Melanie Levasseur

Université de Sherbrooke | UdeS · School of Rehabilitation

This study aimed to provide integrated knowledge on the influence of shared reading or writing activities, that is, recreational occupations involving dynamic relationships based on personal development, on adults aged 55 and older. Using a scoping study framework, six databases were searched with 25 relevant keywords for papers, theses, and scient...

Purpose To explore the effects of the Personalized Citizen Assistance for Social Participation (APIC), an intervention adapted here for visual impairment, involving weekly stimulation sessions over six to twelve months, provided by trained and supervised attendants, on seven outcomes (social participation, leisure, independence, mobility, quality o...

Background Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are rigorous scientific research designs for evaluating intervention effectiveness. However, implementing RCTs in a real-world context is challenging. To develop strategies to improve its application, it is essential to understand the strengths and challenges of this design. This study thus aimed to ex...

As the COVID-19 pandemic impacted mental health, this longitudinal study examined the effect of age-friendly communities (AFC) action plan on older adults’ depressive symptoms. Using the CLSA, the CLSA COVID-19 Questionnaire study, survey of Canadian municipalities, and the census, the depressive symptoms trajectories were modeled with multilevel m...

Frailty prevalence estimates vary considerably (4.0% to 59.1% in one review). Understanding these differences and what drives frailty among individuals could lead to more focused interventions. Breaking frailty into subdomains and exploring their relationships is one approach to this. A 127-item overall Frailty Index (FI) based on data collected on...

Participation in meaningful occupations promotes self-confidence, self-esteem, overall health, and healthier life transitions. Due to significant life changes brought by neurocognitive disorders older adults living with neurocognitive disorders as well as caregivers may undergo some disruption in their occupational participation. Few interventions...

Several countries are currently facing significant labour shortages in different work sectors. One of the solutions being considered to deal with such shortages is the retention of older workers. However, to do so, ageist attitudes and discrimination in the workplace must be countered as well as their negative impacts on older workers’ well-being....

Introduction Telehealth interventions have the potential to enhance access to care and improve efficiency while reducing the burden on patients. Although telehealth interventions are well accepted and adopted in physical therapy, their usage in occupational therapy for older adults is less common, and limited information exists regarding their sett...

Résumé Afin de mieux comprendre la distribution géographique des facilitateurs et des obstacles à la participation sociale des Québécois âgés, cette étude visait à documenter l’Indice du potentiel de participation sociale (IPPS) selon les zones métropolitaines, urbaines et rurales. Des analyses de données secondaires, dont l’Enquête transversale su...

Objective: The objective of this review is to assess and synthesize the available qualitative evidence on the experiences of social participation of older adults with an early-onset physical disability. Introduction: Understanding the experiences of social participation among older adults with a physical disability acquired earlier in life can g...

Municipalities can foster the social participation of aging adults. Although making municipalities age-friendly is recognized as a promising way to help aging adults stay involved in their communities, little is known about the key components (e.g., services and structures) that foster social participation. This study thus aimed to identify key age...

Objectives: To address global aging, a paradigm shift is needed from disease prevention and treatment towards active aging, i.e., optimizing opportunities for health, participation, and security as people age. Little is known about how age-friendly environments promote active aging. This study thus aimed to explore how (through which mechanisms an...

Résumé Cette étude visait à documenter comment un programme de familiarisation à l’utilisation du transport en commun influence l’expérience de mobilité des aînés. Ce programme a été co-construit avec des partenaires clés afin d’y inclure l’usage d’outils de planification technologiques et un accompagnement personnalisé tenant compte des incapacité...

Background and objectives Although the positive influence of social activity on health is now well-established, a complex relationship exists among social participation, personal, social and the environment. Social participation of older adults was examined in rural and urban settings to identify features of the built-environment and perception of...

Résumé La présente étude visait à documenter l’implantation de l’Accompagnement-citoyen personnalisé d’intégration communautaire (APIC), lors duquel des bénévoles soutiennent la participation sociale d’aînés, dans des organismes communautaires en identifiant les facteurs favorables et défavorables ainsi que ses conditions essentielles. Soutenu par...

