Women’s Age Lab targets 'important gap' in healthcare for older women

Toronto–On the heels of Canada’s crisis in long-term care homes, Women’s College Hospital in Toronto recently launched the Women’s Age Lab, dedicated to addressing the health inequities faced by older women. The first and only centre of its kind in the world, the Women’s Age Lab aims to improve the lives of older women using scientific research to transform care and practice. “We have identified an important gap in our healthcare for older women,” said Dr. Paula Rochon, a geriatrician and founding director of the Women's Age Lab, which opened in October. “There is a great lack of literature looking at the intersection between age and gender. It is shocking to consider that despite the importance of older women, and evidence that there are important differences between women and men, we are the first centre of this kind.” The issue of inadequate healthcare for older women came to light during the pandemic. A large proportion of COVID-19 cases and deaths were among people older than 80 years of age, with the majority being women—yet, according to information provided by the Lab, most countries didn’t report a gender breakdown of deaths in long-term care homes where residents are older and mostly women. This is especially problematic, said Rochon, since women experience a poverty and pension gap that makes them more reliant on under-funded and inadequately staffed services such as long-term care. The Lab will focus on four key areas: gendered ageism; reimagining aging in place and congregate care; optimizing therapies; and promoting social connectedness. The facility is comprised of a small team of scientists, trainees and research staff who work with other physicians and scientists to collaborate on local, national and international research projects. They also consult with community-based organizations and policymakers to implement practical solutions, and work directly with older women in the community, listening to their perspectives in an effort to understand the challenges they face. “In geriatric medicine, we often talk about older people as a single group rather than as older women and older men. If we don’t think purposely think about the unique needs of older women, we will miss out on important pieces that can be used to inform better care,” said Dr. Rochon. Dr. Rochon said that she was inspired to study ageism in healthcare when one of her first research projects looked at the lack of information about older adults and women in clinical research of arthritis, a condition that is common in older women and disproportionately impacts women. She found other areas where older women are unique. Women are at a greater risk of experiencing adverse drug events, reporting feelings of loneliness and isolation, and being in congregate care, said Dr. Rochon. “These health issues are further compounded by the socio-cultural and economic inequities women face throughout their life. Recognizing that women who are newcomers to Canada, racialized, Indigenous and low-income face particularly acute inequities is important,” she said. “Starting with research, we need to routinely collect data by sex and age groups so that we can see patterns of how conditions present differently in older women and men so that therapies can be tailored to their needs. If you don’t look, their unique needs will continue to go unseen and unmet.” Dr. Rochon said an obvious example of how healthcare workers might unconsciously show ageism is attributing the development of a new condition in an older person to age, rather than exploring the medical causes for the condition. Also, she noted, women are more likely to have their conditions attributed to mental health conditions while men are more likely to get care for medical conditions. Dr. Rochon said that she hopes practising physicians think about how they can tailor their interventions to the particular needs of older women. "Where the evidence does not exist, they need to advocate for research to create the needed evidence and advocate for socio-economic policies that can improve the health and wellbeing of older women," she said.

Women’s Age Lab targets 'important gap' in healthcare for older women

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