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S4AC Case Study: Enhancing Underserved Seniors’ Access to Health Promotion Programs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 January 2016

Sharon Koehn ,
Sanzida Habib  and
Syeda Bukhari
Sharon Koehn*
Affiliation:
Department of Gerontology, Simon Fraser University Providence Health Care, Vancouver
Sanzida Habib
Affiliation:
Department of Gerontology, Simon Fraser University Providence Health Care, Vancouver
Syeda Bukhari
Affiliation:
Department of Gerontology, Simon Fraser University Providence Health Care, Vancouver
*
†La correspondance et les demandes de tire-à-part doivent être adressées à: / Correspondence and requests for offprints should be sent to: Sharon Koehn, Ph.D. Department of Gerontology Simon Fraser University 515 West Hastings St., Ste 2800 Vancouver, BC V6B 5K3 (skoehn@sfu.ca)
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Abstract

The Seniors Support Services for South Asian Community (S4AC) project was developed in response to the underutilization of available recreation and seniors’ facilities by South Asian seniors who were especially numerous in a suburban neighbourhood in British Columbia. Addressing the problem required the collaboration of the municipality and a registered non-profit agency offering a wide range of services and programs to immigrant and refugee communities. Through creative outreach and accommodation, the project has engaged more than 100 Punjabi-speaking seniors annually in diverse exercise activities. Case study research methods with staff and current and former senior participants of S4AC include participant observation, individual interviews, and focus groups. Viewed through the critical interpretive lens of the “candidacy framework”, findings reveal the myriad ways in which access to health promotion and physical activity for immigrant older adults is a complex iterative process of negotiation at multiple levels.

Résumé

Les Services de soutien pour les aînés projet communautaire sud-asiatique (SSAPCSA) ont été développé en réponse à la sous-utilisation des loisirs disponibles et des installations pour les aînés par des aînés sud-asiatiques qui étaient particulièrement nombreux dans une banlieue en Colombie-Britannique. Abordant ce problème a nécessité la collaboration de la municipalité et un organisme enregistré à but non-lucratif offrant un large éventail de services et de programmes aux communautés immigrantes et réfugiées. Grâce à la sensibilisation créative et l’hébergement, le projet a engagé plus de 100 personnes âgées qui parlent panjabi chaque année à diverses activités impliquant l’exercice. Les méthodes de recherche ont porté sur l’étude de cas avec le personnel et les participants actuels et anciens cadres de SSAPCSA comprennent l’observation participante, entretiens individuels, et des groupes de discussion. Les conclusions, vues à travers le prisme d'interprétation critique de la “cadre de la candidature,” révèlent les multiples façons dans lesquelles l’accès à la promotion de la santé et l’activité physique pour les immigrants plus âgés est un processus complexe et itératif de négociation à plusieurs niveaux.

Keywords

agingaccess to servicescandidacy frameworkexercisehealth promotionSouth Asian immigrantsvieillissmentaccès aux servicescadre de la candidatureexercicepromotion de la santéimmigrés âgésSud-Asiatique immigrés
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 35 , Issue 1 , March 2016 , pp. 89 - 102
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Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2016 

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