Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the lives of countless members of the general population. Older adults are known to experience loneliness, age discrimination, and excessive worry. It is therefore reasonable to anticipate that they would experience greater negative outcomes related to the COVID-19 pandemic given their increased isolation and risk for complications than younger adults. Objective: This study aims to synthesize the existing research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and associated isolation and protective measures, on older adults. The secondary objective is to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and associated isolation and protective measures, on older adults with Alzheimer disease and related dementias. Methods: A rapid review of the published literature was conducted on October 6, 2020, through a search of 6 online databases to synthesize results from published original studies regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults. The Human Development Model conceptual framework–Disability Creation Process was used to describe and understand interactions between personal factors, environmental factors, and life habits. Methods and results are reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses Statement. Results: A total of 135 records were included from the initial search strategy of 13,452 individual studies. Of these, 113 (83.7%) studies were determined to be of level 4 according to the levels of evidence classification by the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. The presence of psychological symptoms, exacerbation of ageism, and physical deterioration of aged populations were reported in the included studies. Decreased social life and fewer in-person social interactions reported during the COVID-19 pandemic were occasionally associated with reduced quality of life and increased depression. Difficulties accessing services, sleep disturbances, and a reduction of physical activity were also noted. Conclusions: Our results highlight the need for adequate isolation and protective measures. Older adults represent a heterogeneous group, which could explain the contradictory results found in the literature. Individual, organizational, and institutional strategies should be established to ensure that older adults are able to maintain social contacts, preserve family ties, and maintain the ability to give or receive help during the current pandemic. Future studies should focus on specific consequences and needs of more at-risk older adults to ensure their inclusion, both in public health recommendations and considerations made by policy makers.

Background: Deprescribing, a relatively recent concept, has been proposed as a promising solution to the growing issues of polypharmacy and use of medications of questionable benefit among older adults. However, little is known about the health outcomes of deprescribing interventions. Objective: This paper presents the protocol of a study that aims to contribute to the knowledge on deprescribing by addressing two specific objectives: (1) describe the impact of deprescribing in adults ≥60 years on health outcomes or quality of life; and (2) determine the characteristics of effective interventions in deprescribing. Methods: Primary studies targeting three concepts (older adults, deprescribing, and health or quality of life outcomes) will be included in the review. The search will be performed using key international databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Ageline, PsycInfo), and a special effort will be made to identify gray literature. Two reviewers will independently screen the articles, extract the information, and evaluate the quality of the selected studies. If methodologically feasible, meta-analyses will be performed for groups of intervention studies reporting on deprescribing interventions for similar medications, used for similar or identical indications, and reporting on similar outcomes (eg, benzodiazepines used against insomnia and studies reporting on quality of sleep or quality of life). Alternatively, the results will be presented in bottom-line statements (objective 1) and a matrix outlining effective interventions (objective 2). Results: The knowledge synthesis may be limited by the availability of high-quality clinical trials on deprescribing and their outcomes in older adults. Additionally, analyses will likely be affected by studies on the deprescribing of different types of molecules within the same indication (eg, different pharmacological classes and medications to treat hypertension) and different measures of health and quality of life outcomes for the same indication. Nevertheless, we expect the review to identify which deprescribing interventions lead to improved health outcomes among seniors and which of their characteristics contribute to these outcomes. Conclusions: This systematic review will contribute to a better understanding of the health outcomes of deprescribing interventions among seniors. Trial Registration: PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42015020866; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42015020866 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/25200

Cet article propose une description et une analyse critique du processus de recherche participative mis en oeuvre au sein du projet Habitats, milieux de vie et participation sociale des aînés. L’analyse critique met l’accent sur des conditions favorables à la réussite de ce processus, sur des difficultés rencontrées au cours de la mise en oeuvre du projet Habitats et sur des solutions pour les surmonter. Le projet Habitats a suscité des retombées locales et a inspiré d’autres projets de recherche qui permettront d’approfondir des réalités liées à l’habitat, aux milieux de vie et à la participation sociale des aînés.

