Presenter(s):

Samir Sinha; Kristina Kokorelias; Cherian Matthews, National Institute on Ageing, Canada

Abstract

Climate change is increasing the frequency of natural disasters (heat waves, hurricanes, wildfires) while growing political tension increase the risk of war and conflict (for instance, the current war in Ukraine). In both disaster and conflict zones, older persons and their caregivers are particularly vulnerable to both acute stressors and long-term disruptions in infrastructure and healthcare. As a result, older persons often face greatest levels of mortality and morbidity in these situations, much of which can be avoided with better prevention and response efforts that acknowledges their unique needs.

We are proposing to host a workshop to share existing knowledge on the experiences and challenges faced by older adults during conflicts and disasters. This workshop will also highlight ways policy and decision-makers, health professionals across disciplines and others can better support and advocate for the needs of older adults in crisis situations. We aim to bring together experts to highlight challenges older adults face, summarize the latest existing literature on the topic, and showcase examples of work being done on the ground to address disparities faced by older adults. We also wish to highlight the ways in which IFA members and conference attendees can support older adults in conflict and disaster zones through advocacy, policy change, research, volunteer work, and financial donations. Finally, we hope to highlight the intersectionality of vulnerability as older adults who concurrently face poverty, discrimination based on age/race/ethnicity, or who are disabled face disproportionate challenges.

Our target audience for this workshop are all IFA conference attendees including health professionals taking care of older adults, especially those interested in global health or wanting to learn more and possibly support older adults living in conflict areas or areas impacted by disasters.

We are aiming for three primary outcomes from this workshop:

• First, we want to make participants aware of the existing evidence base and best practices in caring for older adults impacted by disasters and conflicts. This will allow participants to better care for older adults impacted by disasters or conflicts in their community or more globally. To do so, speakers will share the findings of systematic literature reviews on the topic and highlight practical reports and recent on the ground experience via HelpAge and the Red Cross. This will address the existing knowledge gaps and educate participants about the disparities currently faced by older adults in conflict and disaster scenarios.

• Second, we want participants to understand existing major gaps in current knowledge and unmet needs. To do so, speakers will share identified unmet needs and potential opportunities to address them. This will encourage those interested in research or advocacy to pursue additional research and work on the topic.

• Finally, we want this workshop to serve as a call to action. We want to enable participants to support older adults impacted by disasters locally or globally and will ask all speakers to present actionable ways that participants could contribute as researchers, advocates, donors, and healthcare professionals in their local community.

Bio(s):

Dr. Samir Sinha is a Geriatrician and Clinician Scientist at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network in Toronto, a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto, the Director of Health Policy Research at Toronto Metropolitan University’s National Institute on Ageing, and a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto, and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and the Royal Society of Medicine.
A Rhodes Scholar, Samir is a highly regarded clinician and international expert in the care of older adults. As a member of the Government of Canada’s National Seniors Council he recently led the successful development of Canada’s new National Long-Term Care Services Standard. Internationally, since 2014, he has served as the first and sole geriatrician member of the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council and its Preparedness and Disaster Health Sub-Council. He co-led the development of the American and Canadian Red Cross Guidelines on Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery for Older Adults in 2020. He was recently appointed to serve on the Board of Trustees for HelpAge International.

Dr. Kristina Kokorelias works as the Senior Program Manager for the Department of Medicine’s Healthy Ageing and Geriatrics Program at Sinai Health and the University Health Network in Toronto. Kristina also has status appointments as Associate Scientist (Sinai Health) and Assistant Professor, Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto and also serves as an Associate Fellow with the National Institute on Ageing. Her program of research aims to understand the experiences and needs of family caregivers and older adults with complex care needs with the aim of using this information to develop, evaluate, and implement timely family-centered care programs and services. Kristina received her PhD from the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto and completed post-doctoral fellowships in Implementation Science and Alzheimer’s Diseases with St. John’s Rehab within the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

Cherian Mathews is Chief Executive of HelpAge International, leading the organisation’s global work to promote the wellbeing, dignity and rights of older people. Cherian has more than 30 years of international development experience in leading and managing humanitarian, long-term development and campaign work at country, regional and global levels. Previously, he worked with Oxfam GB as International Programme Director and before that as Asia Regional Director, where he led major humanitarian responses in the Philippines and Nepal and led regional campaigns on economic justice and inequality. Before joining Oxfam in 2003, Cherian worked with Action Aid. Prior to that he worked with local and national level organisations on the rights of indigenous and other marginalised communities in India.