Age-related social biases - ageism - are developed at an early age. Interventions to counter ageism have been identified but little is known about their mechanisms, particularly in children. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of which interventions in youths are most effective, under which circumstances, how, and with what ou...

This study aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the influence of hearing loss on social participation in older adults and including its facilitators and barriers. Following the rigorous methodological framework of scoping studies, nine multidisciplinary databases were searched with 44 keywords. Published mainly in the last decade, 41 s...

This study aimed to adapt the personalized citizen assistance for social participation (APIC; French acronym for Accompagnement-citoyen personnalisé d’intégration communautaire) approach for older adults with disabilities and explore its feasibility. A qualitative clinical research design, including interviews, was used with 19 older adults with di...

Municipalities can foster the social participation of aging adults. Although making municipalities age-friendly is recognized as a promising way to help aging adults stay involved in their communities, little is known about the key components (e.g., services and structures) that foster social participation. This study thus aimed to identify key age...

This study aimed to explore effects of a two-session Educational Person-centered Intervention on Compensatory Strategies (EPICS) designed to increase knowledge of strategies, reduce barriers, and improve accomplishment of meaningful leisure activities (MLA) and well-being in older adults living with frailty. Using a double-blind concurrent mixed-me...

Background: Symptom persistence in non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients, also known as Long COVID or Post-acute Sequelae of COVID-19, is not well characterized or understood, and few studies have included non-COVID-19 control groups. Methods: We used data from a cross-sectional COVID-19 questionnaire (September-December 2020) linked to baseline (2...

Background People with obesity are at increased risk of chronic stress, and this may have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) are also associated with both obesity and stress, and may modify risk of stress among people with obesity. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the associations between...

Intergenerational initiatives have the potential to bring generations together and can have a wide range of benefits for the health of older adults as well as for the development of young people. This paper presents a five-phase participatory action research protocol for the co-design and pilot implementation of a toolkit supporting intergeneration...

Defined as, “stereotype, prejudice, and discrimination directly towards people because of their age”, ageism may contribute to adverse health outcomes, accelerate aging process, and increase the burden on health and social services. Little is known about the ageism impact on biological aging. Secondary analysis of the American Health and Retirement...

Background frailty imparts a higher risk for hospitalisation, mortality and morbidity due to COVID-19 infection, but the broader impacts of the pandemic and associated public health measures on community-living people with frailty are less known. Methods we used cross-sectional data from 23,974 Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging participants who...

Background The Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created a spectrum of adversities that have affected older adults disproportionately. This paper examines older adults with multimorbidity using longitudinal data to ascertain why some of these vulnerable individuals coped with pandemic-induced risk and stressors better than others – t...

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted access to healthcare services in Canada. Research prior to the pandemic has found that depression and anxiety symptoms were associated with increased unmet healthcare needs. The primary objective of this study was to examine if mental health was associated with perceived access to healthcare during the p...

Objectives This paper examines the longitudinal effects of changes in the association between loneliness and depressive symptoms during the pandemic among older adults (65+). Methods Baseline (2011–2015) and Follow-up 1 (2015–2018) from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), and the Baseline and Exit waves of the CLSA COVID-19 study (Apri...

As supporting active and healthy aging calls for different community-based housing alternatives, integrated knowledge of their impacts on older adults' social participation is required. This study aimed to explore how community-based housing fostered social participation in older adults. A scoping review was used to systematically identify relevant...

Background: Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is the most prevalent adult form of neuromuscular disorders, for which a decrease of participation with age is known. However, little is known about facilitators and barriers to participation, especially from the perspective of both patients and caregivers. Objective: This study explored and explained...

Purpose This conceptual paper aims to describe aging all over the place (AAOP), a federative framework for action, research and policy that considers older adults’ diverse experiences of place and life trajectories, along with person-centered care. Design/methodology/approach The framework was developed through group discussions, followed by an ap...

Resident-to-resident aggression (RRA) is a globally-recognized problem in long-term care centers which is presently understudied among private seniors’ residences (PSRs) for independent and semi-independent older adults. This research documents the manifestations of RRA in PSRs in Québec and identifies the need to develop a program promoting wellne...

