Reflections from the CAG AIRP-VABE Symposium
By Amber Dukart, Rachelle Patille, Diandra Serrano, 脡milie Cormier, Tara Fernando, & Dr. Rachel Weldrick
The (CAG) is Canada鈥檚 foremost association of researchers, students, and other professionals within the fields of gerontology and aging studies. . Each year, CAG hosts a national conference which features emerging scholarship and knowledge mobilization in gerontology, while providing a platform for students to share their work with leaders in the field. On October 21, 2022, the AIRP-VABE project presented a symposium during CAG鈥檚 in Regina, Saskatchewan. This symposium featured data collected by AIRP-VABE researchers in Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver.
The AIRP-VABE team is committed to understanding how to facilitate aging in the right place for older adults with experiences of homelessness (OPEH). Showcasing the breadth of the AIRP Partnership, findings were presented on five key project areas: 1) trauma-informed approaches to working with OPEH;2) intersectional and social justice approaches to working with OPEH; 3) the mental health needs and experiences of OPEH navigating housing supports; 4) the experiences of OPEH living in temporary housing; and 5) barriers and facilitators to supporting OPEH in promising practices.
Below, we compiled reflections from our Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver teams on their experiences at the CAG 2022 AIRP-VABE Symposium.
Calgary
1. What did you present?
I presented a theoretical paper that myself and Jill have been working on in Calgary about the use of intersectionality with older adults who have experiences of homelessness as a social justice praxis. The presentation highlighted the importance of using this lens in research and practice to examine the multiple intersecting structures of power that impact older adults鈥� access to housing.
2. What is the key takeaway from your presentation?
The key takeaway from the presentation was that using an intersectional lens allows for a nuanced, highly contextualized examination of the lived experiences of aging and homelessness and can support the delivery of services and supports that respond to the diversity of older adults鈥� experiences.
3. How did you prepare for your presentation?
The preparation for my presentation was truly a team effort! I drafted up my slides and presentation notes based on the writing Jill and I have been working on and was able to do a run through and get feedback from members of the Calgary team. I also met virtually with the symposium team before we headed to CAG to talk through everyone鈥檚 presentations. When I arrived at the conference, we met as a team to discuss about our plans for the symposium and ease any nerves that we had.
4. What advice do you have for first-time presenters?
It can feel intimidating to present at a research conference as a student, but I was pleasantly surprised that other researchers are genuinely interested in your work and what you have to share. Don鈥檛 let the nerves get the best of you 鈥� you have something unique and interesting to share!
5. What was it like meeting your team members for the first time?
It was so wonderful to meet my teammates from Vancouver and Montreal in person at the conference! Being a researcher can sometimes be isolating as I spend a lot of time on my own in front of a laptop transcribing interviews, coding, and writing so connecting with the
team was really refreshing. We have all been working together virtually for over a year, so it was nice to spend time together in person attending conference sessions, hanging out, and getting to know each other better. The conference was a great opportunity to connect, hear what everyone has been working on in their respective cities, chat about our own research, and bounce ideas off one another.
6. What is your favourite memory from everything leading up to, during, or after the conference?
One of the highlights of the conference for me was the Q&A at the end of our symposium. Many folks in the room were really intrigued by what our team shared and asked really thoughtful questions. It was also great to network, attend other sessions, and hear what other gerontology researchers are working on. It really inspired me both with my work on the AIRP project and my own thesis research. I look forward to attending CAG again next year in Toronto!
Vancouver
1. What did you present?
I presented on 鈥淚nforming Housing Practices Throughout Photovoice with Older Adults who Experience Homelessness or Housing Insecurity鈥�. In simpler terms, I had the honour of presenting the preliminary photovoice findings from older adults who were or are a part of a Temporary Housing Program in Metro Vancouver to better understand what 鈥渁ging in the right place鈥� (AIRP) means to them.
2. What is the key takeaway from your presentation?
The key takeaway from the presentation was to showcase photovoice as a participatory action research method as well as showcase how participants photos and voices can be translated into meaningful qualitative data that uncover what AIRP means to older persons with lived experience of homelessness. Using the photovoice method enables older persons with lived experience of homelessness to actively engage in research, tell their stories through visual representations, and reflect on what key aspects are important to AIRP.
3. How did you prepare for your presentation?
To prepare for the presentation, I practiced many times in order to feel comfortable presenting in front of 50+ individuals, many who are trailblazers in the field of Gerontology. This was the first academic in-person conference I was able to attend due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Practicing many times over most definitely helped me on the day of presenting to feel more confident!
