bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
HOUSING AND COMMUNITY FOR OLDER ADULTS AS AGING IN PLACE (AIP) ENABLER: AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Authors: Park Sojung , Buffel Tine 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
This symposium discusses various approaches from five different countries that enable Aging in Place (AIP) through housing and community. The achievement of AIP depends on the institutional and cultural context. A study from New Zealand focuses on making new small homes accessible, and shows while accessible design is considered good design, not everyone understands it. User-centered accessible design is not commonly used, and trade-offs exist between accessibility, affordability, and size. A Korean study examines loneliness in older women living alone in a rural senior cohousing community. The findings show senior cohousing helps protect against loneliness by serving as a community hub for gathering, sharing, and caring. A Japanese study found “IBASHO” activities (i.e., place-based specific activities) help promote permanent community living in marginalized communities at higher risk of depopulation. Participating in such activities makes residents feel at ease in their community, even if they live alone or have poor health. A Canadian study discussed the development of a Naturally-Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) in Vancouver, formed by East Asian older adults who could not travel abroad due to border closures during the pandemic. The study explores the health-promoting nature of mutuality and its potential for population-level spillover effects on community well-being beyond the direct reach of formal programs. The last study from Hong Kong found significant improvements in perceived age-friendliness, with the greatest improvements among low-income older adults. The empirical knowledge from these studies offers valuable insights into a contextually rich understanding of a wide range of housing and communities.
MUTUALITY AMONG EAST ASIAN DIASPORA AT A NATURALLY OCCURRING RETIREMENT COMMUNITY IN METRO VANCOUVER
Authors: Gan Daniel , Wang Claire , O’Dea Eireann , Quay Lisa Cohen , Au Daisy 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
How did East Asians who were retiring abroad cope with the pandemic? This paper traces the development of a Naturally-Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) in Vancouver through the efforts of various community organizations. As borders closed during the pandemic, a group of community-dwelling East Asian older adults found themselves remaining in Metro Vancouver through the winter. They formed a group chat and began regular video chats. They shared virtual events, supermarket deals, and neighbourhood walks. A younger member stepped up to ask after members of the informal group whom were absent or unwell. Topics of discussions ranged from the wellbeing of members and their spouses, securing medical appointments, translating forms to be filled, friends back home, leisure activities, and the lives of their children or grandchildren. The group was formally served by facilitators of a seniors’ club at a non-profit. At the same time, they existed as an informal network marked by mutual care. We discuss the health-promoting nature of mutuality in this NORC as compared to other neighbourhoods to theorize the conditions needed for the emergence of Gemeinschaft NORC in urban areas. This paper sketches a theory of mutuality as the key which transforms dyadic peer support into community cohesion. We explore the implications of mutuality on formal programs in order to harness their potential to have population-level spillover effects for the wellbeing of community members just beyond their direct reach. We further speculate that mutuality is that which was lost in modernity, and is the reason culture is medicine.
ENCOURAGING NEW-BUILD, SMALL, AFFORDABLE, AND ACCESSIBLE HOMES IN AOTEAROA, NEW ZEALAND
Authors: James Bev 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
The growing need for mainstream housing to be accessible is an international issue, driven by ageing populations and ‘ageing-in-place’ policies. Alongside the impetus to improve housing accessibility, is interest in building smaller dwellings, potentially better suited to an ageing population. Internationally, some jurisdictions mandate accessible standards in new-build housing, while others adopt national voluntary accessibility standards. In Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) there is no mandatory requirement and few incentives for new-build housing to be accessible. Only an estimated 2% of dwellings are accessible, while one in six people need modifications to live safely in their homes. Our study addresses the dearth of NZ research into achieving accessibility within a small footprint (50m2-75m2). Its focus on new-builds directly addresses a research gap in international literature, which is largely concerned with home modifications rather than new homes built to accessible standards. We report on findings from interviews with housing providers, architects/designers and builders/developers involved in the production of accessible, small homes. Key themes are: accessible design is perceived as good design; awareness, knowledge and understanding of accessible design and its implementation varies; user-centered accessible design is not well understood nor applied; and trade-offs are made between accessibility, affordability and size. Findings contribute to housing policies and practice by identifying levers to improve accessibility in new-build housing. Findings reinforce calls for a multi-pronged approach to achieve housing accessibility, and suggest that “explorative learning” about accessibility is emerging.
