I am an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Regina. My program of research focuses on older adults’ quality of life with emphasis on their healthy aging in place in the community. I have particular interests in innovative housing options for older adults’ that support their healthy aging in place, and aging experiences of Black older adults in Canada.  Other area I conduct research in is teaching and learning by examining topics such as context-based learning and Black faculty members’ experience in academia. I have methodological expertise in mixed method research and qualitative research approaches specifically focused ethnographic design. Prior to joining University of Regina, I taught as a lecture in the School of Nursing, University of Ghana.

My clinical background is predominantly geriatric nursing where I worked as a registered nurse in long term care facilities in western Canada. I also hold a certificate in gerontological nursing.

Older Adults’ Living Environments: Do they Promote Healthy Aging in Place during Pandemic

Older adults 65 years and above are among the high risk group affected by the novel coronavirus in 2020. Telephone and videoconference interviews were used to gather data from 19 community dwelling older adults from three living arrangements: private homes, assisted living, and cohousing building, in Regina and Saskatoon to explore the impact of older adults’ living environments on their healthy aging in place during the pandemic. The findings from the data showed that all the older adults felt safe in these three living arrangements. Many of the older adults missed human contact and felt a little depressed at the start of the social isolation measures especially older adults living in their private homes. The study sheds light that the three housing arrangements supported the older adults’ healthy aging in place during the pandemic with participants in assisted living and cohousing living arrangements having more social interaction with their neighbours and feeling less lonely compare to those in private homes.