Success Story #9 – Mrs. Doyle*
Find out why Mrs. Doyle* called her Community Connector “a gem of a friend and help mate” when she was dealing with both the death of her spouse and a health crisis of her own in our latest success story.
Project Overview
Social isolation is a growing problem among seniors in Canada. The Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario is undertaking a ground-breaking project to help understand and address that trend.
The project will link community partners and stakeholders – including older people themselves – in a participatory research initiative aimed at understanding, addressing, and reducing social isolation among seniors in the Greater Hamilton area. The aims of the project are as follows:
- to build capacity with regards to seniors’ social isolation at the community level;
- to work together to identify the unique nature of social isolation in Hamilton;
- to provide teams with the best available knowledge and research about target, audiences, risks, methods, and interventions to help combat social isolation of at-risk seniors; and
- to guide and facilitate knowledge exchange across sites and projects.
Collaboration
This project is being supported by the McMaster Institute for Healthier Environments.
Project Focus
Objectives
- Locate and co-create, through a participatory process, research-based knowledge that can be used to inform interventions, local frameworks, research, and policies.
- Supports for isolated seniors in the targeted regions.
- Draw on leading knowledge exchange models to develop and implement interventions that raise public awareness and concern about seniors’ social isolation.
RESEARCH OUTPUTS
A variety of materials from the Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging can be found below, including policy briefs, blog posts, tool kits, journal articles, conference contributions, project success stories, and more.
New materials are uploaded regularly, so be sure to check back often for updates.
Don’t see what you’re looking for? Contact us.
HSIIP Success Story #8 – Mrs. Will
When Mrs. Will* found it hard to navigate her surroundings due to vision loss, Wesley Urban Ministries referred her to a Peer Connector who helped set her up with local activities. Read Mrs. Will* success story to find out how the Connector program worked for her.
Success Story #7 – Ms. M*
Even people who want to become more active in their communities can face barriers that contribute to isolation. Read Ms. M’s* story of how the Peer Connector Program helped her build friendships and a schedule of activities.