CHANGES IN OLDER ADULTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF AGE-FRIENDLINESS IN HONG KONG: A THREE-YEAR MIXED-METHODS STUDY
Authors: Lum Terry , Chui Hiu-kwan , Lu Shiyu , Chan On Fung , Guo Yingqi , Tang Jennifer , Liu Yuqi 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Hong Kong is known for its high population density, high urbanization, and hilly terrain, making age-friendliness a challenge in the city. Yet, the city is aging rapidly; by 2041, one in three residents will be 65 and older. Although age-friendly city has become a significant public policy imperative in recent decades, there is a dearth of empirical evidence on how AFC initiatives can improve perceived age-friendliness among community-dwelling older adults and how such initiatives may affect older adults with different socioeconomic statuses differently. Drawing on a three-year citywide AFC initiative in Hong Kong, we conducted a trend study to evaluate changes in perceived age-friendliness in eight AFC domains with 2575 and 2697 community-dwelling older adults in 2015 and 2018 respectively, in addition to 36 focus groups involving 206 older adults. Participants were asked to share their views on changes in age-friendliness in their cities. Survey data were analyzed using linear regression, while focus group data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Significant improvements were found in perceived age-friendliness in all eight AFC domains. Low-income older adults saw the greatest improvements in age-friendliness. Thematic analysis revealed that despite improvements, shortcomings persist in housing, civic engagement, and employment domains. Nevertheless, our findings demonstrate that concerted efforts can improve a city’s overall age-friendliness and that such improvements appear most evident among low-income older adults.
EXPLORING THE NEIGHBORHOOD ENVIRONMENT’S ROLE IN OUTDOOR WALKING EXPERIENCES OF PEOPLE LIVING WITH DEMENTIA
Authors: Chaudhury Habib , Seetharaman Kishore , Wong Joey , Hung Lillian , Randa-Beaulieu Cari , Freeman Shannon , Groulx Mark 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
This presentation is based on a study that explores how people with dementia experience their neighborhood environment in the context of everyday outdoor walking. The experientially grounded approach explored ways in which people living with dementia can inform the process of dementia-friendly and inclusive planning and design. The focus on lived experience can also help planners and designers gain insights into the actions and strategies that people living with dementia adopt to cope with challenges in mobility and navigation in the neighborhood, thus gaining useful knowledge to generate contextually relevant design solutions. Four-part sequential sit-down and video-documented walk-along interviews were conducted with 32 participants living with mild to moderate dementia or mild cognitive impairment in British Columbia, Canada. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts and videos helped identify themes relevant to the ways in which the neighborhood environment shaped participants’ outdoor walking experiences. Findings underscored both supportive and constraining aspects of the neighborhood environment as it pertains to outdoor walking. Awareness of environmental barriers and stressors in the context of their physical and cognitive challenges informed participants’ planning and decision-making processes in relation to outdoor walks, as well as coping strategies to enhance familiarity, safety, comfort, and independence in the neighborhood environment. Planning and designing supportive built environments is key to facilitating the outdoor mobility of people living with dementia and should be a focus of research, policy, and practice related to building dementia-inclusive communities.
ENGAGING WITH MUNICIPAL PLANNERS WITH A DEMENTIA-INCLUSIVE PLANNING AND DESIGN GUIDE
Authors: Seetharaman Kishore , Chaudhury Habib 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Dementia-friendly and inclusive community (DFC) action plans in British Columbian municipalities identify various planning and design strategies and actions to meet the goals of dementia-inclusivity. However, there is a lack of evidence-based design guidelines tailored to the context of British Columbia to support the implementation of these plans. To address this gap, a DFC planning and design guide was generated as part of the DemSCAPE study, consisting of planning and design principles and guidelines for wayfinding, safety, social interaction and access to amenities for people living with dementia. A series of knowledge mobilization (KM) activities will explore and augment the relevance, uptake, and implementation of this guide. Two focus groups (60-90 min; N = 5-7 per session) were conducted with municipal professionals working in two municipalities (i.e., City of Burnaby and City of Richmond) in Metro Vancouver. The existing municipal action plans emphasize the need for collaboration and dialogue across different departments of local government, e.g., social planners and seniors services coordinators (staff who are more closely connected with and help coordinate these plans) and planners, designers, and engineers. The focus groups are intended to trigger inter-departmental dialogue centered on DFC planning and design and examine DFC strategies and actions from various stakeholders’ perspectives within the scope of municipal planning. This KM project is expected to make meaningful contributions to the DFC initiatives of local government in BC by providing guidelines to municipal planners on how to apply a dementia-friendly and inclusive lens in planning and design.
