“If I Do not Go to Work, They Will Die!” Dual Roles of Older-Adult Personal Support Workers' Contributions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

When COVID-19 devastated older-adult organizations(long-term care homes and retirement homes), most public attention was directed toward the older-adult residents rather than their service providers. This was especially true in the case of personal support workers, some of whom are over the age of 55, putting them in two separate categories in the COVID-19 settings:(1) a vulnerable and marginalized group who are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19;and(2) essential healthcare workers. Since the current disaster-driven research, practice, and policy have primarily focused on generalized assumptions that older-adults are a vulnerable, passive, and dependent group rather than recognizing their diversity, expertise, assets, and experiences, this study aimed to identify their contributions from the perspective of older-adult personal support worker(OAPSW). This qualitative study conducted in-depth interviews, inviting 15 OAPSWs from the Greater Toronto Area, Canada. This study uncovered the OAPSWs' contribution at three levels: individual(enhancing physical health, mental health, and overall well-being), work(improving working environment and service and supporting co-workers), and family(protecting their nuclear and extended families). The outcomes inform the older-adult research, practice, policy, public discourse, and education by enhancing the appreciation of older-adults' diverse strengths and promoting their engagement and contributions in disaster settings.

Human-Animal Interactions in Disaster Settings:A Systematic Review

This systematic review aimed to assess the current knowledge of human-animal interactions(HAIs)in disaster settings and identify areas for future research.A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses search was conducted on three multidisciplinary databases,identifying English-language journal articles published between January 2000and February 2022 that explored the benefits of and challenges associated with HAI in disasters and emergencies.The review analyzed 94 articles using both quantitative and qualitative methods.The review found a paucity of universal terminology to describe the bidirectional relationship between humans and animals during disasters and a failure to include all animal types in every stage of disaster and emergency management.Additionally,research predominantly focused on the health and well-being benefits of HAI for humans rather than animals.Efforts to promote social and environmental justice for humans and their co-inhabitants should support the welfare of both humans and animals in disaster settings.Four recommendations were developed based on these findings to increase the inclusion of HAI in research,policy,and practice.Limitations of the review included the exclusion of pre-2000 articles and all grey literature,limited research examining different combinations of animal and disaster types,and limited research outside of North America.