Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T14:15:14.878Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adhikari, R., & Sanou, D. (2012). Risk factors of diabetes in Canadian immigrants: A synthesis of recent literature. Canadian Journal of Diabetes, 36(3), 142–150.Google Scholar
BC Ministry of Health. (2011). Self-management support: A health care intervention. Victoria, BC: Government of British Columbia. Retrieved 21 November 2011 from http://www.chsrf.ca/Libraries/Researcher_on_Call/Self-Management.sflb.ashx Google Scholar
Benisovich, S. V., & King, A. C. (2003). Meaning and knowledge of health among older adult immigrants from Russia: A phenomenological study. Health Education Research, 18(2), 135–144. doi:10.1093/her/18.2.135Google Scholar
Bristow, K., Edwards, S., Funnel, E., Fisher, L., Gask, L., Dowrick, C., et al (2011). Help seeking and access to primary care for people from “Hard-to-reach” groups with common mental health problems. International Journal of Family Medicine, 2011 (online [open access]). doi:10.1155/2011/490634CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brotman, S. (2003). The primacy of family in elder care discourse: Home care services to older ethnic women in Canada. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 38(3), 19–51.Google Scholar
Carter, S. M., & Little, M. (2007). Justifying knowledge, justifying method, taking action: Epistemologies, methodologies, and methods in qualitative research. Qualitative Health Research, 17(10), 1316–1328. doi:10.1177/1049732307306927Google Scholar
Chinman, M., Imm, P., & Wandersman, A. (2004). Getting to outcomes (TM) 2004: Promoting accountability through methods and tools for planning, implementation, and evaluation. (Technical Report (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) No. TR-101-CDC). Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved 15 June 2012 from http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR101.html Google Scholar
Daniel, M., & Wilbur, J. (2011). Physical activity among South Asian Indian immigrants: An integrative review. Public Health Nursing, 28(5), 389–401.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Denzin, N. K. (1994). The art and politics of interpretation. In Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 500–515). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Dixon-Woods, M., Cavers, D., Agarwal, M. S., Annandale, E., Arthur, T., Harvey, J., et al (2006). Conducting a critical interpretive synthesis of the literature on access to healthcare by vulnerable groups. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 6(35). doi:10.1186/1471-2288-6-35Google Scholar
Fischbacher, C. M., Hunt, S., & Alexander, L. (2004). How physically active are South Asians in the United Kingdom? A literature review. Journal of Public Health: Oxford Journals, 26(3), 250–258. doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdh158; pii: 26/3/250CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Forbat, L. (2004). The care and abuse of minoritized ethnic groups: The role of statutory services. Critical Social Policy, 24(3), 312–331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foulds, H. J., Bredin, S. S., & Warburton, D. E. (2012). Greater prevalence of select chronic conditions among aboriginal and South Asian participants from an ethnically diverse convenience sample of British Columbians. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 37(6), 1212–1221.Google Scholar
Garrett, C. R., Gask, L. L., Hays, R., Cherrington, A., Bundy, C., Dickens, C., et al (2012). Accessing primary health care: A meta-ethnography of the experiences of British South Asian patients with diabetes, coronary heart disease or a mental health problem. Chronic Illness, 8(2), 135–155.Google Scholar
Gee, E. M., Kobayashi, K. M., & Prus, S. G. (2004). Examining the healthy immigrant effect in mid- to later life: Findings from the Canadian community health survey. Canadian Journal on Aging Supplement, 23, S61–S69.Google Scholar
Hankivsky, O. (Ed.). (2011). Health inequities in Canada: Intersectional frameworks and practices. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press.Google Scholar
Hawe, P., Shiell, A., & Riley, T. (2009). Theorising interventions as events in systems. American Journal of Community Psychology, 43(3), 267–276.Google Scholar
Hayes, L., White, M., Unwin, N., Bhopal, R., Fischbacher, C., Harland, J., et al (2002). Patterns of physical activity and relationship with risk markers for cardiovascular disease and diabetes in Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and European adults in a UK population. Journal of Public Health, 24(3), 170–178.Google Scholar
Horne, M., & Tierney, S. (2012). What are the barriers and facilitators to exercise and physical activity uptake and adherence among South Asian older adults: A systematic review of qualitative studies. Preventive Medicine, 55(4), 276–284.Google Scholar
Huberman, A. M., & Miles, M. B. (1994). Data management and analysis methods. In Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 428–444). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Hunter, C., Chew-Graham, C., Langer, S., Stenhoff, A., Drinkwater, J., Guthrie, E., et al (2013 [online]). A qualitative study of patient choices in using emergency health care for long-term conditions: The importance of candidacy and recursivity. Patient Education and Counseling. http://dx.doi.org.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/10.1016/j.pec.2013.06.001 Google Scholar
Johnson, J. L., Bottorff, J. L., Browne, A. J., Grewal, S., Hilton, B. A., & Clarke, H. (2004). Othering and being othered in the context of health care services. Health Communication, 16(2), 255–271. doi:10.1207/S15327027HC1602_7Google Scholar