FOSTERING DEMENTIA INCLUSIVE NEIGHBORHOODS: A GIS ANALYSIS OF NEIGHBORHOOD WALKABILITY FOR PERSONS WITH DEMENTIA
Authors: Freeman Shannon , Gourley Keone , Rossnagel Emma , Groulx Mark 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Active engagement in the natural environment is an important aspect of health and wellbeing for persons with dementia. Neighborhoods with high walkability are critical for persons with dementia to access the outdoors and promote ageing in place, while allowing for persons with dementia to maintain social relationships, connect with nature, and foster a sense of freedom. Although persons living with dementia are affected by general walkability factors such as presence of sidewalks and the availability of destinations such as health services or recreational facilities, dementia-inclusive neighborhoods must also be distinctive and easy to navigate, as persons with dementia are more prone to become disoriented or lost. Therefore, the Dementia-Inclusive Streets and Community Access, Participation and Engagement (DemSCAPE) project sought to identify how persons living with dementia interact with their environment and how municipalities can implement change to make cities more walkable for PLWD. A GIS analysis was completed to assess current infrastructural barriers and facilitators for aging-in-place for persons living with dementia. This analysis, which included interviews with individuals living with dementia and their family caregivers, found that their neighborhoods were severely lacking the infrastructure needed to support walkability for persons living with dementia. From the absence of sidewalks to disorienting neighborhood patterns, the city of focus has a long way to go in supporting aging-in-place for persons living with dementia. This presentation will showcase how these findings can be used to influence protocols in municipalities to implement supportive infrastructure for persons living with dementia.
INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES ON CURRICULUM CONTENT FOR TRANSLATIONAL GEROSCIENCE EDUCATION
Authors: Al-Naggar Iman , Kuchel George , Newman John 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Translational geroscience is a new field of study that aims to delay, prevent or alleviate several aging-related diseases simultaneously by targeting the so-called “biological hallmarks of aging,” a constellation of biological pathways at the root of natural aging and chronic conditions for which aging is the major risk factor (e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, cancer). Geroscience is a paradigm shift in healthcare because it aims to move away from single disease management to multi-disease prevention or alleviation and decrease the period of morbidity at the end of life. In order to train a workforce in conducting translational geroscience trials, the Geroscience Education and Training Network (NIH/NIA R25AG073119) is developing curricula towards a Certificate in Geroscience Research Program. This program is designed to train investigators in aspects specific to clinical trials of geroscience guided interventions (pharmaceutical or behavioral) in older adults. Evidence suggests that many factors often not considered in trial design play an important role in the outcomes of these trials; for example, social determinants of health contribute to accelerated aging and worse outcomes in minority populations, socially-disadvantaged persons, and other vulnerable populations, where chronic diseases arise at a much younger age. This symposium aims to begin a conversation between biological scientists, behavioral and social scientists and others to address the question “What knowledge from your specific field do translational geroscientists need to know to conduct meaningful and impactful geroscience clinical trials?” This insight is essential to help develop the curricula required to train a well-rounded workforce of translational geroscientists.
PEOPLE DO NOT AGE IN LABS: SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL CONSIDERATIONS WHEN DEVELOPING GEROSCIENCE INTERVENTIONS
Authors: Puterman Eli 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Geroscience researchers are determined to identify the constellation of genetic, molecular, and cellular mechanisms of aging that, eventually, will be translated into anti-aging therapies and pills. It is argued, however, that without a consideration of social and behavioural determinants of health, geroscientists will miss the full potential to impact health and longevity of all humans, not just a select few. Social and behavioural determinants of health are the non-medical, non-biological factors influencing health and disease, and their underlying biological processes. Humans are complicated species, with a lifetime of exposures to stressful, adverse, and sometimes traumatic experiences and a lifetime of engaging in a mix of healthy and unhealthy behaviours. Together, social and behavioural factors shape biological aging through epigenetic embedding and wear and tear of biological systems, causing eventual accelerated biological aging and disease. By understanding what social and behavioural factors are, how they embed biologically and accelerate aging processes, geroscientists can develop a deeper understanding of the complicated nature of human experimental research. Social and behavioural factors impact recruitment, engagement, and adherence of participants in intervention trials, which can obscure significant treatment effects. Social and behavioural factors can also limit treatment effects, when considering how difficult it might be to reverse some of the long-term damage caused by life itself. It is important then, for geroscientists to learn about social and behavioural factors, and the best practices to engage as many people across the wide diversity of life circumstances, to impact the healthspan and lifespan of all.
JOURNAL OF GERONTOLOGY PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES: FEATURED 2023 EDITOR’S CHOICE ARTICLES
Authors: Han Duke 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
The psychological sciences of the aging process are vast in scope and complexity. Methodological approaches that are interdisciplinary, innovative, and inclusive can make these enigmatic processes more tangible. This symposium showcases articles in the Journal of Gerontology Psychological Sciences that were selected as Editor’s Choice in 2023 because they exemplify these ideals. Smith et al. investigate cognitive ability differences by in-person versus telephone-based assessment methods. Jackson et al. explore associations between loneliness and cognitive resilience to brain neuropathology in older adults. Krok-Schoen et al. report on the resiliency of women aged 80 and older by race, ethnicity, and neighborhood socioeconomic status. Esiaka and Luth describe different interpretations of “honoring your parents” in the U.S., Ghana, and Nigeria. Lynch et al. link measures of loneliness, DNA methylation, and cognitive functioning.