4. What advice do you have for first-time presenters?
The best advice I would provide to a first-time presenter is 鈥渢hat no one knows your research better than you do!鈥�. I find that before a big presentation such as one at CAG, I find myself second guessing what I will be saying, the data, really everything. I鈥檝e found that when this happens, it is best to pause and remind yourself that you are presenting at a major conference for a reason 鈥� you know what you are doing! Afterall, the abstract that was submitted, got accepted; therefore, others also see the value in your work!
5. What was it like meeting your team members for the first time?
It was AMAZING! I had such a blast spending time in-person with our AIRP team members. We shared many laughs!
6. What is your favourite memory from everything leading up to, during, or after the conference?
For me, meeting the AIRP team in-person as well as reconnecting with colleagues from my undergraduate degree at Brock University were my most favourite memories of the conference. Having the opportunity to connect or reconnect with those who are just as passionate about the field of Gerontology was very heart-warming!
惭辞苍迟谤茅补濒
1. Qu'est-ce que vous avez pr茅sent茅 ?
Diandra: J'ai pr茅sent茅 "Anchoring into Space : a Trauma-informed approach to qualitative research with older persons with experiences of homelessness", un article m茅thodologique d茅crivant comment l'espace peut 锚tre utilis茅 pour renforcer la capacit茅 des chercheurs 脿 锚tre attentifs aux dynamiques relationnelles entre les participants et les chercheurs d'une mani猫re qui permette d'aborder les questions de positionnalit茅 et de pouvoir, tout en favorisant la transformation.
脡milie : Pour ma part, j鈥檃i pr茅sent茅 au sujet d鈥檜ne analyse secondaire que nous avons conduit au sujet de la sant茅 mentale des usagers de la ressource d鈥檋茅bergement transitoire 脿 l鈥櫭﹖ude. Alors que plusieurs th茅matiques 茅mergeant de l鈥檃nalyse initiale des donn茅es pointaient vers des enjeux en lien avec la sant茅 mentale nous avons voulu explorer qu鈥檈st-ce qui dans la ressource d鈥檋茅bergement contribuait ou compromettait la sant茅 mentale des usagers.
2. Quel est le principal message 脿 retenir de votre pr茅sentation ?
Diandra: L'ancrage dans l'espace sugg猫re que l'attention port茅e 脿 l'espace peut 锚tre un moyen de guider les chercheurs dans l'茅laboration de m茅thodes de collecte de donn茅es et d'activit茅s de terrain qui donnent la priorit茅 aux besoins et aux exp茅riences des participants, 脿 la relation entre le chercheur et le participant, et qui favorisent les moments de transformation tout en att茅nuant les risques habituels li茅s 脿 l'engagement dans une recherche sensible.
Il est 茅galement important que les chercheurs qui se rendent sur le terrain pr茅voient que des dilemmes et des nuances 茅thiques appara卯tront sur le champ, un processus qui n茅cessite donc une r茅flexion continue.
脡milie: Dans la perspective du logement d鈥檃bord, l鈥檋茅bergement m锚me transitoire est entrevu comme quelque chose de fondamentalement positif qui ne peut qu鈥櫭猼re b茅n茅fique pour les personnes en situation d鈥檌tin茅rance. Il demeure toutefois important de consid茅rer que l鈥檋茅bergement et la stabilisation qui y est inh茅rente lib猫re les personnes 芒g茅es qui ont connu l鈥檌tin茅rance d'un mode ax茅 exclusivement sur la survie et peut 茅liciter la possibilit茅 d鈥檃morcer un travail de deuil, d鈥檈ntrer une phase de conflit existentiel g茅n茅ralement li茅e au vieillissement, de se plonger dans la r茅minescence avec un historique de vie contenant souvent des exp茅riences traumatiques, d鈥檈xp茅rimenter les tensions associ茅 au grand 芒ge entre maintien de l鈥檃ctivit茅 vs d茅sengagement graduel dans un contexte de r茅insertion sociale de r茅-affiliation.
Des t芒ches et des 茅tapes de vie qui ont toutes le potentiel de favoriser l鈥櫭﹑anouissement de la personne, qui peuvent aussi cr茅er leur lot de d茅tresse. En ce sens, ce qui favorise ou peut compromettre la sant茅 mentale des usagers d茅pend de diff茅rentes caract茅ristiques individuelles, des circonstances de vie ant茅rieures, de la dur茅e de s茅jour 脿 la ressource et peut varier aussi dans le temps chez un m锚me individu. Les ressources d鈥檋茅bergement se doivent de demeurer 脿 l鈥櫭ヽoute des besoins sp茅cifiques des individus et sensibles aux fluctuations qu鈥檌ls exp茅rimentent pour 锚tre en mesure de d茅ployer un accompagnement flexible.
