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2025 OACAO's Aging Well Conference - A Snapshot Summary
By: Dibyadyuti ‘Dee’ Sarkar - a Student Placement with the Social Prescribing Team at the Alliance for Healthier Communities
The Older Adults Centres’ Association of Ontario (OACAO) invited several incredible organizations to their 2025 Aging Well Conference from November 2nd to 4th to take part in a day full of community, education, and inspiration. Over the span of the 3-day conference, attendees took part in social events, trade shows, silent auctions, and even a gala featuring an award-winning magician. We would like to thank the OACAO for inviting the Alliance for Healthier Communities to share our knowledge and for organizing this unforgettable event in hopes of contributing to an Ontario that is aging well.
Here is a summary of a few of the workshops that took place on Day 2 of the conference on November 3rd.
Helping Every Older Adult Feel Welcome and Supported at Your Centre
The first session of the day featured several fantastic speakers, including Alliance’s very own Natasha Beaudin. Natasha and her practicum students, Dee Sarkar (me) and Venice Elesterio, prepared a presentation on health equity for older adults. We began the workshop with a refresher on the concept of health equity. Since the audience consisted largely of service providers and other professionals in equitable service delivery, they found the ideas both relevant and easily digestible.
The presentation gained momentum with the introduction of more tangible concepts, including cultural humility and intersectionality. Many service providers work with culturally diverse clients, making it essential to remain receptive to the intersecting identities of each client. Notions of cultural humility and intersectionality posit that every individual has a unique story to tell. To be culturally humble, we must acknowledge that we are lifelong learners when it comes to the experiences of our clients and those around us. As we integrate intersectionality into the provision of care, we come to understand how each individual’s varying and multifaceted identity and experiences can inform how they may perceive or interact with the healthcare system and providers. For example, the way one older adult's aging identity intersects with their racialized identity may not be the same as another’s, and this will likely be reflected in the way the two individuals interact with those around them. Understanding these concepts allows us to take an informed and equitable approach to serving clients and tailor our interventions accordingly.
The case scenarios at the end of the presentation were a definite highlight of the Alliance’s session. These scenarios were based on the real-life experiences of Beaudin and her students; additional support came from Jenn Wiebe at the OACAO, who offered valuable insight and helped us fine-tune the scenarios. The scenarios inspired lots of relevant conversation and connections between attendees, who shared their own real-life anecdotes and tips.
One case in particular elicited an empathetic response from an attendee. It concerned a recent immigrant from Kenya who had joined an English as a Second Language program. As the only Black person and the only man, he had difficulty relating to the other people in the groups and became withdrawn. An attendee recalled facing an identical issue at their center and offered advice regarding what worked for her program: She always tries to learn one sentence in each person’s language. Simply learning a few words in another language can create a sense of acceptance, curiosity, empathy, and effort. This can work miracles in mitigating some of the anxieties participants experience when interacting with new people in a new environment. Others in the audience shared ideas such as having culturally specific or gender specific groups, or having group members share about their culture.
Reconceptualizing Aging: Agency, Identity, and Acceptance in Older Adults
We were lucky to share our session with Kyra Simmons, whose incredible research built on the base concepts of equity and intersectionality covered in our presentation. Simmons is a PhD candidate at Wilfrid Laurier University; her research focuses on gerontology and the experiences of racialized older adults. Throughout her presentation, she expanded on topics like intersectionality to explain the links between aging, agency, identity, and acceptance. In fact, her presentation began with a positionality statement disclosing that her background and unique lived experiences as a biracial woman may unconsciously play a role in the work she does and how she does it. The point of the statement was not only to introduce the audience to her as a speaker but, more importantly, to emphasize that our backgrounds and personal beliefs inform our perspectives.
Simmons’s positionality statement underscores one of the main points of the session: The integration of one’s various identities depends on one’s beliefs. For example, whether or not an older adult's various intersecting identities are positively integrated may depend on whether they carry positive or negative beliefs about agency during older age. Simmons’s research question applies this idea to African American older adults specifically, asking: How will racialized folks navigate their racialized and older-age identities together?
Simmons’s research explored identity integration between race and age and the idea of integration conflict. Identity integration refers to the concept of self-continuity. As you move through life and through transitions such as from adulthood to late adulthood or old age, it is important to “re-integrate.” She found that some Black older adults associated their black identities with strength and power, but associated their aging identities with frailty, weakness, and dependence. Naturally, it can be challenging to unite such contradictory beliefs. Struggling to integrate new parts of our identities that develop as we age can lead to integration conflict.
Individuals can have low integration conflict or high integration conflict. The common stigmas and beliefs associated with - in this case - aging, are known as lay beliefs. People may possess high-agency or low-agency lay beliefs about aging. Simmons’s research found that those who hold positive beliefs about agency, strength, and life in old age have low integration conflict, resulting in positive well-being and harmonious identity. Those who hold low-agency lay beliefs experience high integration conflict and, as a result, negative perceptions of identity and well-being.
