In this applied research project, the authors conducted qualitative, open-ended interviews with senior immigrant women to explore their experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research questions were: How did this population cope during the pandemic? What were their needs (unmet and fulfilled) during this time? How can community organizations who serve this population prepare for other crises not limited to the pandemic and better serve senior immigrants? This study revealed key themes and areas of hardship and gaps in services and literature which predate the pandemic. Lack of English language proficiency and technological knowledge, absence of extended family and social networks, unfamiliarity with surroundings, financial constraints coupled with health issues brought on by advanced years present extreme hardships for this population which were magnified during the pandemic. This chapter makes recommendations to the research community as well as organizations and service providers who work in resettlement services, old age homes, and education and training.
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The goal of this chapter is to record and highlight the plight of a group of women during COVID-19 pandemic on whom research and literature has been light. This group of women is senior immigrants. The COVID-19 global pandemic has brought to light many of our social inequities and revealed the faultlines in our cities and communities. Among the most vulnerable populations were seniors. In Toronto, death tolls in long-term homes surged, community groups closed, and many seniors went through a period of isolation and chaos. The pandemic placed seniors at a high risk of severe health consequences, including negative concerns of social distancing measures (Solly & Wells, 2020). In addition, many senior immigrants encountered further marginalization and hardship as they face language and cultural barriers, lack support of networks and extended family, and as this research shows inability to navigate their host country, leaving them dependent. There is, therefore, a great urgency to delve deeper into this population’s needs in the hope to reform and transform settlement services and educational services offered to new immigrants.
The authors recognize the small number of participants is disproportionate to the considerable recommendations we are making. In fact, small sample size in applied research is an ongoing discussion and has prompted applied researcher and scholars to provide solutions for small sample sizes in applied research (Van de Schoot & Miocevic, 2020). While larger sample sizes are preferable, in applied research where target groups are small, difficult to access, or are prone to drop out, in addition to budget and time constraints, small sample sizes are often the case.
This chapter will share insight gained through an applied research project in which Toronto’s Seneca College partnered with a community organization (I2CRC: Intercultural Iranian Canadian Resource Center) which serves immigrant seniors. Applied research is a methodology which is used to solve practical ‘real life’ issues of a particular group or population. More and more, institutions are seeking social scientists to apply their research skills to tackle immediate social problems and applied research as a scientific methodology is well suited to develop information aimed at confronting an immediate societal problem. The Intercultural Iranian Canadian Resource Centre (I2CRC) contributes to building strong communities by supporting urban newcomer communities, namely seniors. The senior immigrant population whom I2CRC serves had expressed hardships, namely isolation and feelings of melancholy during periods of lockdown and throughout the pandemic. When the lockdown ended and group gatherings were permitted, board members heard seniors’ stories of coping during the lockdown. Board members expressed a need to explore their population’s coping mechanisms and needs during the times of lockdown and isolation in order to be prepared to deal with the issues that may arise at times of potential future crises for their members. It is for this purpose that this organization required applied research.
To be better prepared for any upcoming crises, it is important to understand the coping mechanisms used during the latest crisis, i.e., the COVID19 pandemic. Thus, this study explores the ways senior immigrants coped during the pandemic, and what their needs were during the COVID19-related lockdown of 2020 which lasted from March 2020 to June 2020, totaling in 4 months of complete isolation for some of the participants.
This chapter will include stories of the experience of this group of senior immigrants during COVID19 and offer suggestions to settlement services, community organizations, and educational services for inclusion and transformation so that they may better serve the needs of this population at times of disruption and crisis. The research questions that this study seeks to answer are: How did the senior immigrant population cope during the COVID19 pandemic? What were the needs of the senior immigrant population during COVID19? How can I2CRC and similar organizations address these needs and better support older adult newcomers?