John K. Friesen Conference
2019
Understanding and Fostering Resilience in Older Adults
Chairperson: Andrew Wister
This conference addressed the issue of seniors isolation from a variety of perspectives - micro, meso and macro; individual to society. Among topics covered ageism, the lack of affordable housing that is plaguing Canada's big cities, and ways in which social isolation render older adults vulnerable to victimization by persons in a position where there is an expectation of trust (elder abuse, neglect) as well as to mass media exploitation. Innovations in policy and practice were discussed - that is, ways in which we as a society can help people to move from isolation to inclusion or prevent isolation from happening in the first place.
Day 1 — June 10, 2019
Plenary Address 1: Resilience in Older Adults: What it is and How to Strengthen it |
Barbara Resnick, Professor, School of Nursing, University of Maryland |
PowerPoint |
Panel 1: Putting Faces to Older Adult Resilience — Examples that Illustrate the Concept |
Gloria Gutman (Convener and Moderator), Lillian Zimmerman, Ken Walker, Bill Dyck, Henry Martens |
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Plenary Address 2: Science and Practice of Environmental Disasters, Resilience and Aging |
Igor Linkov, Risk and Decision Science Team Lead, US Army Engineer Research and Development Center | PowerPoint |
Plenary Address 3: Mental Health Resilience and Aging: Measurement and Analytic Issues |
Theodore D. Cosco, Assistant Professor, Department of Gerontology, SFU |
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Panel 2: Using an Innovation Lens to Find Solutions to Seniors’ Housing Insecurity |
Elizabeth Tang, CMHC; Beverly Pitman, UWLM; Carolina Ibarra, Brightside Community of Homes Foundation |
PowerPoint |
Plenary Address 4: Physical Resilience and Aging: What Do We Know? |
Sue Peters, Postdoctoral Fellow, UBC |
PowerPoint |
| Plenary Address 5: Learning from the Lived Experiences of Aging Immigrants | Sharon Koehn, University Research Associate and Senior Lecturer, SFU |
PowerPoint |
| Panel 3: Housing Challenges During Later Life: Voices of Resilience | Sarah Canham (Convener and Moderator), Chris Danielsen, Dorothy Kestle, Nicholas Wennington |
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| Public Lecture: Resilience and Older Adults: Challenges for Individuals and Communities | Janine Wiles, Associate Professor, School of Population Health, University of Auckland |
PowerPoint |
Day 2 — June 11, 2019
| Plenary Address 6: Psychological Resilience in the Face of Later-Life Stress | Deborah Carr, Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology, Boston University |
PowerPoint |
Plenary Address 7: What is Community Resilience and How Can it be Fostered? |
Janine Wiles, Associate Professor, School of Population Health, University of Auckland |
PowerPoint |
| Plenary Address 8: Resilience in Later Life: Metaphor and Myth or Real and Measurable? | Gill Windle, Professor of Ageing and Dementia Research, University of Bangor |
PowerPoint |