Fernandes Kassandra, Hand Carri, Laliberte Rudman Debbie, McGrath Colleen, Cooper Helen C, Donnelly Catherine, DePaul Vincent G, Letts Lori, Richardson Julie
Graduate Program in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Western University, London, ONN6G 1H1, Canada.
School of Occupational Therapy & Graduate Program in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Western University, London, ONN6G 1H1, Canada.
Can J Aging. 2025 Mar;44(1):115-125. doi: 10.1017/S0714980824000345. Epub 2024 Nov 29.
Developing effective, sustainable strategies that promote social inclusion, reduce isolation, and support older adults' wellbeing continues to be important to aging communities in Canada. One strategy that targets community-living older adults involves identifying naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs) and supporting them through supportive service programs (NORC-SSPs). This qualitative descriptive study utilized semi-structured interviews to explore how older adults living in a NORC supported by an SSP, sought to build, and maintain, a sense of community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis revealed how changes in context prompted changes in the program and community, and how despite lack of in-person opportunities participants continued to be together and do occupations together in creative ways that supported their sense of community. NORC-SSPs, like Oasis, play an important role in supporting older adults' capacity to build strong, resilient communities that support wellbeing, during a global pandemic and in non-pandemic times.
制定有效的可持续战略以促进社会包容、减少孤独感并支持老年人的福祉，对加拿大的老龄化社区而言仍然至关重要。一项针对居住在社区的老年人的战略是识别自然形成的退休社区（NORC），并通过支持性服务项目（NORC-SSP）为其提供支持。这项定性描述性研究利用半结构化访谈，探讨了生活在由SSP支持的NORC中的老年人在新冠疫情期间是如何寻求建立和维持社区感的。分析揭示了环境变化如何促使项目和社区发生变化，以及尽管缺乏面对面交流的机会，参与者如何继续以创造性的方式相聚并共同开展活动，从而维持他们的社区感。像绿洲项目这样的NORC-SSP在支持老年人建立强大且有韧性、能促进福祉的社区方面发挥着重要作用，无论是在全球大流行期间还是非疫情时期。
