Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

There is an increase in Muslim immigrants growing old in Canada. These immigrants belong to diverse cultures and ethnic groups with unique beliefs, experiences, and needs. We know little about older Muslim immigrants living in Edmonton. Research shows that older Muslim immigrants experience challenges such as social isolation and lack of access to social and health services. Strengths for aging within Muslim communities can include family support, transnational connections, and personal and community faith. This research project will identify experiences and needs for healthy aging in Edmonton, Alberta, using a community based participatory approach. A Muslim community senior's advocacy group and various Muslim community organizations have voiced a need to address this research question and are participating in recruitment, data analysis, and development of final recommendations. We will conduct focus groups with older Muslims. We will, also, talk to people in the community who are formal and informal community leaders, activists, and volunteers. Immigrant women from visible minority groups are often the most vulnerable to negative health and social consequences in later life. We will use an intersectionality lens to address the interplay of gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity in shaping the aging experience. The study findings will identify needs and make recommendations to support healthy aging in this population.