Wrapping up the session, Simmons considered the implications of identity integration and integration conflict on healthcare. The place an older adult occupies on the spectrum of identity integration, and their perceptions of aging and agency, inform their level of engagement with community programs. For example, older adults with low-agency lay beliefs and high integration conflict may be less engaged with programming, given their own beliefs about old age as a barrier to activity. Given these ideas, it is important for all systems and providers to think about the balance between effective intervention and facilitating high agency lay beliefs and positive ideas of identity as clients age.
Conversations That Matter: How Death Cafés Enrich Lives and Build Community
Tracey Robertson, CEO of the Home Hospice Association (HHA), believes that Death Cafés are best represented by a quote from the timeless novel and memoir “Tuesdays With Morrie.”
“Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.” - Morrie Schwartz
Before exploring that idea further, Robertson suspended the attendees’ curiosity by providing some background. The first instance of a Death Café - or a Café Mortel, as it was referred to by the sociologist Bernard Crittaz, who pioneered the model - took place in 2004 in Switzerland. The UK embraced the movement in the early 2010s, eventually giving it an international stage. Soon afterwards, the HHA incorporated Death Cafés as a part of its Death Education Programming, becoming a trusted and experienced provider of death literacy programming and facilitator of Death Cafés. The HHA has since increased the scope of its Death Café initiative. There are now various themed cafés, offered both in-person and virtually, which encourage a diverse flow of attendees and interest. Café themes include Older Adult, Caregiver, MAiD, and BIPOC Death Cafés, among others. As a part of its death literacy programming, the HHA also trains death doulas, who serve a compassionate, calming, and guiding role for individuals and groups navigating dying and death.
Death Cafés invite conversation and connection, whether those connections be with strangers attending a cafe together, or between family, or even with oneself. They provide a social environment and, more importantly, a safe and judgment-free space to engage and speak honestly about death and dying with refreshments in hand. Death Cafés are not support groups for those who are dying, although that may be one of the many reasons one might attend one. Anyone and everyone is welcome.
The purpose of a Death Café is to initiate low-pressure conversations about death - a topic that is ever-present and universal, yet noticeably silent and stigmatized. Robertson asserts that if we can support one another through dying and death, and initiate those difficult conversations, supporting one another in living and life becomes all the more meaningful. To demonstrate this point, she encouraged all attendees to form circular groups facing each other for our very own impromptu mini-Death Café - right there, inside North Studio 1 of the Hilton Meadowvale Hotel!
To begin the Death Café, groups were asked to discuss a funny memory about death. Admittedly, the group was initially quiet. It may seem oxymoronic to consider laughter and death within the same context. Still, even at funerals, there is always joy in the remembrance of the lives once lived and rich relationships still cherished. This is what one attendee illustrated through a story about a young child who was confused about her grandma’s grief at her grandpa’s funeral. Why? Because grandma and grandpa always nagged at each other anyway. The attendee expressed that in that moment, everybody had to laugh despite the setting, and so did all the other attendees in the group. Within a minute or two, the group felt smaller, like everybody knew each other a little bit better, and the sharing continued with more eye contact, laughter, and smiles.
To conclude the workshop, Robertson revealed that the best way to ensure that Death Cafés remain safe spaces for all is through good facilitation. Good facilitators, mainly death doulas trained and supported by the HHA, are not there to lead, but to guide, and ensure that everybody feels welcome and heard despite differences in perspectives and opinions. Successful Death Cafés leave people feeling less anxious and more comfortable talking to their loved ones about dying and death. Attendees feel empowered to be more open with those around them about their wishes surrounding their own death. This sense of agency and empowerment is reflected within the larger context of making informed decisions throughout life in various environments, including in our healthcare settings.
Embracing Change: Thoughtful Connections Through Art
Laurie Kilgour-Walsh is the Head of Programs & Learning at The Art Gallery of Hamilton (AGH). As a facilitator of learning, Kilgour-Walsh began the session by teaching all the attendees of her workshop session that looking at art and talking about it together does not have to be difficult or intellectual. She began by showing attendees a painting and asking what they saw - clarifying that there were no metaphors or tricks up her sleeve, just a simple question. The question elicited simple answers - observations of colour, scenery, and the two individuals in the painting. From there, the conversation evolved. People commented on the physical proximity of the individuals and what that may imply, the position of their bodies and hands, and the expressions on their faces. The conversation started with a simple inquiry, but quickly transformed into a round-table discussion about body language and relationships, with attendees feeling free to chime in with their observations and additions without pause.
The point there, as Kilgour-Walsh brought to our attention, was not necessarily the art, but rather how the art enabled conversations and socialization even between strangers. Attendees were able to experience firsthand the power of art as a builder of community. This is what the AGH seeks to do with its “Artful Moments” program for those living with dementia. The highlight of the interactions that occurred within the workshop was that every person in the room felt as though their contributions mattered and that their opinions were actively sought out and vice versa. This is something that people tend to lose as they get older or sicker - especially individuals with dementia. As such, it is important to create opportunities to prevent older adults and all individuals from withdrawing from the community and actively participating within their environments.
