A new three-part video series is delving into Trent Centre for Aging & Society (TCAS) research projects – exploring aging during a global pandemic and highlighting successes to date. Aging During COVID-19 explores projects funded through the Trent Office for Research and Innovation that explore the timely topics of older voluntarism, social connections and age-friendly policy frameworks.

One project, Older Voluntarism in an Era of Global Pandemic, is led by Dr. Mark Skinner, dean of Social Science at Trent University and Canada research chair in rural aging, Dr. Elizabeth McCrillis, director of TCAS and assistant professor of Psychology, and Amber Colibaba, research coordinator. It examines the experiences and challenges of older volunteers and volunteer-based programs during COVID-19 in partnership local volunteer-based organizations.

The Social Isolation to Social Connection project, seeks to mitigate the negative social and health impacts of social isolation as a result of COVID-19 in the Peterborough area, by uncovering the experiences and stories of local seniors and their caregivers. This project is being conducted by Ann Macleod, instructor in the Trent Fleming School of Nursing.

Dr. Sally Chivers, professor of English and Gender & Women’s Studies at Trent is leading a project entitled Imagine Aging, which utilizes digital cues – short videos that invite broader conversation – to be continued within the reality of COVID-19 restrictions. This research builds on a larger project that seeks to extend the reach of age-friendly policies to be more equitable to and supportive of populations that are not considered by official age-friendly frameworks.

Learn more about the Trent Centre for Aging & Society.