Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Health determinants such as social support, food security, and the built environment play important roles in promoting seniors' health. Social isolation has been shown to be an important factor for both physical and mental health among seniors. Interventions that promote social connectedness have shown some benefit in reducing isolation. By examining the local context for aging in Labrador, this project seeks to contribute policy-relevant and contextualized knowledge to municipal planning related to infrastructure and seniors' services. The objectives of this study are to understand how older adults and seniors perceive healthy aging, and to explore factors that contribute to social connectedness. This community-based, qualitative study involves a partnership between the regional Inuit government, a local wellness coalition, and a research team based in Labrador. During the initial phase, we carried out community consultations to develop an understanding of local seniors' issues and the current state of supportive services. We engaged organizations that serve seniors including faith groups, health and social care programs, and local governments, to help develop relevant research questions. We then conducted semi-structured interviews with 23 community-dwelling adults aged 60 years and older in two Labrador communities. Participants emphasized the important roles of both family and friends in meeting basic needs and helping seniors continue to live at home. These relationships help facilitate involvement in food harvesting, and social and cultural events. Seniors also noted the benefits of accessible community space as an important factor in fostering social connections. These results underscore the value of informal and multigenerational social networks for healthy aging, while also highlighting opportunities for local governments to support initiatives that may reduce isolation among seniors in a Northern context.