Publications by authors named "Barbara A Mitchell"

This scoping review examines qualitative studies on bereavement experiences and support mechanisms for community-dwelling older adults. This area of research is especially timely given rapid population aging and the interplay of heightened vulnerability, cumulative losses, shrinking support systems, and the critical need for bereavement support. Such support not only acts as a preventative health measure but can also serve as a catalyst for fostering meaning-making and navigating grief in later life.

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Drawing from a life course perspective, this paper examines mid/later-life parent-child relationship quality among ethnically diverse families. Focus is on the role of culture, child, and parental characteristics. Data are drawn from a study of 588 parents aged 50+ of a least one child aged 19-35 who reside in Metro Vancouver, B.

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Objective: Informal caregivers are playing a vital role in improving the degree to which older adults access community and healthcare systems in a more seamless and timely manner, thereby fulfilling their complex needs. It is critical to understand their experiences and perspectives while navigating these systems. This review aimed to identify and organise the research findings on the roles and experiences of informal caregivers of older adults while navigating community and healthcare systems.

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  • !* A study analyzed data from over 11,000 older Canadian adults to explore the links between caregiving intensity and health indicators like functional health and chronic illness over three years.
  • !* Results indicated that while low-intensity caregivers reported better functional and self-rated health compared to noncaregivers, they also experienced more chronic conditions over time; high-intensity caregivers did not show this pattern, highlighting that caregiving's health impact can differ by type.
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  • The study explores the impact of simultaneous roles in parenting, caregiving, and paid work on social isolation in middle-aged individuals, particularly in the context of health conditions known as multimorbidity.
  • It analyzes data from nearly 30,000 participants in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, finding that social isolation tends to increase slightly over time, with varying effects based on health status.
  • For those without multimorbidity, juggling multiple roles can reduce isolation, while for those with multimorbidity, full-time employment and caregiving intensively are linked to greater isolation, highlighting the need for targeted support for this group.
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  • The study explores how aging parents are balancing family and work-retirement transitions, finding that current trends are leading to more complex and varied experiences in these areas.
  • It investigates factors that affect older parents' satisfaction with their leisure time, considering socio-demographic characteristics, family dynamics, and work contexts among a diverse group of Canadians aged 50 and above.
  • Results reveal that satisfaction with leisure activities differs by parental stress, retirement status, education, and notably by ethnic background, highlighting the need for community services to provide culturally relevant recreational options for healthy aging.
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Drawing from a sociocultural life course perspective, this study examines the linkages between two age-related family transitions: young adult children leaving home and parental retirement. A sample of 580 ethnically diverse parents aged 50+ with at least one adult child aged 19-35 living in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, was used in this study based on four cultural groups: British-, Chinese-, Persian/Iranian-, or South Asian-Canadian. Separate survival analyses are used to predict the timing of, and associations between children's leaving home and parents' retirement.

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This article explores potential differences in yoga practice between middle-and older-aged adults. A health belief - life course model frames this research, and a mixed-methods analytic strategy is employed to examine life course pathways into yoga and motivations to practice, as well as perceived barriers and health benefits. For the quantitative analyses, a convenience sample of 452 participants was collected using an online questionnaire.

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  • The study explores the emotional challenges parents face during their transition to the empty nest phase, focusing on how these challenges vary based on ethnic culture and family dynamics.
  • It involves a mixed-methods approach with data from 174 midlife parents, aged around 51.8, whose adult children (ages 18-35) live at home, participating in the "Mid/Later Life Parenting Project."
  • The findings reveal that factors such as societal and ethnic norms, relationship quality, living arrangement preferences, and economic constraints significantly influence parents' perceptions and experiences of the empty nest transition.
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This study draws upon a sociocultural stress and coping perspective to examine generational demands in midlife families. It examines both the predictors and family-related circumstances that contribute to perceptions of greater demand, with a focus on gendered and ethnocultural dimensions. Using mixed-methods, data are based on a sample of 236 parents collected in 2006/2007 from four cultural groups: British-, Chinese-, Southern European-, and South Asian Canadian.

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This study provided an exploratory analysis of key social determinants of health for older Canadian women, with a focus on differences between rural and urban residency, given that socio-economic status (SES) and social capital have been shown to differ by rural-urban residence. Secondary analysis was conducted using the 2000/2001 Canadian Community Health Survey. A comparative logistic regression analysis revealed, unexpectedly, that SES and social capital variables were more strongly associated with the health status of urban older women than for the health status of their rural counterparts.

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This article investigates the propensity for young adults to live in the parental home between the ages of 25 to 34--termed "mature coresidency." Drawing upon a synthesis of life course theory and the concept of social capital, a rationale is developed for examination of emotional closeness to parents during childhood and a number of socio-demographic and structural factors deemed to be important. Using a subset of young adults aged 25 to 34 (N = 1,760) from the 1995 Canadian General Social Survey, it is found that emotional closeness to mothers and fathers are major determinants of mature coresidency.

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Current methods of Listeria detection require days to complete and may fail to detect Listeria in some samples. In contrast, capture of Listeria on microscopic immunomagnetic beads reduces test time to 24 h and improves sensitivity. In this approach, which eliminates enrichment, samples are mixed with immunomagnetic beads coated with anti- Listeria antibodies.

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