Hai Luo

• Doctor of Philosophy (Social Work) - University of Manitoba, 2015
• Master of Social Work - University of Manitoba, 2004
• Bachelors of Arts (Television Program Producing) - Communication University of China, 1993

Dr. Hai received the University of Manitoba Students' Teacher Recognition Award in 2016 and 2023.

Dr. Luo’s research focuses on older adults and aging. She specializes in the following areas:

• Cross-cultural aging
• Gerontological social work
• Social capital and social support for older adults
• Gambling and addictions among older immigrants
  
  Elder abuse in culturally minoritized groups
• End-of-life issues from cultural perspectives
• Caregiving and support to caregivers

Research grants awarded:

Promoting Inclusive and Equitable eHealth Futures: Confronting Digital Ageism and Marginalization of Racialized Older Adults
Hai Luo (PI, Social Work, University of Manitoba) & Amine Choukou (Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Manitoba)
2025-2028
CIHR, Planning and Dissemination Grant
Proposed budget: 25,000

Developing a Decolonization Equation Research Lab
Michael Yellow Bird (PI) (Faculty of Social Work, University of Manitoba) & Hai Luo (Co-I)
University Indigenous Research Program (UIRP) (Fall 2025) 
Proposed budget: $34,726

Exploring Preferences and Strategies to Increase the Utilization of Adult Day Programs and Senior Community Centres by Black Older Adults in Manitoba 
Ojembe BU (PI), Funk L, Hoben M, Kalu ME, Luo, H (Co-I), Mutua F. 
2025-2027
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council – Insight Development Grants (Spring 2025)
Proposed budget: $69,980

Ethnocultural Approaches to Family-Provided Dementia Care: A Pilot Study
Heather Campbell-Enns (PI), Canadian Mennonite University; Hai Luo (Collaborator)
2025-2027
Alzheimer’s Society of Canada
Sum awarded: $100,000

Defining Key Elements of Culturally Appropriate Interventions/Strategies for Black Older Adults: An Integrative Review and Follow-up Interviews and Focus Group Discussion
Ojembe BU (PI), Funk L, Kalu ME, Luo, H (Co-I), Veras M. 
2025-2027
University Collaborative Research Program (UCRP – University of Manitoba) 
Proposed budget: $24,840

Exploring Differential Vulnerabilities, Decision-Making and Preparedness During Climate Change-Related Weather Emergencies among Black and Racialized Older Adults in Winnipeg: Community-Based Participatory Research for Promoting Climate Justice
Ojembe BU (PI), Crawford A, Kalu ME, Luo H (Co-I), Wilson N.
2025-2026
University Research Grants Program, University of Manitoba
Proposed budget: $10,000

Media and Robot Literacies of People Over 65 Years of Age (MediaRoboLit 65+)
Heli Valokivi (PI, Social work, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Finland); Päivi Maria Pasi-Heikkinen (Faculty of Education, University of Lapland, Finland); Harri Siirtola (Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences, Tampere University, Finland); Hai Luo (Canadian collaborator)
2023-2027
Academy of Finland (https://www.aka.fi/en/)  
Sum awarded: $839,426 EUR (approx. 1,229,926 CAD)

Book Project and Social Work Research Workshop - Immigration in the Changing World: Canadian Realities 
Hai Luo (PI) & Mohammad Khan
2023-2024
Faculty of Social Work Endowment Fund, University of Manitoba
Sum awarded: $3,000

Indigenous Seniors in Urban Winnipeg
Lucille Bruce, Joanne Mason (Indigenous Seniors Resource Centre), Rachel Sansregret, Ursula Summer, Cherice Liebrecht (Winnipeg Friendship Centre), Gisele Simmons, Carolyn Brock (Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre), Shauna MacKinnon, Kathy Mallett (MRA representatives), Lorraine Cameron-Munroe, David Morrison, Hai Luo (Co-PI), & Laura Funk (Sociology, University of Manitoba)
2023-2024
Community-Driven Solutions to Poverty: Challenges and Possibilities, Manitoba Research Alliance (SSHRC funded)
Sum awarded: $25,000

Letter of Interest on Indigenous aging and health (Accepted)
Imagining Canada’s Future: Global Health and Wellness Ideas Lab competition 
Hai Luo
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
July-August 2023
Sum awarded: Approx. $3,000, Project development and travel expenditure covered by SSHRC

The Prevalence of Substance Use/Abuse and Mental Illness Among Service Participants Within the WRHA Home Care System
Hai Luo (Co-PI), Don Fuchs (Faculty of Social Work, University of Manitoba), Lori Mitchell (Shared Health), Debra Kostyk (Booth University) & Greg Reid (Shared Health)
2021-25
Winnipeg Foundation
Sum awarded: $65,000

The Role of Older Adults in Economic Development in Indigenous Communities: International Experience from Contemporary Taiwan
Hai Luo (PI), Kui Kasirisir (Co-I)
2021-2023
University International Program and Project Seed Fund (UIPPSF)
Sum awarded: $5,000

Refereed books:
Luo, H. (2026). Gerontological Social Work: Canadian Perspectives. Whitby, ON: Northrose. ISBN: 9781989941522 
https://northrose.ca/product/gerontological-social-work-canadian-perspectives/#:~:text=By%20blending%20rigorous%20academic%20frameworks,%2C%20competence%2C%20and%20cultural%20humility. 

Luo, H., Khan, M., & Hughes, J. (Eds.) (Under revision). Immigration in the changing world: Canadian realities. University of Toronto Press.
 

