facilitate better quality of life for seniors. CONCLUSION: Aging-in-place for French-speaking seniors living in socio-linguistic minority communities requires concerted efforts from family members, the community and the government. The Ottawa Charter of Health clearly states housing as a prerequisite of health. Housing and social support are important determinants of health. Therefore, the development and implementation of a public policy with regard to seniors, and particularly those in a socio-linguistic minority, seems fundamental in the context of population aging.

[The geography of aging in atlantic Canada: analysis from the point of view of territorial disparities during 1981-2006]. / La géographie du vieillissement au Canada atlantique: une analyse sous l'angle des disparités territoriales au cours de la période 1981-2006.

Following the example of other Canadian provinces, those in Atlantic Canada are affected, albeit to a lesser degree, by the increase in the number of persons aged 65 or over, a trend that we can define as gerontogrowth. In addition, this region of Canada seems particularly affected by the trend of an aging population, that is, the rise in the proportion of people in the total population aged 65 or more. For example, on a national scale, New Brunswick is the third oldest province according to the last five-year period (2001-2006), having advanced from the fourth position it held between 1981 and 2001 and from the fifth position occupied between 1971 and 1981. In addition, these trends evolve in different manners in different places, contrasts that are strongest at the regional and local level. The goal of this article is to examine the strength of these disparities during the period 1981 to 2006 and to identify some potential solutions for a territorial development strategy for seniors.