Engaging post-secondary students in a multidisciplinary aging studies interest group

Figures & data

Figure 1. Conceptual framework of student engagement. Reproduced from Kahu (2014). CC-BY.

Table 1. Number of STAR meetings by category: Fall 2013 to Spring 2021.

Category	Occurrences
Research	19
Practice	16
Welcome	8
Discussion	7
Networking	7
Other	8
Total	65

Table 2. Respondent characteristics (N = 52).

Level of Study	Percent
Undergraduate	50.0%
Graduate	50.0%
International Students	25.0%
Identify as a Person of Colour	26.9%
Identify as Indigenous	5.8%
Age (years)
<25	36.5%
25-44	53.9%
45-64	5.8%
65+	2.0%
Gender
Women	71.2%
Men	28.9%

Figure 2. Respondent’s faculties and departments.

Table 3. Thematic summary of responses to long answer question: “Please share your interest related to aging, being as specific as possible.

Theme	Key concepts in text responses
Health	Physiology, mobility, balance, functional ability, activity, recreation, frailty, wellness
Mental Health	Mental health systems and services, treatments and interventions, experiences of persons with specific disorders (e.g., hoarding disorder, depression, anxiety)
Dementia and cognitive decline	Treatment and pharmacology, prevention and genomics, dementia care
Personhood and experiences	Minority groups including LGBTQ communities, grief, abuse, social isolation, loneliness, human rights, dignity, medical assistance in dying, advanced care planning
Technology	Tele-health, on-line support, robotics and caregiving, assistive devices, software and artificial intelligence
Caring and care systems	Health care, residential and institutional care, home and community care, policy, care continuum, palliative care, caregivers, care workers, health care professionals
Society and environment	Ageism, historical and socio-cultural constructions of age, social determinants of health, age-friendly communities, architecture and design, supportive housing

Table 4. Subsample of 18 STAR members: Meeting attendance and reason for nonattendance.

Question	Response	Occurences
How often do you attend STAR meetings?	Often	4 (22.2%)
	Sometimes	6 (33.3%)
	Rarely or never	8 (44.4%)
What has held you back from attending more regularly?	I can’t make the meeting times or I’m too busy to attend	14
	I’m not interested in the meeting topic	1
	Other (please specify)	1
	No reason given	2

Figure 3. Meeting activity preferences.

Kahu, E. (2014). Increasing the emotional engagement of first year mature-aged distance students: Interest and belonging. The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education, 5(2), 45–55. https://doi.org/10.5204/intjfyhe.v5i2.231

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