In this episode of Aging Vibrantly, host Raeann Rideout and co-host Pauline Luening talk with Dr. Kirsten Madsen and Liza Franses about standing up against senior bullying and the development of Solutions: Everyone's Business. Senior to Senior Anti-Bullying Toolkit.

We begin our interview with a brief background on the aim of the project, and evolution of the Toolkit, including the need and importance for the Toolkit, including the collection of data on the prevalence and nature of Senior to Senior bullying in Ontario, Canada that demonstrated seniors have experienced being bullied, engaged in bullying behaviours as well as witnessed bullying behaviours between older adults.

Dr. Madsen and Liza Franses explained how they used this data to create the toolkit of best practices and strategies for older adults and those working with older adults to stop bullying. We are informed that this toolkit integrates communication styles for ethno-cultural communities, with the recognition of age and gender diversity using case scenarios and is currently being adapted older adults who are hard of hearing and/or have hearing impairments which include videos accompanied with ASL interpretation.

During this episode you will learn :

The difference between bullying and :

• Non-bullying Behaviour,
• Challenging Behaviour,
• Elder Abuse, and 
• Criminal Activity

Senior to Senior Anti-Bullying Toolkit:

• Aim: This Toolkit is intended to assist residences and organizations working with older adults to establish strategies for tackling bullying specifically between older people.

• Audience: Though this Toolkit is intended for senior leadership and staff from seniors' residences and organizations, the more people engaged with this Toolkit the better. 

 

Until next time - Stay Vibrant!

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References & Resources:

Senior to Senior Anti-Bullying Toolkit
https://eapon.ca/factsheets/#Senior_Anti_Bullying_Toolkit

Seniors Anti-Bullying Implementation & Evaluation (2022-2025)
https://eapon.ca/factsheets/#Project_Overview

Webinars featuring the Anti-Bullying Project
https://eapon.ca/factsheets/#Webinars_Bullying 

EAPO Fact Sheets on Senior Bullying
https://eapon.ca/factsheets/#bullying_olderadults

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About Our Guests:

Dr. Kirsten Madsen is a faculty member at Sheridan College. She received her PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of Sheffield in England where she focused her graduate work on anti-bullying. Currently, her focus is bullying amongst older adults, and is the Principal Investigator on Seniors' Anti-Bullying Research in Ontario. Dr. Madsen conducts research and training with frontline staff in the area of bullying, aggression, age differences, gender differences, program development and ethics. 

Liza Franses is the Project Manager of the Senior's Anti-Bullying Toolkit work at Sheridan College. She has worked with diverse older adult communities in the GTA, including long-term care, and a multicultural Seniors Active Living Centre.  She is passionate about advocating on behalf of older adults and ensuring that they are consulted and engaged in matters that help them stay independent in their homes and engaged in their communities.

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Credits:

Producer: Todd Miller, The Podcast Experts
Podcast Coordinator: Lisa Widdifield
Co-Host: Pauline Luening, Member of Aging Vibrantly Podcast Advisory Committee
Music: Redpath Audio

We want to thank HelpAge Canada for their financial support to produce Season 2 of the Aging Vibrantly podcast.

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Stay Connected :

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If you prefer to watch the interview, this episode and all others are available on Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario's YouTube Channel.

Be sure to also check our website eapon.ca to learn more resources on abuse prevention and protecting the rights and dignity of older adults. 

Disclaimer:
This content is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as constituting or implying endorsement by EAPO of any entity, product, service or organization mentioned, referenced, or linked.