Refereed chapters (in Books or Proceedings): 
Luo, H. (2024). The diversity of views about death and dying in older immigrants and families: Implications to helping professionals. In S. Guruge (Ed.), Intersections of Aging and Immigration: The Promise and Paradox of a Better Life, 149-161. Toronto Metropolitan University. https://doi.org/10.32920/27138984.v1 

Luo, H. (2023). Active aging in mountainous villages: an ethnographic study of Indigenous older adults in Taiwan. In J. P. Lewis & T. Heinonen (Eds.), Social Aspects of Aging in Indigenous Communities, 52-75. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780197677216

Kui Kasirisir & Luo, H. (2023). Indigenous older adults in Taiwan: The aging population and related policy. In J. P. Lewis & T. Heinonen (Eds.), Social aspects of aging in Indigenous communities, 151-175. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780197677216

Luo, H. Heinonen, T., & Taylor, L. (2022). Field of practice: Aging and old age. In A. Burton, D. Halonen, & T. Heinonen (Eds.), Social Work Practice & Assessment – A W/Holistic Approach. Whitby, ON: Northrose. https://northrose.ca/system/books/social-work-practice-and-assessment-a-w-holistic-approach  

Luo, H. & Heinonen, T. (2022). Field of practice: Newcomers and settlement. In A. Burton, D. Halonen, & T. Heinonen (Eds.), Social Work Practice & Assessment – A W/Holistic Approach. Whitby, ON: Northrose. https://northrose.ca/system/books/social-work-practice-and-assessment-a-w-holistic-approach  

Luo, H. & Guse, L. (2021). Sexuality and aging: Teaching future healthcare and helping professionals in higher education. In Hillock, S. (Ed.), Let's teach about sex: Sexuality(ies) in higher education. University of Toronto Press. https://utorontopress.com/9781487524722/teaching-about-sex-and-sexualities-in-higher-education/#:~:text=Teaching%20about%20Sex%20and%20Sexualities%20in%20Higher%20Education%20argues%20that,
%2C%20sexuality%2C%20and%20related%20issues 
 

Refereed Articles in Academic or Professional Journals: 
Luo, H., Kasirisir, K. & Li, H.Y.S. (2026). “Vuvu Care for Vuvu (Grandparents Care for Grandchildren)”: Understanding Intergenerational Relationality in Rural Indigenous Communities in Taiwan. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 41(10). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-025-09557-6 

Bird, M. Y., & Luo, H. (2025). The Decolonization Equation: A Conceptual Framework. Wicazo Sa Review, 40(1), 62–104. https://doi.org/10.1353/wic.2025.a971962

Ojembe, B. U., Dr., Kalu, M. E., Veras, M., Funk, L. M., Eugene, E., Luo, H., & Mutapa, O. (2025). Defining Key Elements of Culturally Appropriate Interventions/Strategies for Black Older Adults: An Integrative Review. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/ENF5S 

Heinonen, T., Valokivi, H. & Luo, H. (2022). Active Ageing and Well-being of Older Northern Women in Finland. Ageing International, 48 (4), 1011-1027. DOI: 10.1007/s12126-022-09513-6  
Yi, S., Goldstein, A., Luo, H., & Haefner, S. A. (2022). A daily dairy investigation of self-regulation in gambling. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 37(3):533-544. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000884 

Yu, Z., Luo, H., Tan, W. & Niu, L. (2022). A case study of Social Work Leadership in the Pandemic Intervention in Wuhan. The British Journal of Social Work, 52, 2183-2197. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcab179  

Luo, H. (2021). The role of social work and social work leadership in pandemic crisis intervention. Open Journal of Social Sciences, ISSN Online: 2327-5960, ISSN Print: 2327-5952  https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=109905 

El-Bialy R, Funk L, Thompson G, Smith M, St John P, Roger K, Penner J, & Luo, H. (2021). Imperfect Solutions to the Neoliberal Problem of Public Aging: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Public Narratives of Long-Term Residential Care. Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement, 41(1), 121-134. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0714980821000325 
 

Research Reports: 
Indigenous Seniors Research Committee (2024). Minosin Kikiwa “A good home”: Indigenous older adults in Winnipeg. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) Manitoba Office. (Luo, H., PI of the project for this report) https://www.policyalternatives.ca/news-research/minosin-kikiwa-a-good-home-indigenous-older-adults-in-winnipeg/   
(The Indigenous Senior Research Committee members: Lucille Bruce, Joanne Mason, Rachel Sansregret and Ursula Summer of the Winnipeg Friendship Centre, Gisele Simmons, Carolyn Brock, Lorraine Cameron-Munroe, David Morrison, Kathy Mallett, and two non-voting members Hai Luo and Laura Funk). 

Public Engagement & Knowledge Mobilization:
Luo, H., Funk, L., & Disbrowe, M. (2026). How to ensure affordable, safe and culturally grounded housing for Indigenous older adults. The Conversation. DOI: https://doi.org/10.64628/AAM.prhs9qc7e 
 

March 9, 2022 - Alzheimer Society of Canada BIPOC Research Program Consultation March Series    

May 13, 2021 - Spoke on elder abuse at Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, 
House of Commons, on behalf of Canadian Association of Social Workers                     
https://parlvu.parl.gc.ca/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20210513/-1/35450?Language=English&Stream=Video

July 22, 2021  - Spoke in the Federal Policy Definition of Senior Abuse – Virtual Roundtable 
Organized by the National Seniors Council