Gail Low, RN, BSN, MA (Gerontology), PhD (Human and Social Development)

Contact

VPRI Research Integrity Support

Email: gaill@ualberta.ca

Overview

About

Degrees

Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Alberta (2009-2011)
PhD (Nursing) University of Victoria (2006)
MA (Gerontology), Simon Fraser University (2000)

Currently, I serve as a reviewer for a number of international journals including Quality of Life Research and Research in Nursing & Health, and for the International Society for Quality of Life and the Canadian Association on Gerontology. I also review grants for the Canadian Lung Association and the Canadian Thoracic Society, and the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation. I am on the Canadian Journal of Nursing Research editorial board.

Research

My program of research focuses on factors that enhance and take away from quality of life and psychological well-being at midlife and in older age. I also test measurement instruments and analyze large data sets pertaining to quality of life, psychological well-being, and physically and mentally adapting to aging. I have worked with a number of international students and scholars on projects related to spirituality and religion, living with chronic respiratory disease and stroke, and intimate relationships in older age. A key focus of my research work on mentally healthy living at midlife and in later life is knowledge sharing through community engagements. Mental health and social isolation are paramount issues in post-pandemic society (https://www.un.org/en/un-chronicle/pandemic-accelerant-how-covid-19-advanced-our-mental-health-priorities; https://www.who.int/groups/commission-on-social-connection">https://www.who.int/groups/commission-on-social-connection).

For more information, please visit: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gail_Low/contributions

Teaching

Fundamentals of Nursing

Leadership

Statistics

Research Methods

Announcements

Community Engagement Excerpts:

Canadian Association on Gerontology. https://www.cag2023.ca/_files/ugd/efbed2_85381069927a4bfe99efbde1f07c1ef1.pdf
CFCW Radio (November 30, 2023). Mentally Healthy Living after Social Distancing. Ag Show Feature. URL pending.
Rutherford, G. (November 27, 2023). https://www.ualberta.ca/folio/2023/11/researchers-serve-up-a-menu-for-mental-and-nutritional-health
Alberta Gerontological Nurses Association: Mentally Healthy Living after Social Distancing. Invited Presentation. January 2024.
LaMantia, A. (August 23, 2023). Mentally Healthy Living Post-COVID-19: Experiencing troubling anxiety? Add these two strategies to your mental health toolbox! Renaissance Magazine – The Retired Teachers of Ontario Magazine. https://erenaissance.rtoero.ca/mentally-healthy-living-post-covid-19
The Age Collective (July 2, 2022). New Old – Stories and perspective to tackle ageism and re-define aging. https://www.theagecollective.com/stories/
Low, Gail, Gloria Gutman, and Zhiwei Gao (May 31, 2022). https://rtoero.ca/webinar-mentally-healthy-living-after-social-distancing-a-study-of-older-canadians Webinar: Mentally Healthy Living after Social Distancing. Attendees: 500.
Ageism. Discussion seminar. South East Edmonton Seniors Association (SEESA). October 2019. Edmonton.
Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Aging in Place; Sexuality and sexual well-being. https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2

Featured Publications

Suitability of the Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire Short Form for Use among Adults in Their 50s: A Cross-Sectional e-Survey Study

Gail Low, Alex Bacadini França, Donna M Wilson, Gloria Gutman, Sofia von Humboldt

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023 November; 20 (22 (Special Issue: Health and well-being in midlife ad healthy aging)):7035 10.3390/ijerph20227035

Cooking up calm: Design your menu for mentally healthy living in the later years. Insights and evidence from Mentally Health Living After Social Distancing-A Study of Older Canadians.

Low, G., Wilson, D., Gutman, G., Zhiwei, G., França, A., Vitorino, L., von Humboldt, S., Allana, H., & Kolskog, M.

RTOERO Foundation Site/ERA (CC-BY-NC). 2023 August; 10.7939/r3-qtw2-5a58

Health service accessibility, mental health and changes in behavior during the Covid-19 pandemic: A qualitative study with older adults

von Humboldt, S., Low, G., & Leal, I

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022 April; 19 (7):1-13 10.3390/ijerph19074277