Notes
Community organizations: n/a
Future research / gaps identified:
1) Conduct future research on specific groups within IMO women, e.g. newly arrived older immigrants, those with lower socioeconomic status, those experiencing language and cultural barriers, etc.
2) Understanding the perspectives of the family and social network surrounding IMO women could comprehensively capture opportunities for social belonging and identify points of intervention for programming most relevant to IMO women.
Key findings:
Themes included:
1) Avoiding loneliness and loss is the motivation to belong
2) Opportunities for choosing family: Beyond nuclear family relationships
3) Competencies pertinent to social engagement in the family
4) Perceptions and reflections on aging experiences
Key populations: Muslim immigrant women ages 55 and up living in Edmonton
Key recommendations:
1) Foster opportunities specifically for IMO women to build social capital within ethnocultural spaces.
2) Enhance the capacity of IMO women to navigate services, particularly involving language learning opportunities, addressing pre-migratory realities, socioeconomic conditions, family circumstances, and personal priorities.
3) Shift service infrastructure and policies to recognize the heterogeneity within IMO women, as well as diverse contexts and priorities.
4) Create avenues to cultivate connections for IMO women beyond their community through bridging social capital to broader networks.
Integration timeline: not defined