About Us
The Laurentian University Research Institute for Aging (LRIA), established in September 2017, plays a vital role in addressing the evolving demographic landscape of Canada, particularly in Northeastern Ontario. As the number of older adults continues to rise, the region faces both opportunities and challenges across various sectors, including healthcare, housing, economics, and public policy.
LRIA actively engages with older adults, fostering connections between them, their communities, and the broader society. Through its initiatives, the institute strives to enhance the quality of life for older adults, their families, and caregivers, ensuring that aging is met with dignity and support.
Complementing LRIA’s mission, Laurentian University’s Gerontology program offers students a comprehensive understanding of aging from multiple perspectives, including physiology, psychology, sociology, and public policy. The program equips graduates with the skills needed to support older adults in various settings, from community-based services to long-term care. Given Greater Sudbury’s status as Ontario’s largest city by land area, with its extensive natural landscapes and growing aging population, the need for gerontology professionals is more pressing than ever. The city’s commitment to age-friendly practices aligns with the program’s focus on improving the well-being of older adults.
Together, LRIA and Laurentian’s Gerontology program contribute to shaping a future where aging is embraced with care, innovation, and inclusivity.
Key Accomplishments
Partnership LRIA partnered with North East Specialized Geriatric Centre to develop a compendium of educational offerings relative to interprofessional comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA). This compendium will give healthcare providers access to a vast collection of educational resources that will help them to meet the competencies of interprofessional CGA.
Our MissionThe LRIA will engage in the development and implementation of timely, relevant, and innovative applied tri-cultural research for aging, especially as it pertains to older adults residing in various settings in northeastern Ontario, including age-friendly communities.
Our Vision With a focus on creating interdisciplinary and multi-sectoral partnerships, the LRIA aims to be a leading contributor to aging research, education, and practice at Laurentian University and in the Province of Ontario. Through careful attention to the process of knowledge transfer, the LRIA will beneficially impact the activities and experiences that influence the daily lives of older adults.
Goals & Objectives
- To conduct and stimulate rigorous applied interdisciplinary research in gerontology to add to the current knowledge of aging over the lifespan.
- To provide a focus, impetus and direction to the interdisciplinary research activities in gerontology in northeastern Ontario by facilitating the formation of interdisciplinary teams and research groups.
- To explore barriers and facilitators which influence the transitions from aging in place (family home), to aging in alternative setting (assisted living to long term care).
- To foster effective partnerships and collaboration with older adults and their care partners, community stakeholders, such as municipal and provincial health authorities, community organizations, and other educational institutions (schools, colleges, universities).
- To develop and assess the effectiveness of programs and interventions intended to maintain, promote or restore autonomy among older adults and their care partners.
- To promote and actively transfer knowledge on optimal aging to older adults and their care partners, in the community as well as the provincial government, industry, and social agencies.
- To be a resource on older adults' well-being for the various communities of the North East.
- To promote and support both undergraduate and graduate education and research training opportunities in the area of gerontology.
- To promote evidence-based education opportunities for older adults that enhance the quality of their daily lived experiences.
- To assist organizations in advancing workforce and student knowledge and practices that improve the quality of the lived experiences of older adults and their care partners.
Our People
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Executive Committee Member Birgit Pianosi, PhD School of Social Sciences
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Executive Committee Member Sylvie Larocque, PhD School of Nursing
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Research
- Mental health and aging
- Health systems integration
- Health services research
- Wellness over the lifecourse (Life Course Health Development Framework)
- Quality of life
- Caregiving (informal vs. formal) and care coordination
- Healthcare human resource development (living classroom concept)
- Mobility and falls prevention
- Aging in place
- Integration of care and services
- Client-centred clinical and residential care
- Transition from ALC in a rural environment
- Age friendly rural settings
- Aging and the economy
The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) is a large, national, longitudinal study that began in 2009. The study is currently collecting a multitude of data on 50,000 adults between the ages of 45 and 85 at the time of recruitment.
- CLSA: Findings from Baseline Data Collection 2010-2015
- CLSA: Navigation Guide
- CLSA: Extended Variable List for Caregiving
Additional Tools:
Potential Research Clusters
- Education in Gerontology (Competencies, Workforce Development, Age-Friendly Universities)
- Age-Friendly Community (Aging in Place, Independent Living, Supportive Housing, Small Northern Communities)
Relationships and Aging (Intimacy & Sexuality) - Mental Health (Dementia, Depression, Loneliness & Isolation)
- Optimal Aging (Quality of Life, Age-Friendly Communities, Mobility & Falls Prevention)
- Person-Centered Care (Integration of Care and Services, Alternate Level of Care [ALC], Caregiving [Impacts, Policy])
- Environments (Age-Friendly Communities, Housing, Community, Small Northern Communities)
Collaborations
Join Us!
Are you passionate about advancing gerontology and making meaningful contributions to the lives of older adults and their care partners? The Laurentian Research Institute for Aging (LRIA) invites researchers and educators from all disciplines to join our mission of fostering innovative, applied tri-cultural research in northeastern Ontario. As a hub of interdisciplinary collaboration, the LRIA supports groundbreaking research, promotes impactful education and training, and partners with communities to address critical issues like aging in place, mental health, person-centered care, and more.
If you are interested, please feel free to contact Dr. Birgit Pianosi at bpianosi@laurentian.ca.