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COVID-19

The COVID-19 global crisis appeared in numerous countries, spreading rapidly with multiple waves of infection, and has resulted in unprecedented social change and challenges in terms of public health, health and continuing care systems, economies, communities, and families. Although there have been numerous other pandemics in recent history (e.g., HIV/AIDS, H1N1, SARS, MERS, etc.), COVID-19 has developed into one of the most serious pandemics for almost a century, since the occurrence of the Spanish flu. Furthermore, COVID-19 has been conceptualized as a ‘gero-pandemic,’ defined as a disease that has spread globally with heightened significance and deleterious consequences for older people. With the appearance of this crisis, the Gerontology Research Centre pivoted to address the structural, system-level contexts of COVID-19, and individual-level risks, experiences and responses. Below are a list of recent grants, publications and media stoies that the GRC has spearheaded.

Grants

  • Cosco, T. D. (Co-Is: Wister, A. et al.). COVID-19: mental health needs and technological interventions for social connectedness amongst older older adults. SSHRC: Partnership Engage Grant. Total: $25,000.
  • DeMarco, M. L. (Co-Is: Best, J. R. et al.). Quantitative isotype profiling and dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 infections: next-generation serology. MSFHR: Covid-19 Research Response Fund. Total: $124,000.
  • O’Connell, M. E. & Haase, K. (Co-Is: Cosco, T. D. et al.) Socialization intervention and mental health monitoring for older adults in the era of physical distancing due to COVID-19. CIHR: Operating Grant: COVID-19 Mental Health & Substance Use Service Needs and Delivery. Total: $199,577.
  • Wister, A. (SFU PI/Lead, National PIs: Raina, P., Kirkland, S. & Wolfson C.). CLSA COVID-19 studies: 1) COVID-19 telephone/online longitudinal study; 2) Sero-prevalence COVID-19 study. Total: $6,035,000 includes CIHR CLSA: Core Funding; McMaster Institute for Research on Aging: Juravinsky Fund: $800,000; Nova Scotia Health Research Coalition: $35,000; PHAC: $1,200,000; PHAC: Immunity Task Force: $4,000,000 ask.
  • Wister, A. COVID-19 community wellbeing and socioeconomic deprivation in BC: environmental scan toward neighbourhood social capital. SSHRC: Partnership Engage Grant: Special Initiative COVID-19. Total: $24, 850.

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Articles

In Press

  • Falck, R., Liu-Ambrose, T., Noseworthy, M., Kirkland, S., Griffith, L., Basta, N., McMillan, J., & Raina, P. on behalf of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) team (Wister, A. and 17 others) (in press). Can “Rover” help with mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic? Results from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Frontiers in Psychiatry.
  • Kadowaki, L., & Wister, A. (in press). Older adults and social isolation and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review of patterns, effects, and interventions. Canadian Journal on Aging.
  • Sulis, G., Basta, N., Wolfson, C., Kirkland, S., McMillan, J., Griffith, L., Raina, P., & CLSA team (Wister, A. and 17 others) (in press). Influenza vaccination uptake among Canadian adults before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal study on Aging (CLSA), Vaccine.
  • Vanessa De Rubeis, MPH 1,2, Laura N. Anderson, PhD1, Jayati Khattar BSc1,2, Margaret de Groh, PhD2, Ying Jiang, MSc MD2, Urun Erbas Oz, PhD1, Nicole E. Basta, PhD3, Susan Kirkland, PhD4, Christina Wolfson, PhD3, Lauren E. Griffith, PhD 1, Parminder Raina, PhD1, on behalf of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) Team (Wister, A. and 17 others) (in press).  Stressors and perceived consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic among older adults: A cross-sectional study using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Canadian Medical Association Journal.
  • Wister, A., Li, L., Levasseur, M., Kadowaki, L., & Pickering, J. (in press). The effects of loneliness on depressive symptoms among older adults during COVID-19: Longitudinal analyses of the CLSA. Journal of Aging and Health.

2023

  • Adedeji, I. A., Wister, A., & Pickering, J. (2023). COVID-19 experiences of social isolation and loneliness among older adults in Africa: A scoping review. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, 1469.
  • Asada, Y., Grignon, M., Hurley, J., Stewart, S., Smith, J., Kirkland, S., McMillan, J., Griffith, L., Wolfson, C., Raina, P., & the CLSA Team (Wister, A. & 18 others). (2023). Trajectories of the socioeconomic gradient of mental health: Results from the CLSA COVID-19 Questionnaire Study, Health Policy, 131, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2023.104758.
  • De Rubeis, V., Gonzalez, A., De Groh, M., Jiang, Y., Erbas Oz, U., Tarride, J., . . . Anderson, L. & Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) Team (Wister, A. & 15 others). (2023). Obesity and adverse childhood experiences in relation to stress during the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. International Journal of Obesity, 1-10.
  • Griffith, L., Beauchamp, M., McMillan, J., Borhan, S., Erbas Oz, U., Wolfson, C., Kirkland, S. Basta, N., Thompson, M., Raina, P., & on behalf of the CLSA Team (Wister, A. & 16 others). (2023). Persistent COVID-19 symptoms in community-living older adults from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Communications Medicine, 3:36, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-023-00266-0.
  • Khattar, J., Anderson, L., De Rubeis, V., de Groh, M., Jiang, Y., Jones, A., Basta, N., Kirkland, S., Wolfson, C., Griffith, L., Raina P., & Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) Team (Wister, A. & 15 others). (2023). Unmet health care needs during the COVID-19 pandemic among adults: a prospective cohort study in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. CMAJ Open. 11(1):E140-E151. doi: 10.9778/cmajo.20210320.

