Practitioners' Day 2024
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI): Implications for Falls Prevention in Older Adults
Join us on Thursday, October 10th from 9:00-11:15 am (MST) to learn about older adult falls prevention in relation to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in both theoretical and practical application.
Dr. Jordana Salma is a Registered Nurse and an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Alberta. Her research program IREA (Implementing Research for Equity in Aging) focuses on the health and wellbeing of immigrant and refugee older adults. Some areas of current work relate to loneliness, chronic disease management and physical activity in older adults. She draws from Feminist, Transnational and Intersectional perspectives to explore the social and structural determinants of health. She is especially committed to using participatory approaches to engage communities in research and self-advocacy. Her current study on aging in place in Edmonton neighborhoods aims to co-design community-level interventions to enhance social connections and physical activity in racialized immigrant older women.
Jordana will share her work and findings from the Edmonton Neighborhood Study: Barriers to and Facilitators of Aging in Place amongst Immigrant and Racialized Older Women.
In Canada, immigrants make up 23% of the general population and 30% of older adults. Immigrant older adults are more likely to live in poverty, have poorer health, and report challenges in accessing services. Being racialized, from a language minority, and identifying as a woman or LGBTQS2+ are shown to increase the likelihood that an older immigrant will experience intersecting forms of marginalization. Fifty-four immigrant older women participated in walk-along interviews across a range of Edmonton neighborhoods. Using an intersectionality framework, barriers and facilitators to aging in place were identified and co-design activities were initiated to develop grass-roots, equity-focused, and community-oriented solutions. Critical gaps in support that limit mobility and social engagement are described with resulting implications for service provision and policy.
Nusrat Sultana, MPH, M.B.B.S, is a Health Promotion Facilitator II at the Provincial Injury Prevention Program for the Alberta Health Services, a position she has held since January 2022. In her current position as a health promotion facilitator, she oversees innovative programs designed to reduce fall-related injuries among older adults. Her work includes the development and implementation of evidence-based strategies that can reduce fall incidents in various community settings. Nusrat also provides expert consultation on falls prevention in older adults content and health promotion strategies and activities.
Jessica Naidu, PhD (Cand.), has been with Alberta Health Services since 2012. During this time, she has held roles as a Health Promotion Facilitator II, and as a Senior Project Manager. In her current HPFII role with PIP, she works across several portfolios, and leads initiatives aimed at research, evaluation, and knowledge translation, particularly in health equity. Jessica is currently completing her PhD, with a focus on the social determinants of health for racialized refugee populations.
Principles of Health Equity: Implications for Falls Prevention.
This session will provide an overview presentation of key principles that aim to achieve health equity. The overview will be followed by a panel discussion focusing on how these principles have been applied in falls prevention practice and programming. The aim of this panel is to provide insight on how you can apply these health equity principles in your work.
A panel discussion will follow the presentation.