SHIFTING OF COGNITIVE ASSESSMENTS BETWEEN FACE-TO-FACE AND TELEPHONE ADMINISTRATION: MEASUREMENT CONSIDERATION
Authors: Smith Jason 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
There is limited information concerning differences in cognitive performance attributable to assessment (telephone versus in-person) method instead of cognition. We evaluated mode effects on individual cognitive items and overall cognitive score in adults aged 65-79 in the 2014 Health and Retirement Study (n=6825). We assessed mode differences in test means and reliability, whether mode modifies associations of cognition with criterion variables, and formal measurement invariance testing by mode. People assessed by telephone tended to have higher scores for memory and calculation items (0.06-0.013 SDs) and lower scores for non-memory items (-0.09 to -0.01 SD). Cognition was differentially related to IADL score depending on assessment mode. Measurement invariance testing identified the largest mode differences in memory and attention items. Differences by telephone versus face-to-face mode of administration are apparent in cognitive measurement in older adults, and most pronounced for memory and attention tests that can be easier to answer via telephone.
ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN LONELINESS AND COGNITIVE RESILIENCE TO NEUROPATHOLOGY IN OLDER ADULTS
Authors: Jackson Kathryn 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Loneliness in the aging population is associated with decreased cognitive function and increased neuropathology; less is understood, however, about the association of loneliness and cognitive resilience (CR), defined as the discordance between a person’s actual and expected cognition given their neuropathology. For this study, data were combined from 2 longitudinal studies of older adults. CR proximate to death (CRlast_level) and across time (CRslope) were obtained by independently regressing global cognition and change in cognition onto multiple neuropathology indicators and extracting the resulting residuals. Using a series of linear regression models, we assessed the effect of loneliness level and change in loneliness on CR. Results show that higher and increasing loneliness was associated with lower CR in the face of neuropathology, suggesting that some individuals are less resilient to the accumulation of neuropathology than others, and experiencing high/increasing loneliness is a key factor putting some at risk.
EARLY LIFE INFLUENCES ON LATER LIFE ADRD RISK: THE ROLES OF ADOLESCENT COGNITIVE FUNCTION AND EDUCATION
Authors: Herd Pamela , Asthana Sanjay , Engelman Michal , Sicinski Kamil , Trane Ralph , Williams Victoria 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
By some estimates, each additional year of education reduces dementia risk by 7 percent. What remains unclear, however, is how early life cognitive function, which influences educational attainment, and is hypothesized to influence later life dementia risk, factors into the relationship between education and dementia risk. Existing research neither attends to the role that early life cognition may play in these relationships, nor does it separate out how these relationships might vary with AD versus non-AD dementias. We employ a unique dataset, the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, which has been tracking participants over their full life course and is now assessing dementia in the population as they reach their mid 80s. The data include prospectives measures of early life cognition, other early life conditions, as well as detailed educational histories, in addition to dementia diagnoses that differentiate AD and non-AD types. We find that lower early life cognitive function increases the risk for AD dementia, and education does not mediate this relationship. Early life cognition, however, has no relationship with non-AD dementia, that is dementia caused by chronic disease, where instead education has a stronger relationship. We hypothesize that these differential relationships reflect variance in how early life biological and environmental factors affect risk and resilience for later life cognitive dysfunction.
DEMENTIA CARE PARTNER PREPAREDNESS AND DESIRE TO SEEK LONG-TERM CARE AT HOSPITAL DISCHARGE
Authors: Kuzmik Ashley 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
At hospital discharge, care partners of persons living with dementia encounter more complex caregiving demands and lack preparedness to manage the increased care needs, frequently resulting in the patient’s admission to long-term care. This study explored the mediating effects of patient clinical factors on the relationship between care partner preparedness and desire to seek long-term admission of persons with dementia at hospital discharge. The sample included 424 patient and care partner dyads from the Family centered Function-focused Care (Fam-FFC) trial. Using bootstrapping, we tested a multiple mediation model to examine the indirect effects of care partner preparedness on desire to seek long-term care admission through patient clinical factors (i.e., behavioral and psychological symptoms, comorbidities, delirium severity, physical function, and cognition). The results revealed that delirium severity (B=-.005; 95% bootstrap CI=-.015, -.001) and physical function (B=.004; 95% bootstrap CI=.002,.007) partially mediated the association between care partner preparedness and desire to seek long-term care admission. Findings highlight the importance of targeting delirium severity and physical function in clinical interventions for persons with dementia at hospital discharge to support care partner preparedness and minimize undesired long-term care admission.