This paper describes a pluralistic framework to inform transformative change across community and healthcare domains to optimize the mental health of older adults in support of healthy ageing. An extensive review and analysis of the literature informed the creation of a framework that contextualizes the priority areas of the WHO Decade of Health Ageing (ageism, age-friendly environments, long-term care, and integrated care) with respect to older adult mental health. The framework additionally identifies barriers, facilitators, and strategies for action at macro (social/system), meso (services/supports), and micro (older adults) levels of influence. This conceptual (analytical) framework is intended as a tool to inform planning and decision-making across policy, practice, education and training, research, and knowledge mobilization arenas. The framework described in this paper can be used by countries around the globe to build evidence, set priorities, and scale up promising practices (both nationally and sub-nationally) to optimize the mental health and healthy ageing trajectories of older adults as a population.

Gender-transformative health promotion addresses the reciprocal transactions between the socio-cultural contexts that shape gender-based values and the gender-normative behaviors and health experiences of individuals. A scoping review was conducted to (a) highlight how, when and under what circumstances gender-transformative health promotion is applied in practice, and (b) critically assess the operationalization of gender-transformative health promotion principles in practice to develop a clearer understanding of potential barriers (both conceptual and practical) that may detract from the broader employment of gender-transformative health promotion as a mainstream programming approach. Specific recommendations, based on the findings of this review, are made in an effort to further the operationalization of gender-transformative health promotion as a mainstream health promotion approach, globally.

Establishing intervention effectiveness is an important component of a broader knowledge translation (KT) process. However, mobilizing the implementation of these interventions into practice is perhaps the most important aspect of the KT cycle. The purpose of the current study was to conduct an umbrella review to (a) identify promising interventions for SI&L in older adults, (b) interpret (translate) the findings to inform clinical knowledge and practice interventions in different settings and contexts, and (c) highlight research gaps that may hinder the uptake of these interventions in practice. The broader purpose of this study was to inform evidence-based clinical practice guidelines on SI&L for HCSSPs. In line with other reviews, our study noted variations in methods and intervention designs that prohibit definitive statements about intervention effectiveness. Perhaps, the most significant contribution of the current review was in identifying knowledge-to-practice gaps that inhibit the implementation of interventions into practice-based realities.

Background: This study, conducted in October 2017 at two Canadian universities, aimed to explore the relationships between gender expression, protective coping strategies, alcohol saliency, and high-risk alcohol use. Methods: Validated scales were employed to assess these variables using survey data. Multivariate analyses were conducted to investigate the associations between these factors and high-risk drinking. Results: This study revealed significant associations between high-risk drinking and androgynous gender roles (OR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.19–2.10) as well as among self-reported males (OR = 2.21; 95% CI: 1.77–2.75). Additionally, protective behavioural strategies were inversely related to high-risk drinking (OR = 0.95; 95% CI: 0.94–0.96), while higher alcohol saliency exhibited a positive correlation with high-risk drinking (OR = 1.12; 95% CI: 1.11–1.14). Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of considering gender, alcohol saliency beliefs, and protective behavioural strategies in the development and refinement of interventions aimed at reducing high-risk alcohol use on Canadian campuses.

Purpose: Performance measures are an important mediating mechanism that influences the design and delivery of care. Unfortunately, it is still commonly the case that acute care indicators are employed to assess the efficacy of integrated care. This hinders the ability to accurately assess and continuously improve integrated care efforts for priority populations, including older persons who live with complex health and social care requirements. A core set of indicators is needed from which to assess the quality and impact of integrated care on these older persons and care partners.Design/methodology/approach: A modified Delphi process was employed that comprised of the following steps: (1) selection of an indicator inventory (2) defining criteria for ranking and achieving consensus, (3) recruiting participants, (4) iterative voting rounds and analysis and (5) selection of a core indicator set.Findings: The study produced a core set of 16 indicators of integrated care that pertain to older persons who live with health and social care requirements. The set can be applied by health and social care organizations and systems to assess the quality and impact of integrated care for this population across the continuum of care.Research limitations/implications: Although the gap in the availability of relevant indicators was the impetus for the study, this also meant there was a dearth of validated indicators to draw from. There are significant gaps in commonly used data sets with respect to indicators of integrated care as it relates to older persons and care partner.Practical implications: The indicator set is intended to follow the older person and care partner throughout their health journey, enabling a whole systems view of their care. The set can be used in full or in part by health and social care systems and organizations across various primary, acute, rehabilitative and community settings for program development and evaluation purposes.Social implications: The core set of indicators that emerged out of this study is a first step toward ensuring that older persons who live with complex health and social care requirements and their care partners receive quality integrated care across the continuum of care.Originality/value: The findings are informed by the perspectives of older persons, care partners and healthcare professionals. Future research is needed to test, validate and potentially expand the indicator set.

Purpose: Integrated Care and Community Partnerships (ICCPs) offer a promising architecture for bringing care and community partners together. This key architure can be used to innovate equitable access solutions that advance the social health of older adults who live with complex health conditions (CHCs).Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-methods evaluation was conducted to describe and evaluate the impact of a gardening workshop series that was supported by an ICCP. The study incorporates data from descriptive, administrative, quantitative and qualitative sources.Findings: The study provides important information that can be used by care organizations to initiate and implement ICCPs. The findings demonstrate the feasibility of mitigating inequitable access barriers to non-care social and recreational opportunities, particularly for older people living with complex health conditions.Research limitations/implications: It is anticipated that the findings will be of interest to health authorities, policymakers and health administrators around the world who are interested in the design and implementation of ICCPs that focus on the social health of older people who live with CHCs, and potentially other at-risk populations.Practical implications: Further studies are required to further evaluate the feasibility, effectiveness and scalability of ICCPs to render equitable access solutions with the capacity to enhance the social health of older adults with CHCs and other at-risk populations.Social implications: The initiative’s short duration and the clinical profiles of the participants limited the ability to employ a comprehensive set of quantitative measures to assess changes in overall health. Where possible, future evaluations of similar projects should use broader outcome measures to attempt to capture more fully the range of potential benefits (social, health, mental health, service-level e.g. healthcare usage, referrals) for these interventions.Originality/value: The paper describes the process of establishing the partnership, the ICCP model intervention and evaluation findings. The broader implications of employing ICCPs as a strategic means for advancing holistic population health and realizing health resource efficiencies, are analyzed and discussed.