AOGSW Symposium Part 1 (June) – Presenters’ Abstracts
Is mere survival enough? Precarious social care in Canadian residential care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Azulai, A., Baluyot, B.M., Pitcher, A., Catovic, S. (MacEwan University)
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) of older adults in Canadian geriatric residential care facilities. Research on addressing SDoH during the pandemic in these care settings has been scarce.
Methods: This study employed a Living Systematic Review (LSR) methodology, aiming to answer the following questions: 1) What social care strategies were used in Canadian geriatric residential care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic? 2) What were the gaps in addressing SDoH at the time?
Results: A variety of social care strategies were used to address SDoH, some of which are novel and beneficial beyond the pandemic time. Macro-level strategies were uncommon, however. Suboptimal access of older adults to health care services and social exclusion of older adults were the most often mentioned SDoH in Canadian residential care facilities, followed by disability needs, decreased social safety net, housing conditions, and the impact of geography. Limited number of studies during the pandemic focused on gender, race, income, and education as diversity factors of older adults in these care settings, while Indigenous ancestry and early childhood experiences were omitted.
Conclusion: There is a need for an intentional focus on SDoH in geriatric care and their impact on psychosocial wellbeing of institutionalized older adults in Canada. An exploration of SDoH from the perspectives of diversity and equity needs of older adults in these care settings is necessary.
Addressing Digital Ageism against Diverse Older Adults.
Hai Luo, Faculty of Social Work, University of Manitoba
This presentation explores the complex intersection of digital technologies and the well-being of older adults, particularly focusing on the challenges faced by Canada’s increasingly diverse aging population. While digitalization offers immense potential for enhancing healthcare access and quality of life, it concurrently risks further marginalization and exclusion of this vulnerable demographic.
A central theme is the pervasive impact of digital ageism. This manifests in several forms: structural digital ageism through platforms designed by and for younger populations, often ignoring age-related functional changes and perpetuating data biases that overlook the diverse realities of older adults. Social ageism further entrenches stereotypes of older adults as technologically inept, contributing to their further marginalization in the digital sphere. Compounding this is internalized ageism, where negative stereotypes lead to fear of technology and reduced digital engagement.
These ageist barriers are deeply intertwined with other socio-cultural factors, including immigrant status, language proficiency, and socioeconomic disparities, creating multi-faceted challenges for diverse older adults. Addressing this digital divide requires a holistic strategy that moves beyond technical fixes to critically dismantle ageist attitudes and structural biases embedded within digital systems and broader society. Ultimately, fostering genuine digital inclusion for diverse older adults necessitates a commitment to user-centered design, targeted support, and a fundamental shift in perception.
“Having your reality discounted”: Learning from the experiences of transgender and gender-diverse older adults to build critical praxis in gerontological social work.
Hannah Kia, PhD, RCSW
School of Social Work
The University of British Columbia
Literature regarding transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) older adults in Canada continues to be scarce, both in social work and in other disciplines. In this study, we sought to address this gap by examining the healthcare and social service experiences and needs of this population. Our work, which was grounded conceptually in critical gerontology and intersectionality, and informed methodologically by interpretive description, involved six focus groups with a total of 21 participants. We conducted focus groups with TGD older adults (ages 50+), along with service providers and community advocates with experience supporting this population, to generate multi-party insight into the experiences and needs of this population across systems of care. After analyzing our data iteratively by identifying recurrent patterns in the accounts of participants, we organized our findings into five themes. These included: (1) historical context in experiences of structural oppression, (2) (in)visible precarity at the nexus of transness and older age, (3) intersectional expressions of contemporary state- and institutionally-sanctioned oppression, (4) resistance of TGD older adults and their allies across service settings, and (5) closing current gaps: ground-up activities to build space for TGD older adults. Our work points to the need for social workers to centre TGD older adults’ voices in all aspects of practice with this population. Perhaps of greater relevance to the current symposium, the study substantiates the value of dynamic, ongoing conversations with historically marginalized populations of older adults, including TGD people, as a basis for building critical praxis in gerontological social work.
How Do Social Workers Working in Long-term Care Understand Their Roles?
Karen Lok Yi Wong, PhD Candidate, RSW
The University of British Columbia
While social work is an essential discipline for the holistic well-being of residents’ quality of life in long-term care, providing their unique professional perspective to the interdisciplinary team, a persistent issue social workers face is that they have limited opportunity to articulate their roles. As a result, their contributions are often not fully understood and recognized by other professionals working in this setting. This lack of role clarity may affect the collaboration between social workers and other professionals and ultimately impact the quality of care provided to residents. To address this gap, a qualitative research study was conducted in the province of British Columbia, Canada, to explore how social workers in long-term care settings define and interpret their roles. Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with social workers employed in a range of long-term care facilities. Thematic analysis of the data led to the identification of five key themes: advocating for the most vulnerable, humanizing long-term care, balancing between self-determination and safety, dancing with the systems, and facilitating collaboration. These themes reflect both the everyday complexities and the systemic challenges that social workers navigate in their practice. The findings reinforce existing literature on social work in healthcare while also providing new insights into how social workers see themselves contributing to long-term care from their unique angle. By foregrounding the voices of social workers, this research calls for increased recognition of their contributions and increased social work resources in long-term care.