2022

  • Basta, N. E., Sohel, N., Sulis, G., Wolfson, C., Maimon, G., Griffith, L. E., Kirkland, S., McMillan, J. M., Thompson, M., & Raina, P. for the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) Research Team (Wister, A. and 17 others). (2022). Factors associated with willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine among 23,819 adults aged 50 years or older: An analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. American Journal of Epidemiology. 191(6):987-998. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwac029. PMID: 35166332; PMCID: PMC8903402.
  • Cosco, T. D., Fortuna, K., Wister, A., Riadi, I., Wagner, K., & Sixsmith, A. (2021). Commentary: COVID-19, Social isolation, and mental health among older adults: A digital catch-22. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 6;23(5):e21864. doi: 10.2196/21864. PMID: 33891557; PMCID: PMC8104002.
  • De Rubeis, V., Anderson, L. N., Khattar, J., de Groh, M., Jiang, Y., Oz, U. E., Basta, N. E., Kirkland, S., Wolfson, C., Griffith, L. E., & Raina, P. for the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging Team (Wister, A. and 17 others). (2022). Stressors and perceived consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic among older adults: a cross-sectional study using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. CMAJ Open. 10 (3):E721-E730. doi: 10.9778/cmajo.20210313. PMID: 35944921.
  • Gutman, G., Karbakhsh, M., & Stewart, H. G. (2022). Abuse of marginalized older adults during COVID-19: Proxy findings from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Journal of Gerontopsychology and Geriatric Psychiatry. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1024/1662-9647/a000301.
  • Li, L., Wister, A., & Mitchell, B. (2022). Examination of the healthy caregiver effect among older adults: Findings from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Gerontology. doi: 10.1159/000526251.
  • McMillan, J. M., Hogan, D. B., Zimmer, C., Sohel, N., Wolfson, C., Kirkland, S., Griffith, L. E., Basta, N. E., & Raina, P. for the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging Team (Wister, A. and 17 others). (2022). Predictors of reported alcohol intake during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada among middle-aged and older adults: results from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Canadian Journal of Public Health. 11:1–13. doi: 10.17269/s41997-022-00661-5. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35818014; PMCID: PMC9273697.
  • Raina, P., Wolfson, C., Griffith, L., Kirkland, S., McMillan., J., Bast, N., Joshi, D., Erbas Oz, U., Sohel1, N., Maimon, G., Thompson, M., & CLSA team (Wister, A. and 17 others). (2022). A longitudinal analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of middle-aged and older adults from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Nature Aging. 1, 1137–1147. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-021-00128-1.
  • Wister, A., Klasa, K., & Linkov, L. (2022). A Unified Model of Resilience and Aging: Applications to COVID-19. Frontiers in Public Health. 886: 1-14, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.865459.
  • Wister, A., Li, L., Cosco, T., Best, J., & Kim, B. (2022). Multimorbidity and depression, anxiety and comprehensive impact during the COVID-19 pandemic: Analyses using the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). Clinical Gerontologist. https://doi 10.1080/07317115.2022.2094742.
  • Wister, A., Li, L., Cosco, T., McMillan, J., Griffith, L., & on behalf of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) Team. (2022). Multimorbidity resilience and COVID-19 pandemic self-reported impact and worry among older adults: A study based on the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). BMC Geriatrics. 22:92. https//doi.org/10.1186/s12877-022-02769-2.
  • Wister, A., Li, L., Mitchell, B., Wolfson, C., McMillan, J., Griffith, L., Kirkland, S., Raina, P., & on behalf of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) Team. (2022). Levels of depression and anxiety among informal caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A study based on the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Journal of Gerontology, Series B. gbac03., https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbac035.

2021

  • Cosco, T. D., Best, J. R., Davis, D., Bryden, D., Arkill, S., van Oppen, J., ... & Conroy, S. (2021). What is the relationship between validated frailty scores and mortality for adults with COVID-19 in acute hospital care? A systematic review. Age and Ageing. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afab008.
  • Klasa, K., Galaitsi, S., Wister, A., & Linkov, I. (2021). System models for resilience in gerontology: application to the COVID-19 pandemic. BMC Geriatrics, 21(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-020-01965-2.

2020

  • Wister, A. & Speechley, M. (2020). COVID-19: Pandemic risk, resilience and possibilities for aging research. Canadian Journal on Aging/La Revue canadienne du vieillissement, 39(3), 344-347. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0714980820000215.

Reports

Book Chapters

  • Wister, A. (In Press). Health promotion and aging during a pandemic: risk, resilience and COVID-19. In I. Rootman, P. Edwards, M. Levasseur & F. Grunberg (Eds.), Health of older adults: The Canadian experience. Canadian Scholars Press Inc.
  • Wister, A. (Forth.). Precarious aging: COVID-19 risk, resilience and response. In B. Trump & I. Linkov (Eds.), COVID: Risk and resilience. Springer.

Media

Presentations


Celebrating 40 years

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