Andrew Wister received his doctorate in Social Demography from the University of Western Ontario in 1985. Between 1985 and 1987, Dr. Wister conducted innovative research on the relationship between living environments, health status, and social supports as a Manitoba Health Research Council post-doctoral fellow at the Centre on Aging, University of Manitoba and a SSHRC post-doctoral fellow at the Sociology Department, University of Waterloo. After serving four years as an Assistant Professor in the Sociology Department at the University of Waterloo, Dr. Wister came to the Gerontology Program and Research Centre at Simon Fraser University in 1991, currently holding the titles of Professor and Director, Gerontology Program.

Dr. Wister has had many administrative duties since coming to SFU, including the primary responsibility for developing the Masters in Gerontology, and is currently Chair of the Department of Gerontology. He has also been active in the Canadian ssociation on Gerontology. Andrew was elected chair of the Social Science Division in 1993 and treasurer in 1997 and again in 1999; was the program chair for the 24th Annual Scientific and Educational Meeting held in Vancouver in 1995; and program chair for the World Congress of Gerontology held in Vancouver in 2001.

Professor Wister’s research encompasses several interlocking areas. Andrew spent part of his 1996 study leave at the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute in the Hague, where he was invited to conduct research on patterns of formal/informal support among functionally impaired older adults. Between 1995-1998, he was one of the principal investigators on the project entitled, "Seniors Independence Through Self-Care, Self-Help and Mutual Aid: A Collaborative MultiMethod Research Program" funded by Health Canada. Currently, Professor Wister leads the SFU part of a $2.5 million five year grant, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research through their Community Alliance Health Research program, to develop and test innovative interventions integrating cardiovascular prevention, self-care, and clinical care best practices targeting baby boomers.

He has conducted extensive research and written over 60 articles, books and chapters on environmental adaptation among older adults; patterns of family and social support; aging, health promotion and population health; statistical methods; and life-course trends and transitions.

Selected Recent Publications

• McPherson, B., & Wister, A.V. (2008). Aging as a social process: Canadian perspectives, 5th Edition. Don Mills ON: Oxford University Press.
• Sinden, D., & Wister, A.V. (2008). E-health promotion for aging baby boomers in North America. Gerontechnology 7(3), 271-278.
• Votova, K., & Wister, A.V. (2007). Self-care dimensions of complementary and alternative medicine use among older adults. Gerontology, 53(1), 21-27.
• Wister, A.V., Loewen, N., Kennedy-Symonds, H., McGowan, B., McCoy, B., & Singer, J. (2007). One-year follow-up analysis of a therapeutic lifestyle targeting cardiovascular disease risk. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 177(8), 859-865.
• Wister, A.V., & Wanless, D. (2007). A health profile of community-living nonagenarians in Canada. Canadian Journal on Aging, 26(1), 1-18.
• Nasvadi, G., & Wister, A.V. (2006). Informal support and use of a specialized transportation system by chronically ill older adults. Environment and Behavior, 38(2), 209-225.
• Wister, A.V., Gutman, G.M., Adams, R., & Chou, P.H. (2006). Fact book on aging in British Columbia, 4th Edition. Vancouver: Simon Fraser University Gerontology Research Centre.
• Chou, B., & Wister, A.V. (2005). From cues to action: Exercise self-care among older adults managing chronic illness. Canadian Journal on Aging, 24(4), 395-408.
• McDonald-Miszczak, L., & Wister, A.V. (2005). Predicting self-care behaviors among older adults coping with arthritis: A cross-sectional and 1-year longitudinal comparative analysis. Journal of Aging and Health, 17(6), 836-857.
• Wister, A.V. (2005). Baby boomer health dynamics: How are we aging? Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
• Wister, A.V. (2005). The built environment, health and longevity: Multilevel salutogenic and pathogenic pathways. Journal of Housing for the Elderly, 19(2), 49-70.
• Mitchell. B., Wister, A.V., & Gee, E. (2004). The ethnic and family nexus of homeleaving and homereturning among Canadian young adults. Canadian Journal of Sociology, 29(4), 543-575.
• Wister, A.V. (2003). Its never too late: Healthy lifestyles and aging. Editorial. Canadian Journal on Aging, 22(2), 149-153.
• Cvitkovich, Y., & Wister, A.V. (2002). Bringing in the life course: A modification to Lawton's Ecological Model of Aging. Hallym International Journal of Aging, 4(1), 15-29.
• Didelez, V., Pigeot, I., Dean, K., & Wister, A.V. (2002). A comparative analysis of graphical interaction and logistic regression modelling: Self-care and coping with a chronic illness in later life. Biometrical Journal, 44(2), 410-432
• Mitchell, B.A., Wister, A.V., & Gee, E.M. (2002). There's no place like home: An analysis of young adults' mature coresidency in Canada. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 54(1), 57-84.
• Wister, A.V., Chittenden, M., McCoy, B., Wilson, K., Allen, T., & Wong, M. (2002). Using alternative therapies to manage chronic illness among older adults: An examination of the health context and enabling factors. Canadian Journal on Aging, 21(1), 45-59.
• Wister, A.V., & Romeder, Z. (2002). The chronic illness context in exercise self-care among older adults: A longitudinal analysis. Canadian Journal on Aging, 21(4) Winter 2002, 521-534.
• Cvitkovich, Y., & Wister, A.V. (2001). A comparison of four person-environment fit models applied to older adults. Journal of Housing for the Elderly, 14(1/2), 1-25.
• McDonald-Miszczak, L., Wister, A.V., & Gutman, G. (2001). Self-care among older adults: An analysis of the objective and subjective illness context. Journal of Aging and Health, 13(1), 120-145.