3. Comment avez-vous pr茅par茅 votre pr茅sentation ?
Diandra: Bien que nos pr茅sentations se soient d茅roul茅es de mani猫re ind茅pendante, nous (脡milie et Diandra) avons travaill茅 en collaboration pour les pr茅parer. Une fois que nous avons eu une premi猫re version de la pr茅sentation PowerPoint, nous avons proc茅d茅 脿 plusieurs it茅rations en nous pr茅sentant l'une 脿 l'autre, en nous faisant part de nos commentaires et en r茅茅crivant, jusqu'脿 ce que nous estimions avoir peaufin茅 "suffisamment" de versions de nos pr茅sentations.
脡milie : Pour le dernier sprint de pr茅paration, nous avons trouv茅 une grande pi猫ce d茅serte dans un pavillon de l鈥橴niversit茅 de R茅gina. C鈥櫭﹖ait formidable de pouvoir travailler c么te 脿 c么te toute la journ茅e sur nos pr茅sentations avec la vue sur le grand parc au centre de la ville ( et tous les jack rabbit qui y gambadent bien entendu).
4. Quels conseils donneriez-vous 脿 ceux qui pr茅sentent un expos茅 pour la premi猫re fois ?
Diandra: En ce qui concerne ma remarque pr茅c茅dente sur la n茅cessit茅 d'affiner la pr茅sentation jusqu'脿 ce qu'elle soit "suffisamment" bonne, je pense qu'il est tr猫s facile pour les nouveaux pr茅sentateurs de conf茅rences - dont beaucoup attendent beaucoup d'eux-m锚mes - de se laisser prendre par le souci de "perfectionner" la pr茅sentation. C'est pourquoi nous recommandons de demander l'avis de quelqu'un en qui vous avez confiance (dans mon cas, 脡milie), afin de faciliter le processus de perfectionnement et de valider la qualit茅 de votre pr茅sentation, qui est probablement d茅j脿 excellente !
En outre, je pense qu'il est important de s'amuser et de consid茅rer la pr茅sentation comme une exp茅rience d'apprentissage comme une autre. Le fait de savoir que la pr茅sentation est une comp茅tence qui s'acquiert au fil du temps att茅nue la pression imm茅diate que nous pouvons nous imposer en tant que pr茅sentateurs novices.
脡milie: Les chercheurs sont des humains et ce sont les humains qui se mobilisent et qui font changer les choses. Il ne faut pas, je crois, sous-estimer le pouvoir transformateur de notre capacit茅 comme chercheur qualitatif 脿 茅voquer la r茅alit茅 茅tudi茅e, 脿 laisser nos r茅sultats r茅sonner chez nos interlocuteurs. Parler de fa莽on sensible de nos d茅couvertes, quoi !
5. Comment s'est d茅roul茅e la premi猫re rencontre avec les membres de votre 茅quipe ?
Les deux : C'茅tait formidable ! Surtout les moments de d茅tente que nous avons pu passer ensemble et les encouragements que nous avons 茅chang茅s pendant les pr茅sentations.
脡milie: Sur une autre note, je pense qu鈥檌l y aurait d茅finitivement une 茅tude de psychologie sociale 脿 conduire sur notre perception de la grandeur de nos coll猫gues via zoom 馃槈 je suis vraiment contente de savoir la vrai taille de mes coll猫gues maintenant 馃槉
6. Quel est votre meilleur souvenir avant, pendant ou apr猫s la conf茅rence ?
Diandra: : Mon exp茅rience pr茅f茅r茅e a 茅t茅 de pouvoir prendre une pause apr猫s ma pr茅sentation et d'assister ensuite 脿 d'autres pr茅sentations avec mes coll猫gues. Il n'y a rien de tel que de rel芒cher la pression tout en profitant de l'enseignement de personnes brillantes.
脡milie: Les conversations autour d鈥檜n caf茅, d鈥檜n beigne ou d鈥檜ne bi猫re 脿 refaire le monde et red茅finir nos agendas de recherche avec ma pr茅cieuse coll猫gue Diandra. Quelle joie de travailler avec une si incroyable humaine !
