1) What is your official current position and title?

I am a Full Professor in the Department of Psychology at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick.I am also an adjunct research associate at both Horizon Health and the Centre d’études du vieillissement at the Université de Moncton.

2) What is your educational background?

I received my BA in Psychology from the Université de Moncton, and then received my masters and PhD from the Life Span Development Program in the Department of Psychology at the University of Victoria.

3) Talk a little about your career path? Where did your passion for the research/work that you do originate and how did it develop?

I always enjoyed interacting with older people in my extended family, and was pleased to discover that I could do a minor in gerontology as an undergraduate. I’ve been fascinated with research on aging since then, particularly issues surrounding language use and communication, both within and between generations. I’m particularly interested in how age-related changes in memory and language affects health care and communication between health care providers and older patients.

4) Tell us about one or two of your current projects?

I’m involved in three long-term research programs. One is a SSHRC funded project in which my students and I are studying intergenerational conversations in order to determine the factors that make them enjoyable for both age groups. The long term goal of this research program is to improve recruitment and retention of younger adults in jobs that involve caring for older adults (e.g., geriatric nursing). Second, I am working with a team at the Centre d’études du vieillissement at the Université de Moncton on a group of projects studying aging in place. We are interested in how people make decisions about where to live, how they manage to live at home despite handicaps, and what types of communities enhance their ability to live at home despite handicaps. Third, I have been involved in a group of studies with pharmacists working at the Moncton Hospital. We have developed an assessment tool pharmacists can use to determine if an older adult can manage their medication independently, and to make targeted recommendations to improve medication adherence.

5) How do you see your research/work in terms of possibly contributing to evidence-based public policy?

I think it is important for public policy to take into account the local context, in other words to be based on local as well as national and international research findings. I believe that it is important for the type of applied research that I and others are doing in this province be supported, be publically available, and be used by government decision-makers.

6) Discuss any past achievements that were significant to your professional path? Have any contributed to the promotion of evidence-based public policy?

The achievements that have led most to my involvement in applied research related to public policy have been my collaborative research relationships with health-care providers at the Moncton Hospital, and gerontology colleagues at the Université de Moncton. In particular, I was involved in projects at the Moncton Hospital where we tested the effectiveness of a few pilot programs that were subsequently adopted permanently or extended to the entire province.

7) Describe in a couple of sentences your involvement with RRPS-NB and how your relationship with the Network has contributed to your research/work and/or to social/economic policy?

Because I began my research career in the US and am a relative newcomer to the research community in New Brunswick, the meetings (particularly the ones focused on my area of interest) have been particularly helpful in allowing me to meet researchers at other universities.

8) Any last thoughts?

In the last few years, I have increasingly taken on the role of caregiver for my aging parents. It has been fascinating for me to observe the health care system from the perspective of an older frail adult. The system is increasingly set up for patients to take responsibility for their own care – and for many people that’s the optimal situation. However, the system also needs to meet the needs of vulnerable individuals who do not have many resources. One striking example I’ve seen personally is the way that family caregivers are not taken into consideration when older adults are in hospital. Caregivers are rarely told ahead of time when visits by physicians and other health-care professionals will occur during the hospital stay – yet the patient and their caregiver are expected to know and remember the information that was transmitted (orally and very quickly) to sometimes confused and anxious patients. Why not ask the senior if they would rather have a friend or family member present for these visits? I think there are many often inexpensive changes that could be integrated into the health care system to better care for our seniors. These types of situations reinforce my belief that patient-physician communication is key to good health care, particularly for chronic illnesses and geriatric care.

I grew up in New Brunswick, and as a proud Acadian am happy to be home again after many years in western Canada and the US. I hope that through my research and through my teaching I can help improve the well-being of the seniors (and soon to be seniors) of this province. It concerns me to hear politicians and members of the media talk about the aging of the population as a negative thing. The fact that so many of us reach old age is a sign that our society and our public policies are successful! We need to view our seniors as an important resource to help build and improve our communities. As I say to my students, your old age is not something you grow into, it is something you create. I hope to help create a good community for myself and for others to grow old in.