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In partnership with the Canadian Association on Gerontology, the Institute of Aging (IA) organized a planning workshop for the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). The study aims to establish a cohort of the elderly Canadian population to determine the roles of different factors linked to aging (genetic, psychological, socio-cultural etc), and the effects of lifestyle (exercise, nutrition etc) on the health of the elderly population, as well as to follow the evolution of physical, psychological and cognitive abilities in aging. The workshop brought together 70 researchers from across Canada, as well as representatives from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), to outline the objectives and general parameters of the study. Réjean Hébert, Scientific Director of the IA, opened the workshop with a presentation on the background, opportunities and objectives and anticipated outcome of the CLSA. He also announced the launch of the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the protocol design for the CLSA. The RFP has been posted on the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) website. The deadline for proposals is January 15, 2002. The next presentation was by Richard Suzman, Associate Director, Behavioral Science Research (NIA), entitled "Hot Topics in Longitudinal Studies". Louise Plouffe and Barbara Sérandour of Health Canada provided a literature review of longitudinal studies on aging. The presentation included an overview of a database developed to assist in the design of the CLSA. The objective of the database was to provide a descriptive analysis of international longitudinal studies on aging. A poster session was scheduled during lunch including fifteen poster presentations on current research on aging including existing longitudinal studies in Canada. The first plenary session of the second day was given by Tamara Harris of NIA on how to integrate biological measures in longitudinal studies. Betty Havens of the University of Manitoba gave a presentation entitled "Longitudinal Studies: Impact on Policy". Alan Bernstein, President of the CIHR, was the guest speaker at lunch. Throughout the workshop, participants were divided into working groups and assigned several topics. The groups were led by members of the IA Institute Advisory Board who were also responsible for subsequently presenting a report on the discussion to the entire group. On the first day, participants broke into 5 pre-assigned groups. The first assignment was to brainstorm on what research questions should be addressed by the CLSA. A second break-out session was to prioritize the questions and to develop a list of the top 10 issues. On the second day, participants were asked to sign up for one of 4 groups to discuss different parameters of the CLSA: 1) biological, 2) clinical, 3) psychosocial health, and 4) services use. In the second sign-up break-out session, groups were asked to discuss important issues related to the CLSA: 1) sampling frame, 2) organization (infrastructure, sustainability, data warehousing), 3) dissemination and translation of the study data, and 4) data collection. At the end of the workshop, Larry Chambers at the Sisters of Charity Ottawa Health Service and University of Ottawa, provided a synthesis of the meeting. Réjean Hébert provided some closing remarks and thanked all participants. A complete report is available upon request at the IA. |