For an older adult with dementia, taking part in the “Artful Moments” program at AGH usually consists of a 2-hour visit. Half of the time is spent looking at art, while the other half is spent making art. Breaks and refreshments are available throughout the day. However, the point is not the act of looking at or making art in itself. The AGH assures that the pieces viewed or created are diverse in terms of type, topic, medium, etc. This inspires diverse conversation and, oftentimes, attendees build off of conversations from prior sessions, strengthening connections with other participants. People leave the sessions feeling heard and as though they are valuable, contributing members of a community. The museum and the art in it are just the foundation; it is the people who are at the centre of the programs run by the AGH. The end goal of the sessions is not to turn participants into skilled artists but rather just to provide an environment full of fun and free experimentation.
As a closing note, Kilgour-Walsh explained that museum-based programs like Artful Moments have been shown to lead to greater quality of life, self-esteem, and cohesion. Participants continue to return and reap the benefits of engagement in a positive feedback loop. The key is to empower people to improve their health and well-being with intrinsic motivation in non-clinical, social environments where they are free to explore their interests, take part in trial and error, create, and enjoy the company of those around them.
AI for Aging Well: Building Digital Confidence & Why it Matters
Savita Despot at Blue Beyond Inc. began her workshop on technology and aging with the statement that all of our lives are becoming largely automated. Although some may consider that fact concerning, she followed it with an optimistic note. Despite the harsh but admittedly important stories about AI that have been prevalent in the news as of late, Despot points out that AI and other technologies can also serve positive, functional purposes in our daily lives. It is important to build competence and independence with technology, especially when we are supporting an aging population that did not necessarily grow up with an electronic device in hand at all times.
One of the first lessons that Despot imparted was that AI learns from the input we give it. This means that, like us humans, it makes mistakes. Additionally, older adults are a common target for cyberscams and phishing scams - many of which use AI. Though this information may initially justify keeping technology at a distance, it actually drives home the point that older adults should not be left out of the conversation when it comes to tech-literacy. It is important to know how to use technology to our benefit and discern between helpful and harmful uses of AI and other tech. There are also some more personal benefits to getting comfortable with technology, such as connecting with family and friends.
Blue Beyond Inc. aims to help older adults build up their comfort level with technology.
One way it does this is through “Tech Talks,” where older adults can participate on a walk-in basis to talk about technology or get advice and help with any problems with their devices. Despot recalled that one visitor would attend the Tech Talks, and for the first few sessions, he simply wanted to talk about all his reservations and fears around technology and using his phone. However, as he frequented the talks more often, he eventually began to bring in his phone. Over time, with the help of those facilitating the program, he became more comfortable and confident with his device and with technology in general. Despot explained that it is completely okay to start the journey with just conversation, slowly easing into the idea of giving technology a larger part in your life as needed. The Tech Talks are a safe place for people to seek help or advice, or just to converse, without pressure or judgment.
Attendees at this workshop became particularly engaged in discussions about the barriers older adults face when using AI and other technologies. A common theme that emerged was fear - whether it was fear of breaking something, fears of data theft and scams, or generally low confidence or self-perception of competence with technology. Despot’s solution? Start simple. The topic of one Tech-Talk revolved solely around demystifying email. It addressed not only how to use email, but also how to discern between real and fraudulent emails. After participating in uncomplicated conversations, getting tips, and being shown examples of malicious emails, older adults reported feeling more empowered and confident using technology and spotting red flags.
Conversations like those at the Tech Talks encouraged Blue Beyond’s idea of “Tech Cafes.” Tech Cafes are about community, building confidence and empowering older adults to use technology and build skills that could make their lives easier. Hosting a Tech Cafe comes with its own barriers. These are often less about technology itself and more about the pressing issues of access and available resources. Noted below are two barriers discussed at the workshop and their potential solutions.
Barrier: How can we reach a wider network of older adults if many of them do not have or do not use technology and social media?
Solution: Direct your marketing towards caregivers and family, encouraging the spread of knowledge, and building awareness indirectly
Barrier: We want to make these sessions free and get the tech “experts” to come to the older adults, rather than the other way around
Solution: Build inter-generational engagement through co-op students and youth who are enthusiastic and available to volunteer their time. The youth are the experts when it comes to technology and are well equipped to handle many of the concerns older adults may have surrounding using their devices more efficiently or comfortably.
Despot wanted to leave attendees with the lasting message that technology should be accessible and useful to all, which is why it is important to build independence with devices for older adults. The key is to start simply with issues that actually matter to older adults and can help them feel empowered by technology, rather than jumping straight to big-ticket items like data management and scams, which tend to scare people away. AI and other technologies can be helpful resources for older adults, but it is crucial to build comfort and acceptance before trying to enforce skilled use.
All in all, our team is grateful for the opportunity to attend OACAO’s Aging Well Conference and to learn from all of our fellow presenters and participants. It was a joy to see the engagement and conversation that took place during our workshop, and we hope to meet everybody again soon, on another wonderful day like this one.
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