The goal of this commentary is to highlight the ageism that has emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 20 international researchers in the field of ageing have contributed to this document. This commentary discusses how older people are misrepresented and undervalued in the current public discourse surrounding the pandemic. It points to issues in documenting the deaths of older adults, the lack of preparation for such a crisis in long-term care homes, how some ‘protective’ policies can be considered patronising and how the initial perception of the public was that the virus was really an older adult problem. This commentary also calls attention to important intergenerational solidarity that has occurred during this crisis to ensure support and social-inclusion of older adults, even at a distance. Our hope is that with this commentary we can contribute to the discourse on older adults during this pandemic and diminish the ageist attitudes that have circulated.

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This case study examines the incorporation of digital media technologies and practices into

BackgroundMuseums can be instrumental in fostering social inclusion and may improve the overall health of the older population. Over the course of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic, many older adults suffered as a result of confinement measures, which may have accelerated the processes that lead to physical frailty and increased mental health risks. This study aims to examine whether a 3-month cycle of weekly virtual tours of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) may have improved feelings of social inclusion, wellbeing and quality of life, and reduced physical frailty in older adults living within the community of Montreal.Methods and designA total of 106 older adults, who were community-dwellers living in Montreal (Quebec, Canada), were recruited for a randomized controlled trial in two parallel groups (intervention with n = 53 vs control with n = 53) between January and April 2022. The intervention consisted of a 3-month cycle of weekly virtual museum tours of the MMFA. Social isolation, wellbeing, quality of life and frailty were evaluated using validated scales that were assessed on a web platform at baseline (M0) and after 3 months (M3) in the intervention group. The control group completed the same assessment according to the same schedule. The outcomes were the mean scores at M0 and M3, and changes in mean scores between M0 and M3.ResultsThe intervention group showed significant improvements in their social isolation, wellbeing, quality of life and frailty scores when compared to the control group, the highest benefits being observed with frailty.ConclusionThe results suggest that the 3-month cycle of weekly virtual MMFA tours may improve social inclusion, physical and mental health in community-dwelling older adults living in Montreal.Trial registrationhttps://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05046288, identifier NCT05046288.

Background The gamification of digital health provisions for older adults (eg, for rehabilitation) is a growing trend; however, many older adults are not familiar with digital games. This lack of experience could cause stress and thus impede participants’ motivations to adopt these technologies. Objective This crossover longitudinal multifactorial study aimed to examine the interactions between game difficulty, appraisal, cognitive ability, and physiological and cognitive responses that indicate game stress using the Affective Game Planning for Health Applications framework. Methods A total of 18 volunteers (mean age 71 years, SD 4.5; 12 women) completed a three-session study to evaluate different genres of games in increasing order of difficulty (S1-BrainGame, S2-CarRace, and S3-Exergame). Each session included an identical sequence of activities (t1-Baseline, t2-Picture encode, t3-Play, t4-Stroop test, t5-Play, and t6-Picture recall), a repeated sampling of salivary cortisol, and time-tagged ambulatory data from a wrist-worn device. Generalized estimating equations were used to investigate the effect of session×activity or session×activity×cognitive ability on physiology and cognitive performance. Scores derived from the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test were used to define cognitive ability (MoCA-high: MoCA>27, n=11/18). Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to test session or session×group effects on the scores of the postgame appraisal questionnaire. Results Session×activity effects were significant on all ambulatory measures (χ210>20; P<.001) other than cortisol (P=.37). Compared with S1 and S2, S3 was associated with approximately 10 bpm higher heart rate (P<.001) and approximately 5 muS higher electrodermal activity (P<.001), which were both independent of the movement caused by the exergame. Compared with S1, we measured a moderate but statistically significant drop in the rate of hits in immediate recall and rate of delayed recall in S3. The low-MoCA group did not differ from the high-MoCA group in general characteristics (age, general self-efficacy, and perceived stress) but was more likely to agree with statements such as digital games are too hard to learn. In addition, the low-MoCA group was more likely to dislike the gaming experience and find it useless, uninteresting, and visually more intense (χ21>4; P<.04). Group differences in ambulatory signals did not reach statistical significance; however, the rate of cortisol decline with respect to the baseline was significantly larger in the low-MoCA group. Conclusions Our results show that the experience of playing digital games was not stressful for our participants. Comparatively, the neurophysiological effects of exergame were more pronounced in the low-MoCA group, suggesting greater potential of this genre of games for cognitive and physical stimulation by gamified interventions; however, the need for enjoyment of this type of challenging game must be addressed.