Background: In contemporary society, misinformation and disinformation have emerged as significant challenges, impacting various aspects of public health and societal cohesion. Some authors argue that older adults are particularly vulnerable to the effects of misinformation due to potential digital health literacy challenges. A previous review identified pedagogical approaches most commonly adopted in interventions aiming to improve the digital literacy of older adults but did not specifically address digital health literacy. Objective: This scoping review protocol aims to explore digital health literacy interventions targeting health misinformation and designed specifically for older adults. Methods: Following the methodology outlined by Arksey and O'Malley and the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) checklist, this protocol delineates a systematic approach encompassing 5 stages: identification of research questions, identification of relevant studies, selection of studies, data charting, and collation of findings. Our scoping review will include peer-reviewed literature on interventions targeting misinformation for older adults. Research will be conducted on the MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Elsevier), PsycINFO (Ovid), CINAHL, and Web of Science databases. Gray literature will also be surveyed by performing a Google search to identify interventions and tools employed by public or private organizations, institutes, groups, or agencies. The databases and gray literature will be searched to identify relevant publications. Two members of our team will independently select publications to include in the review by using the Covidence review software (Veritas Health Innovation). The publications included will specifically address our research questions, be peer-reviewed, evidence-based, and published from January 1, 2005, in full-text English or French version. Data will be extracted from the included publications to mainly chart the intervention’s objectives, types, target age groups, effectiveness, and risks reported. A thematic analysis will be conducted to categorize the study findings. Results: The funding for this project was provided in March 2024. The research questions were identified in January 2024. The databases and gray literature search strategies were developed in February 2024. The final selection of the publications; the charting, collating, and summarizing of data; along with the reporting of findings are planned for August to September 2025. The findings of this scoping review will be shared through publication in an open access journal and presentations scheduled between September and December 2025. Conclusions: This protocol will enable us to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in combating health misinformation among older adults. The results will also be utilized for the development of interventions targeting misinformation among older adults. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/74138

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the lives of countless members of the general population. Older adults are known to experience loneliness, age discrimination, and excessive worry. It is therefore reasonable to anticipate that they would experience greater negative outcomes related to the COVID-19 pandemic given their increased isolation and risk for complications than younger adults. OBJECTIVE This study aims to synthesize the existing research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and associated isolation and protective measures, on older adults. The secondary objective is to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and associated isolation and protective measures, on older adults with Alzheimer disease and related dementias. METHODS A rapid review of the published literature was conducted on October 6, 2020, through a search of 6 online databases to synthesize results from published original studies regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults. The Human Development Model conceptual framework–Disability Creation Process was used to describe and understand interactions between personal factors, environmental factors, and life habits. Methods and results are reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses Statement. RESULTS A total of 135 records were included from the initial search strategy of 13,452 individual studies. Of these, 113 (83.7%) studies were determined to be of level 4 according to the levels of evidence classification by the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. The presence of psychological symptoms, exacerbation of ageism, and physical deterioration of aged populations were reported in the included studies. Decreased social life and fewer in-person social interactions reported during the COVID-19 pandemic were occasionally associated with reduced quality of life and increased depression. Difficulties accessing services, sleep disturbances, and a reduction of physical activity were also noted. CONCLUSIONS Our results highlight the need for adequate isolation and protective measures. Older adults represent a heterogeneous group, which could explain the contradictory results found in the literature. Individual, organizational, and institutional strategies should be established to ensure that older adults are able to maintain social contacts, preserve family ties, and maintain the ability to give or receive help during the current pandemic. Future studies should focus on specific consequences and needs of more at-risk older adults to ensure their inclusion, both in public health recommendations and considerations made by policy makers.

This study explores the health-information-seeking practices of older adults. Conducted in Quebec, Canada, this qualitative research involved semi-structured interviews with 36 participants aged 60 and over, between 19 July and 20 August 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The interviews, carried out via online platforms and telephone, focused on information sources, the method of information retrieval, and participants’ reflections on and use of pandemic-related information. Thematic content analysis was used to identify the presence of ageism. The study showed that participants favored government press conferences and traditional media, while remaining skeptical of social media. The analysis identified the concept of ageism (institutional, interpersonal, and self-directed) in about half of the interviews, with institutional ageism predominating in communications and actions of authorities and in the portrayal of older adults by media. The findings highlight the need for reliable, respectful communications reaching older adults for effective and relevant public health messages.