Kincheloe, J. L., & McLaren, P. L. (1994). Rethinking critical theory and qualitative research. In Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 138–157). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Klassen, A. C., Smith, K. C., Shariff-Marco, S., & Juon, H. (2008). A healthy mistrust: How worldview relates to attitudes about breast cancer screening in a cross-sectional survey of low-income women. International Journal for Equity in Health, 7(1), 5–24. doi:10.1186/1475-9276-7-5Google Scholar
Koehn, S. (2009). Negotiating candidacy: Ethnic minority seniors' access to care. Ageing & Society, 29(4), 585–608.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koehn, S., Jarvis, P., & Kobayashi, K. (2011). Taking care of chronic disease: Realizing approaches for Canada’s aging ethnic population: A workshop - final report. Vancouver, BC: Centre for Healthy Aging at Providence Health Care (CHAP). Retrieved 20 July 2012 from http://www.centreforhealthyaging.ca/documents/TakingCareofChronicDiseaseReport-FINAL.pdf Google Scholar
Koehn, S., Jarvis, P., Sandhra, S., Bains, S., & Addison, M. (2014). Promoting mental health of immigrant seniors in community. Ethnicity and Inequalities in Health and Social Care, 7(3), 146–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koehn, S., McCleary, L., Garcia, L., Spence, M., Jarvis, P., & Drummond, N. (2012). Understanding Chinese-Canadian pathways to a diagnosis of dementia through a critical-constructionist lens. Journal of Aging Studies, 26(1), 44–54. http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1016/j.jaging.2011.07.002 Google Scholar
Koehn, S., Neysmith, S., Kobayashi, K., & Khamisa, H. (2013). Revealing the shape of knowledge using an intersectionality lens: Report on a scoping review on the health and health care access and utilization of ethnocultural minority older adults. Ageing & Society, 33(3), 437–464. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X12000013 Google Scholar
Koehn, S., Spencer, C., & Hwang, E. (2010). Promises, promises: Cultural and legal dimensions of sponsorship for immigrant seniors. In Durst, D., & MacLean, M. (Eds.), Diversity and aging among immigrant seniors in Canada: Changing faces and greying temples (pp. 79–102). Calgary, AB: Detselig Enterprises Ltd.Google Scholar
Kovandžić, M., Chew-Graham, C., Reeve, J., Edwards, S., Peters, S., Edge, D., et al (2011). Access to primary mental health care for hard-to-reach groups: From ‘silent suffering’ to ‘making it work’. Social Science & Medicine, 72(5), 763–772.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lawton, J., Ahmad, N., Hanna, L., Douglas, M., & Hallowell, N. (2006). ‘I can't do any serious exercise’: Barriers to physical activity amongst people of Pakistani and Indian origin with type 2 diabetes. Health Education Research, 21(1), 43–54. doi:10.1093/her/cyh042Google Scholar
Macaden, L., & Clarke, C. L. (2006). Risk perception among older South Asian people in the UK with type 2 diabetes. International Journal of Older People Nursing, 1(3), 177–181.Google Scholar
Mackenzie, M., Reid, M., Turner, F., Wang, Y., Clarke, J., Sridharan, S., et al (2012). Reaching the hard-to-reach: Conceptual puzzles and challenges for policy and practice. Journal of Social Policy, 41(03), 511–532.Google Scholar
McCall, L. (2005). The complexity of intersectionality. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 30(3), 1771–1800.Google Scholar
McLaren, A. T. (2006). Immigration and parental sponsorship in Canada: Implications for elderly women. Canadian Issues (Metropolis), Spring, 34–37.Google Scholar
Patel, M., Phillips-Caesar, E., & Boutin-Foster, C. (2012). Barriers to lifestyle behavioral change in migrant South Asian populations. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 14(5), 774–785.Google Scholar
Peiris, D., Brown, A., Howard, M., Rickards, B. A., Tonkin, A., Ring, I., et al (2012). Building better systems of care for aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: Findings from the kanyini health systems assessment. BMC Health Services Research, 12(1), 369–383.Google Scholar
Rogers, A., Gately, C., Kennedy, A., & Sanders, C. (2009). Are some more equal than others? Social comparison in self-management skills training for long-term conditions. Chronic Illness, 5(December), 305–317.Google Scholar
Schwandt, T. A. (1994). Constructivist, interpretivist approaches to human inquiry. In Denzin, N. K. & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 118–137). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Smith, H., Chen, J., & Liu, X. (2008). Language and rigour in qualitative research: Problems and principles in analyzing data collected in Mandarin. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 8(44), 1–8.Google Scholar
Statistics Canada. (2012). The Canadian population in 2011: Population counts and growth. Retrieved 28 November 2012 from http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/98-310-x/98-310-x2011001-eng.cfm#a2 Google Scholar
Warner, L. R. (2008). A best practices guide to intersectional approaches in psychological research. Sex Roles, 59(5), 454–463.Google Scholar
Webster, R. A., Thompson, D. R., & Mayou, R. A. (2002). The experiences and needs of Gujarati Hindu patients and partners in the first month after a myocardial infarction. European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 1(1), 69–76. doi: S1474515101000056CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weerasinghe, S., & Numer, M. (2011). A life-course exploration of the social, emotional and physical health behaviours of widowed South Asian immigrant women in Canada: Implications for health and social programme planning. International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, 6(4), 42–56.Google Scholar
WelcomeBC. (2010). Immigrant seniors in British Columbia 2002–2006. (Fact Sheet). Victoria: Policy & Decision Support Branch, Ministry of Regional Economic and Skills Development.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Koehn supplementary material

Appendix A

Download Koehn supplementary material(File)
File 18.2 KB