Objectives: This study aimed to (1) document, globally and by domain, Canadian municipalities' level of age-friendliness, and (2) identify municipality characteristics most associated with age-friendliness. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was sent to all Canadian municipalities (N=3406) with an online survey of 56 items from 9 domains providin...

Introduction: Although Lifestyle Redesign® has been shown to be effective in improving older adults' health and well-being, little is known about the feasibility of implementing this programme to develop meaningful and health-promoting routines of community-dwelling older adults in Canada. This study thus aimed to explore the feasibility of implem...

Les situations de crise humanitaire touchent fréquemment les pays en voie de développement, pays où l’organisation des services de réadaptation s’appuie couramment sur la réadaptation à base communautaire (RBC). Parallèlement, la RBC est de plus en plus utilisée dans les pays industrialisés. La RBC est officiellement une stratégie de développement...

Background Indigenous elders play an important role in transmitting knowledge, values and practices, hence fostering identity-building through intergenerational solidarity. We aimed to verify the association between intergenerational solidarity involving Indigenous elders and mental health of Indigenous people living off reserve. Methods We carrie...

Background: considering the importance of social participation for quality of life and active ageing in older adults, it is an important target of social and health professionals' interventions. A previous review of definitions of social participation in older adults included articles up to 2009; new publications and changes in the social context...

Importance The association of COVID-19 not requiring hospitalization with functional mobility in community-dwelling adults above and beyond the impact of the pandemic control measures implemented in 2020 remains to be elucidated. Objective To evaluate the association between a COVID-19 diagnosis and change in mobility and physical function of adul...

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic presents an unprecedented challenge to public health, with over 233 million confirmed cases and over 4.6 million deaths globally as of September 20211. Although many studies have reported worse mental health outcomes during the early weeks of the pandemic, some sources suggest a gradual decrease in a...

The measures implemented to limit the spread of COVID-19 affect the social relationships of the elderly. The aim of this article is to understand the effects of the pandemic on residents and resident-to-resident aggression (RRA). In total, 21 individual interviews were conducted with three groups of actors of four independent living facilities who...

This study documented the provision of services and issues experienced by community organizations supporting older adults and caregivers in the province of Quebec during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as promising strategies to adapt the provision of services in this context. A cross-sectional electronic survey using open- and...

BACKGROUND Multiple mobility-related challenges frequently appear with aging. As a result, many older adults have difficulty getting around, to go, for example, to doctors’ appointments or leisure activities. Although various means of transportation are currently available, older adults do not necessarily use them, partly because they do not know w...

Background: Multiple mobility-related challenges frequently appear with aging. As a result, many older adults have difficulty getting around, to go, for example, to doctors' appointments or leisure activities. Although various means of transportation are currently available, older adults do not necessarily use them, partly because they do not know...

Background: It is important to foster social participation and health equity, especially for older adults in situations of vulnerability. Despite growing interest in vulnerability, there is no consensus regarding how to define or measure this concept. This paper provides an inventory and synthesis of definitions of and instruments measuring vulner...

Introduction Peer-led health promotion programs rely on community members to promote health-enhancing changes among their peers. Such programs are growing in popularity and, as a useful and relevant strategy to promote older adults’ social participation, have shown benefit to participants’ physical and psychological health. Little is known, however...

Introduction To encourage isolated and vulnerable older adults to accomplish meaningful social activities, occupational therapists and other healthcare workers must collaborate with community organisations and municipalities to develop and implement initiatives fostering social participation. In a rural Regional County Municipality in Quebec (Canad...

La pandémie et sa gestion ont mis en difficulté les systèmes de soins, mais elle a également mis en lumière les processus de construction du savoir. Elle a donc révélé les tensions qui existent entre savoirs et actions, entre savoirs et expériences. Ces tensions étant à la source des questionnements épistémologiques qui ont traversé les Disability...

As chronic pain (CP) interferes with an individual’s lifestyle by limiting meaningful activities and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), occupational therapy (OT) plays an important role in CP management interventions. This pilot study aimed to explore the influence of a 13-week French-Canadian Lifestyle Redesign ® for CP. A mixed-methods resea...

