Walrus Talks Quality of Life

UVic’s health care research was centre stage in Vancouver last week as UVic partnered with the publishers of The Walrus magazine to present The Walrus Talks Quality of Life, part of the national speaker series produced by the Walrus Foundation.

UVic nursing professor and palliative care researcher Kelli Stajduhar with the Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health, and sociologist Neena Chappell—the Institute’s founding director—shared the stage with rocker and author Bif Naked, broadcaster and poet Bill Richardson, neurologist and medical educator Alexander Henri-Bhargava, chief medical officer of the First Nations Health Authority Evan Adams, and others.

Walrus Talks happen in cities across Canada on themes of pressing interest such as energy, mental health, human rights and water. The sold-out event was held June 2nd at Vancouver’s newest theatre venue, the Goldcorp Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre in Olympic Village.

Watch a video of all eight Talks:

Or watch them individually on YouTube.

President Jamie Cassels: opening remarks

President Jamie Cassels opened the Talks speaking about UVic’s dedication to tackling issues of importance to people, places and the planet.

“We’re here tonight because we want to engage leaders, decision makers and citizens in the Lower Mainland who share our deep interest in an area of critical importance: health care, or quality of life, in our communities,” he said. “It’s a topic that affects all of us. It’s about our family, our friends, our neighbours. It’s about where we live, how we live and also about how we die.”

Kelli Stajduhar: palliative care

Kelli Stajduhar (Nursing / Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health) talked about the need for integration of the palliative approach into nursing practice in all care settings. Seven in 10 Canadians, she said, will die in hospitals and care homes, without access to the kind of care that would help us live longer and more comfortably than with medical intervention alone. In all the public debate about medically assisted dying, she questioned why palliative care is so far off the public agenda, given that it offers us a better way to die?

Her op-ed on the same topic entitled “The real conversation about death and why we need to have it” was published in the Vancouver Sun, June 2.

Neena Chappell: paradox of aging

Neena Chappell (Sociology / Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health) talked about what she calls the "paradox of aging"—a body of research suggesting that as we age our physical health declines but in measures of quality of life (happiness, life satisfaction and subjective wellbeing) older adults do as well as, or better than, younger adults.

She spoke to Stephen Quinn, host of CBC Radio's "On the Coast," on the subject: CBC (from 41:16).

Listen to the full roster of eight Walrus Talks speakers via SoundCloud.

UVic is the venue sponsor for The Walrus Talks Youth Leadership, coming to Farquhar auditorium Oct. 24.