Rural Aging Research Program - TRENT CENTRE FOR AGING & SOCIETY

Based out of the Trent Centre for Aging & Society, in Peterborough, Ontario, one of Canada's most rapidly aging rural regions, Trent University's 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.

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.

Dr. Elizabeth Russell

Elizabeth Russell, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Psychology at Trent University, and the Director of the Trent Centre for Aging & Society.

E-mail - elizabethrussell@trentu.ca

Dr. Mark Skinner

Mark Skinner, Ph.D., is Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences 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).

E-mail - markskinner@trentu.ca

Amber Zapletal

Amber Zapletal, M.A., is Coordinator of both the Rural Aging Research Program, and the Trent Centre for Aging & Society. She graduated in 2018 with the Collaborative Specialization in Aging Studies from the Masters of Arts in Sustainability Studies program at Trent University.

Email - amberzapletal@trentu.ca

*On leave until August 2024*

Erika Snowden

Erika Snowden is a Research Assistant for the Rural Aging Research Program and Administrative Assistant for the Trent Centre for Aging & Society. She is also a 4th year honours thesis student in Trent's Department of Psychology.

Email - esnowden@trentu.ca

	BUILDING SUSTAINABLE RURAL AGE-FRIENDLY COMMUNITIES Led by Dr. Elizabeth Russell (Trent University) and Dr. Mark Skinner (Trent University), a SSHRC funded study of the factors that both strengthen and inhibit the sustainability of age-friendly community programs in rural Canada. Building Sustainable Rural Age-Friendly Communities
	RURAL OLDER VOLUNTEERS & THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Led by Dr. Mark Skinner & Dr. Elizabeth Russell, the Rural Older Volunteers & the COVID-19 Pandemic project examined the experiences of older volunteers in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rural Older Volunteers & the COVID-19 Pandemic
	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 Gerontology: Towards Critical Perspectives on Rural Ageing
	OLDER VOLUNTARISM IN AGING RURAL COMMUNITIES Led by Dr. Mark Skinner (Trent University), Dr. Elizabeth Russell (Trent University) and Amber Colibaba (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. ... Older Voluntarism in Aging Rural Communities
	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... Services for an Aging Rural Population
	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. Improving Social Inclusion through Sharing Dance
	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. Community Reintegration of Aging Offenders
	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. Geographical Gerontology
	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. Aging Resource Communities