This study aimed to describe and compare, according to rurality, the characteristics of regular public transit and paratransit in Quebec municipalities. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using an online questionnaire with public transit agencies, two activity reports and open data portal. Representatively distributed among 573 (50.4%) municipa...

Background To promote healthy aging, the social participation needs of older adults must be better met. Previous studies have shown the benefits of the Personalized citizen assistance for social participation (APIC), but few explored its influence on attendants. This study explored the assistance experience of attendants in providing the APIC to ol...

Although social participation fosters older adults' health, little is known about which environmental characteristics are related to greater participation in social activities. The Canadian Community Health Survey (n = 2737), a transportation survey, and multiple secondary data sources were used to identify the environmental characteristics associa...

Aim This study described and compared participation with community activities and perceived barriers among middle‐aged and older Canadians by gender and age group (45–64, 65–74, 75–84, ≥85 years). Method Using the cross‐sectional 2008–2009 Canadian Community Health Survey – Healthy Aging, we considered the frequency of involvement in eight communi...

Background Social participation is restricted for approximately half the older adult population but is critical in fostering community vitality, promoting health, and preventing disabilities. Although targeted through interventions by community organizations, healthcare professionals and municipalities, little is known about the needs of older adul...

Purpose For slowly progressive neuromuscular disease, prognostic approach and long-term monitoring of participation is a crucial part of rehabilitation services. To improve the prognostic approach, professionals must identify individuals at risk of having higher participation restriction. This study aimed to identify personal and environmental pred...

Objective Wellness is a challenge for Indigenous peoples, partly because Western services do not adopt a holistic approach. By devaluing traditional knowledge, Indigenous values and beliefs, these services lower Indigenous power and affect cultural identities. Indigenous elders participate in intergenerational solidarity by transmitting knowledge,...

Résumé Cette étude visait à explorer comment les composantes clés de l’environnement des communautés favorisent les résultantes de santé d’Estriens âgés, plus précisément leur santé positive, leur participation sociale et leur équité en santé. Une étude de cas multiples a été réalisée auprès de cinq communautés estriennes (cas) à l’aide de groupes...

RÉSUMÉ La pandémie de la COVID-19 et l’état d’urgence publique qui en a découlé ont eu des répercussions significatives sur les personnes âgées au Canada et à travers le monde. Il est impératif que le domaine de la gérontologie réponde efficacement à cette situation. Dans la présente déclaration, les membres du conseil d’administration de l’Associa...

Date Presented 03/26/20 Lifestyle Redesign is a manualized OT intervention that has shown significant clinical benefits for people with chronic pain. This occupation-based intervention has been translated, adapted in French, and tested with French-Canadian patients in the context of the Canadian healthcare system. Primary Author and Speaker: Émilie...

Promoting health equity in aging requires ensuring older adults’ effective access to community‐based services fostering their social participation. This study aimed to (a) identify levers for change in community‐based services to foster older adults’ social participation and (b) explore unexpected outcomes of stakeholder engagement. Based in a larg...

Description Récemment traduit et adapté au contexte franco-canadien, le programme Remodeler sa vie ( Lifestyle Redesign) vise le développement de modes de vie sains et porteurs de sens. On connaît toutefois peu l’influence de ce programme chez les aînés francophones. But Décrire l’influence du programme Remodeler sa vie sur l’équilibre de vie, l’e...

Afin de prolonger une conduite automobile sécuritaire des conducteurs âgés, il importe de mettre en place des interventions de perfectionnement de la conduite. Cette étude pilote visait à vérifier les effets d’une intervention de perfectionnement de la conduite automobile auprès de conducteurs âgés. Un dispositif pré-expérimental (questionnaires en...

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent state of public emergency have significantly affected older adults in Canada and worldwide. It is imperative that the gerontological response be efficient and effective. In this statement, the board members of the Canadian Association on Gerontology/L'Association canadienne de gérontologie (CAG/ACG) and the Cana...

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 aging 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 i...

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...

Background To promote healthy aging, the social participation needs of older adults must be better met. Previous studies have shown the benefits of the Personalized citizen assistance for social participation (APIC), but few explored its influence on attendants. This study explored the assistance experience of attendants when providing the APIC to...

