Grant: Summer Program in Aging

Globally, the number of refugees is increasing. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that about 26 million persons lived outside their countries' borders at the end of 2021 due to conflicts, human rights violations and generalised violence. Older people make up an estimated four per cent of global refugees, yet they receive very little scholarly attention because their needs are not deemed as necessary as that of other vulnerable groups such as women and children. This leaves them at risk of falling through the gaps of support and care. Anchored on the theories of Ubuntu and intersectionality, this proposed phenomenological study will adopt art-based storytelling and graphics to explore the social network and support experiences of African refugees aged 50 years and over living in Calgary. This study will investigate the nature of social support received during the migration and postmigration periods. The impact of decreased support networks on their mental health and quality of life will also be explored. This proposed research aims to contribute to the established knowledge deficit on older refugees by highlighting the roles of older African refugees' current social networks and support to their well-being, how forced migration may have changed their social networks and support, and the gaps in support it may have created. The findings will aid immigrant serving agencies, social workers, multidisciplinary gerontologists and policymakers to design and provide ethnic and culture-sensitive programmes to support older African refugees and older refugees of other ethnicities.