About the Program
Based out of Trent University, in Peterborough, Ontario, one of Canada's most rapidly aging rural regions, the Rural Aging Research Program works towards building new knowledge, collaborations and capacity aimed at better understanding and informing how rural communities are responding to population aging.
Featuring collaborative, community-based research projects across Canada and internationally, Dr. Elizabeth Russell, Dr. Mark Skinner and their team are looking to uncover how older residents, volunteers, service providers, community leaders and policymakers are adapting, often in innovative ways, to the challenges and opportunities of aging in rural communities.
Trent's Rural Aging Research Program carries out projects related to rural aging, aging rural communities, rural age-friendly sustainability, social inclusion and voluntarism, the pedagogy of aging, rural planning and policy, and interdisciplinary aging studies. Project funders include the Canada Research Chairs Program, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and Trent University's Office of Research & Innovation.
Click here to see a map of our research across Peterborough County!
The Rural Aging Research Program was awarded Trent University’s inaugural 2021 Research Impact Award for its work stewarding original and impactful research that makes a significant contribution to society. The program was initiated in 2016 as part of Dr. Mark Skinner's Canada Research Chair in Rural Aging, Health and Social Care. It continues to be expanded by the co-leadership of Dr. Elizabeth Russell who was awarded a 2022 Early Career Researcher Award and the 2023 Symons Award for Excellence in Teaching.
IN THE NEWS
Rural aging up close: Inside Trent's community-driven research
Marina Kydd, Trent Radio | July 2025
Seniors return to the classroom at Trent University
Nav Nanwa, CBC Ontario Morning | June 2025
Projects and Publications
Visit the pages below to learn more about specific projects and publications from our research team.
Experiential Learning in Aging
Led by Dr. Elizabeth Russell (Associate Professor, Psychology, Trent University), this project examines how ageism can be reduced through both lecture-based and intergenerational courses on the psychology of aging.
OLDER VOLUNTARISM IN AGING RURAL COMMUNITIES
Led by Dr. Mark Skinner (Trent University), Dr. Elizabeth Russell (Trent University) and Amber Zapletal (Trent University), a CRC funded community-based investigation into the prospect and precarity of older rural volunteers and volunteer-based supports for older people in rural communities, based on foundational work in rural libraries.
Rural Age-Friendly Communities
This project examines the rural-specific barriers that may prevent, and factors that may support sustainable age-friendly programs.
Housing alternatives for rural older adults
Led by Dr. Elizabeth Russell, the Rural Aging Research Program supports research on housing alternatives for older adults living in rural communities. Projects include academic research as well as community-based research in collaboration with organizations such as the Abbeyfield House Society of Lakefield.
RURAL GERONTOLOGY: TOWARDS CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON RURAL AGEING
Led by Dr. Mark Skinner (Trent University), Dr. Rachel Winterton (La Trobe University) and Dr. Kieran Walsh (National University of Ireland Galway), a CRC funded collaboration to provide the first foundation of knowledge about the intellectual traditions, contemporary scope and future prospects for the interdisciplinary field of rural gerontology.
Rural Gerontechnology
Projects from members of the Rural Aging Research Team which focus on how technology and aging intersect in an increasingly digital world.
Improving Social Inclusion Through Sharing Dance
Led by Dr. Mark Skinner (Trent University) and Dr. Rachel Herron (Brandon University), an innovative collaboration with Canada’s National Ballet School is building new knowledge and arts-based research capacity into the potential for dance programs to improve social inclusion for Canadians with dementia and their carers.
Services for an Aging Rural Population
Co-written by Dr. Mark Skinner & Dr. Elizabeth Russell for the Rural Ontario Institute 2019 Foresight Papers, Services for an Aging Rural Population describes how rural services are relevant to an aging population. It also discusses the challenges to delivering rural services and provides examples from rural Ontario communities who have been successful.
Community Reintegration of Aging Offenders
Led by Dr. Mark Skinner (Trent University), a community-based collaboration with partners from Correctional Services Canada, Trent University, Dalhousie University and Centennial College is at the forefront of examining the contexts and experiences of formerly incarcerated older adults as they re-enter the community.
Aging Resource Communities
Led by Dr. Mark Skinner (Trent University) and Dr. Neil Hanlon (UNBC), in collaboration with Dr. Greg Halseth (UNBC) and Dr. Alun Joseph (University of Guelph), a SSHRC funded collaborative investigation into the new phenomenon of resource frontier aging in Canada and internationally.
Geographical Gerontology
Led by Dr. Mark Skinner (Trent University), Dr. Gavin Andrews (McMaster University) and Dr. Malcolm Cutchin (Wayne State University), a CRC funded collaboration to advance the foundation of knowledge about geographical perspectives, concepts and approaches to the study of aging, old age and older populations.
Aphasia and Social Participation
Led by Erika Snowden (B.Sc.) and supervised by Dr. Elizabeth Russell, this honours thesis project in Psychology investigated the social experiences of five adults with aphasia attending a community program in Peterborough, Ontario through aphasia-friendly interview methods.
Meet the Team
Program Principal Investigators
Dr. Elizabeth Russell
Elizabeth Russell, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Psychology at Trent University, and former Director of the Trent Centre for Aging & Society (2020-2024).
Dr. Mark Skinner
Mark Skinner, Ph.D., is Provost and VP Academic (Interim) at Trent University, where he also holds the appointment of Professor of Geography in the Trent School of the Environment. A leading rural aging scholar, Mark was the founding director of the Trent Centre for Aging & Society (2013-2018).
Program Staff
Tabytha Wells
Tabytha Wells is the Research Administrative Assistant for the Rural Aging Research Program. She holds an M.Sc. in Psychology from Trent University with a specialization in Aging Studies. Her research focuses on the short-term and lasting impacts of intergenerational initiatives.
Millicent (Millie) MacDonald
Millicent (Millie) MacDonald is a Research Assistant in the Rural Aging Research Program and a fourth-year student in the Psychology program at Trent University.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr. Molly-Claire Gillett
Molly-Claire Gillett, Ph.D., is a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Postdoctoral Fellow (2024-2026) working between Trent University and the University of Galway. Her current research focuses on rural community-building, placemaking and intergenerational skill-sharing through craft in the Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario and Irish Countrywomen's Association.
Dr. Mary Rita Holland
Mary Rita Holland, Ph.D., is the Nancy's Chair in Women's Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University. Her current research uses the example of family carers of rural older adults in Atlantic Canada to shed light on the invisible emotional labour required to maintain the home as a site of care and manage disrupted meanings of home space and family relationships.