Background: To promote healthy aging, the social participation needs of older adults must be better met. Previous studies have shown the benefits of the Personalized citizen assistance for social participation (APIC), but few explored its influence on attendants. This study explored the assistance experience of attendants in providing the APIC to o...

Background : To promote healthy aging, the social participation needs of older adults must be better met. Previous studies have shown the benefits of the Personalized citizen assistance for social participation (APIC), but few explored its influence on attendants. This study explored the assistance experience of attendants when providing the APIC t...

Background: To promote healthy aging, the social participation needs of older adults must be better met. Previous studies have shown the benefits of the Personalized citizen assistance for social participation (APIC), but few explored its influence on attendants. This study explored the assistance experience of attendants in providing the APIC to o...

Background: To promote healthy aging, the social participation needs of older adults must be better met. Previous studies have shown the benefits of the Personalized citizen assistance for social participation (APIC), but few explored its influence on attendants. This study explored the assistance experience of attendants in providing the APIC to o...

Communication par affiche

Abstract: The cessation of driving is a difficult transition for the elderly, but it can be facilitated through interventions. The purpose of this study was to explore the satisfaction, usefulness and applicability of the CarFreeMe intervention in the French-Canadian context. A qualitative clinical research device was used on ten older adults aged...

Levasseur, M., Lussier-Therrien, M., Baillargeon, D., Giroux, S., Cohen, A. A., Tourigny, A., Lord, S., Morin, C., Carrier, A., Kirouac, L., Lagacé, M., & Beaulieu, M. (4 au 6 février 2020). Proposition de recherche Audacieuse pour rompre avec l’âgisme : vers une inclusion et une participation sociale accrues des aînés? 6e Colloque international du...

Levasseur, M., Lussier-Therrien, M., Biron, M. L., Guay, M., Léonard, G., Beaulieu, M., Abdulrazak, B., Bravo, G., Carrier, A., Coallier, J.-C., Cossette, B., Dubois, M.-F., Provencher, V., Boissy, P., Corriveau, H., & Tousignant, M. (4 au 6 février 2020). Définition des situations de vulnérabilité : vers des pratiques favorisant davantage l’inclus...

Clinical reasoning (CR) is the cognitive process that therapists use to plan, direct, perform and reflect on client care. Linked to intervention efficiency and quality, CR is a core competency that occurs within an institutional context (legal, regulatory, administrative and organisational elements). Because this context can shape how community the...

Background: Social participation is critical in fostering community vitality, promoting health, and preventing disabilities, but is restricted for approximately half the older adult population. Social participation involves social and leisure activities, such as visiting friends, bowling, etc., that meet fundamental needs for interaction, well-bein...

Background: Social participation is restricted for approximately half the older adult population but is critical in fostering community vitality, promoting health, and preventing disabilities. Although targeted through interventions by community organizations, healthcare professionals and municipalities, little is known about the needs of older adu...

Background: Social participation is restricted for approximately half the older adult population but is critical in fostering community vitality, promoting health, and preventing disabilities. Although targeted through interventions by community organizations, healthcare professionals and municipalities, little is known about the needs of older adu...

Résumé. Introduction. Déterminant d’un vieillissement en santé, la mobilité permet aux aînés de réaliser des activités de participation sociale et de demeurer intégrés dans leur communauté. Récemment adapté au vieillissement et à la perte d’autonomie fonctionnelle, l’Accompagnement-citoyen personnalisé d’intégration communautaire (APIC), un suivi...

The scientific questions we pursue are shaped by our cultural assumptions and biases, often in ways we are unaware. Here, we argue that modern biases against older adults (ageism) have unconsciously led aging biologists to assume that traits of older individuals are negative and those of younger individuals positive. We illustrate this bias with th...

This study aimed to identify the facilitators and barriers to as well as the feasibility of Implementing Personalized Citizen Assistance for social participation (IPCA) in older adults with disabilities living in the community. The IPCA is a three-hour, weekly follow-up achieved by trained and supervised non-professional assistants that aims to inc...