Skip to content
Canada’s Premier Cleantech Destination

Research at Trent – Trent Centre for Aging & Society

Research at Trent University October 14, 2020

Since the pandemic began, Trent Centre for Aging & Society (TCAS) researchers’ momentum has continued, and in some cases pivoted, to focus on the intersection of aging and the COVID-19 pandemic.

To celebrate this work, TCAS has launched a three-part video series, “Aging During COVID-19“, that shares members’ research projects exploring aging during the COVID-19 pandemic. See: “Aging During COVID-19: Trent Centre for Aging & Society Launches Video Series.”

The projects, funded through Trent’s Office for Research and Innovation, explore timely topics of older voluntarism, social connections and using digital storytelling.

Older Voluntarism in an Era of Global Pandemic, is a community-based project led by TCAS executive member and founding Director Dr. Mark Skinner, current TCAS Director Dr. Elizabeth McCrillis and TCAS Research Associate, Amber Colibaba.

In partnership with the Selwyn Public Library, the Selwyn Fire Department and the Abbeyfield House Society of Lakefield, the project examines the experiences and challenges of older volunteers and volunteer-based programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Social Isolation to Social Connection, is a collaborative project conducted by TCAS faculty member Ann Macleod, TCAS fellow Dr. Catherine Ward-Griffin, TCAS community associate Dawn Berry Merriam, the City of Peterborough’s age-friendly coordinator Jayne Culbert, and, graduate research assistant Justine Levesque.

The research 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.

Imagine Aging is led by TCAS executive member and past Director, Dr. Sally Chivers. The initiative builds on a larger research project seeking 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 through digital storytelling. Currently, the project focuses on how to make digital cues – short videos that invite a broader conversation – in COVID times.