In order to promote a better appropriation of the tools contained in the Reaching out to, understanding and supporting socially isolated seniors toolkit, this project made it possible to develop training workshops and offer individualized support to CWs and communities of practice. Between 2020 and 2023, more than 35 workshops were held with more than 260 people. This project was supported by the "Institut sur le vieillissement et la participation sociale des aînés" (IVPSA) and funded by the "Québec ami des aînés" (QADA) program of the "ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux" (MSSS).
About the training
Terminologies used in this training
Community workers: In this training, the term CWs is used. Their mandate is to identify, support and refer older adults in vulnerable situations or at risk of frailty in order to improve their connection or reconnection with the relevant resources in their community and to contribute to the enhancement of their well-being, the realization of their autonomy, as well as the maintenance of their active participation in the community. On some occasions, the word intervenor is used interchangeably with CW.
However, the role of CWs must in no way be confused with the roles of professionals practicing exclusive or reserved professions. We invite you to refer to the Quebec's Code of Professions and the acts reserved for them: Code des professions - Office des professions du Québec (in French).
To avoid roles confusion, the words "intervener", "intervention" and "intervening" will gradually be removed from the training as it is updated.
Volunteers: CWs are employees and their activities are funded through the ITMAV program. Some CWs call upon volunteers to support them in their mandates. Some information contained in this training may serve to equip them. It should be noted, however, that the management of volunteers falls under the responsibility of the organization and not CWs.
Identifying, supporting, and referring: The action verbs "reaching out, understanding, and supporting" used in the toolkit that contributed to the development of this training (see Origin of the training below), have been updated in the latest version of the ITMAV program. They are now "identify, support, and refer." This modification will be applied to each audioclips in their next update.
Origin of the training
The training offered on this platform is largely based on the information contained in the toolkit: Reaching out to, understanding, and supporting socially isolated seniors.
The toolkit stems from an participative approach that began with a research-action project between 2014 and 2017, which aimed to document the issue of social isolation among older adults and their intervention.
This research was made possible through funding obtained from the "Québec ami des aînés" program (QADA-ministère de la Famille).
The research-action aimed to:
- Reach out to socially isolated older adults;
- Understand their situation of social isolation and their unmet needs;
- Support them towards resources and services that can address their needs.
The term research-action means that throughout the research, we make learnings that require adjustments to the action. Research continuously influences intervention, and intervention influences research (unlike traditional research where one experiments with a research methodology and an intervention that remain the same until the end. In this case, learning influences future actions after the research is completed).
During the action research, there was a literature review, a selection of territories where the likelihood of encountering socially isolated older adults was higher, and the recruitment of 15 older adults who shared their experiences and were supported in addressing their needs. Throughout the action research phases, exchanges with organizations and partners at the local and regional levels took place regarding various aspects of the toolkit.
The knowledge derived from literature, field experience, and meetings with partners made it possible to create the toolkit presented on this website.
Subsequent projects
2020-2023: Workshop and support to CWs
2024-2027: Project: Assisting and Supporting leading Organizations of ITMAV
The IVPSA offers activities as well as support and training tools for ITMAV CWs and managers. Its mandate falls under Component 2 of this program from the "Secrétariat aux aînés". Since 2024, the objectives of the Project: Assisting and Supporting leading Organizations of ITMAV (PASO-ITMAV) are:
- To provide one-on-one support to CWs and managers;
- To support communities of practice;
- To build a digital self-learning platform;
- To develop new tools and trainings.
Thanks to our partners and team members
Part: Toolkit (2014-2017)
Thanks to everyone who contributed to creating the toolkit for socially isolated older adults. This toolkit, released in 2017, was a collaboration between "FADOQ - Régions de Québec et Chaudière-Appalaches" (FADOQ-RQCA), the "Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux" (CIUSSS) of the "Capitale-Nationale", the "Direction de santé publique" (DSPublique), the "Centre d’Excellence sur le vieillissement de Québec" (CEVQ), the "Direction soutien à l’autonomie des personnes âgées" (DSAPA), the "Centre de recherche sur les soins et les services de première ligne de l’Université Laval" (CERSSPL-UL) and the "Institut national de santé publique du Québec" (INSPQ). Its creation was made possible thanks to the support provided by the "Secrétariat aux aînés du ministère de la Famille du Gouvernement du Québec", within the framework of the "Québec ami des aînés" program (QADA).
Part: Workshops and support to CWs (2020-2023)
Thanks to everyone who participated in the Workshops and Support Project for ITMAV CWs deployed in Quebec between 2020 and 2023. This project was made possible through collaboration with the "Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux" (CIUSSS) of the "Capitale-Nationale", the "Direction de santé publique" (DSPublique), the "Centre d’Excellence sur le Vieillissement de Québec" (CEVQ), the "Institut sur le vieillissement et la participation sociale des aînés de l’Université Laval" (IVPSA), the "ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux" (MSSS), and community organizations. This project was made possible thanks to the support provided by the "Secrétariat aux aînés du ministère de la Famille du Gouvernement du Québec", within the framework of the "Québec ami des aînés" program (QADA).
Project team (in alphabetical order of last name)
- Érica Botner
- Lise Cardinal
- Mireille Fortier
- Louis Lemieux
- Steve Paquet
- Annick Poitras
- Jessica Sbarra
- André Tourigny
- Marie-Pier Trudel
- Annie Vézina
Monitoring committee (in alphabetical order of last name)
- Christian Bérubé
- Sonia Demers
- Francis Dubois
- Brigitte Dufort
- Denis Gingras
- Isabelle Langlois
- Sabrina Marino
- Jacques Pouliot
Part: PASO-ITMAV (2024-2027)
Thanks to everyone participating in the Project: Assisting and Supporting leading Organizations of ITMAV (PASO-ITMAV) which will run from 2024 to 2027. This project is made possible through the collaboration of CWs, managers, research professionals and researchers from community organizations, the "Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux" (CIUSSS) of the "Capitale-Nationale", the "Direction de santé publique" (DSPublique), the "Institut sur le vieillissement et la participation sociale des aînés de l’Université Laval" (IVPSA), and the "Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et inclusion sociale de Québec" (Cirris). This project is made possible thanks to the support provided by the "Secrétariat aux aînés du ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux" (MSSS).
Work team
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Secrétariat aux aînés (in alphabetical order of last name)
- Sonia Demers
- Francis Dubois
- Florence Godmaire-Duhaime
Part: IT support
Thanks to everyone at "Centre de services en TI et en pédagogie (CSTIP) de l’Université Laval" for their IT support in the development of this training platform.
- Jean-Simon Couture
- Gabriel Lacasse
- Alec Larose