2.1 Community Partner Interview Analysis - Seniors

The Social Planning Council of Cambridge and North Dumfries interviewed service providers to gain some insight on how seniors and youth were being excluded or included in local decision-making throughout the community. Here is a list of the senior organisations interviewed and the services that they provide.

Organisation

Service

Seniors For Seniors

Provides employment for people 50+

to work with other seniors with other

seniors to allow them to live independently for as long as possible.

Marsdale Seniors Services

Retirement home which provides security and some healthcare.

Cambridge Home Support

Provides services to seniors over 65

and permanent disabled adults.

Provides meals on wheels, housekeeping,

home maintenance, snow shoveling,

grass cutting, community referrals

Allan Reuter Centre

Provides recreation programs for seniors.

Friendly Visiting Program

Serves isolated seniors and physically disabled adults.

Co-ordinates volunteers and matches

them up with seniors.

Volunteers visit the seniors and spend time with them.

St. Luke’s Places

Have long term care beds and day programs.

Serve those who cannot live independently.

Fairview Mennonite Home

Have long term care: full range of activities

in feeble population.

Have senior centre: target mainly individual

seniors

Have assisted living: specific separate

programs + activity (exclusively)

There were three sections to the interview; questions regarding the interviewee organisation, questions regarding the community on the whole and questions about the seniors they serve.

Organizational Perspective

The participants that were interviewed were asked several questions ranging from their role in the organisation, to whether or not their organisation had policies/rules/and or practices concerning seniors and inclusion. The majority of interviewees hold director or manager positions in organisations that serve mostly the urban regions of Cambridge.

Most of these service providers feel that the issue of inclusion and exclusion are relevant to the senior population. Some feel it is financially important because many seniors cannot pay for certain services. Others feel that inclusion and exclusion are relevant because they have organizational visions that are largely based on integration rather than assimilation. They try to create an atmosphere where their services are oriented to provide activities that encourage participation.

An excellent example of this relevance is shown in one organisation where a suggestion box exists so that seniors can go and drop off any complaints or compliments they may have. It allows them to express their thoughts anonymously and thus protects their privacy. Annual conferences are held by this organisation to make sure that things are running smoothly. Meetings are held among the residents to discuss what things could be improved, and whether or not needs are adequately being met. Tenant associations and resident councils open the door for representatives from each floor to voice their opinions and choice about the effectiveness of the organisation.

Most providers perceived their role as one of facilitation; their main objective is to enable their clients to be part of the planning and decision-making process. Although most of the participants felt that the issue of isolation was relevant to the current aging population, it should be mentioned that one of the directors of the organisations felt that the issue of isolation was not relevant to seniors, and that their level of participation depended solely on their willingness to be involved.

It was found that although most of the service providers claimed that issues of social and economic inclusion had some relevance to them and their organisation, much of their internal policies and procedures lacked this sense of senior involvement. In some organisations, they are included in terms of their personal care but many seniors are excluded due to their cognitive inability. For instance, seniors are consulted when a new form of medication needs to be used. In the case of those who suffer from a severe cognitive decline, their families are consulted instead.

Certain barriers exist within these services which limit potential clients in participating in their organisation. Some of the most common barriers seem to be:

Other less common barriers include:

Fortunately, most of the services claimed to be quite successful in overcoming these barriers. Most of them tried to integrate the seniors in different ways to serve those who do not easily participate, such as having a variety of new programs to keep the seniors interested and content. Subsidy plans were also common in order to try to eliminate the financial barrier that hindered the participation level of many potential clients. One organisation even has a recreationist do a review for their program department within five days of a resident admission. This is done in order to setup a recreation program based on the way they use to live within their own community. The recreationist reviews the assessment every once in a while to check whether needs are being met, whether the needs have changed, and whether the programs need to be changed. Each resident having an individual program allows them to feel included because the programs are tailored to their specific needs.

It seems that better family co-operation in terms of providing senior institutions with client information, would help the interviewees better understand what is happening with seniors in their community. More education and training was also stated as a means of better understanding this aging population.

The final outcome of this project entails the development of tools and resources to aid service providers to become more sensitive to issues of inclusion within their organisation. Among the organisations interviewed, networking is currently the most common tool used to keep up to date with any emerging issues concerning the senior population. Helpful tools that could aid these services to be more aware of inclusion and exclusion would be to provide more education and training in terms of learning about the concepts of isolation and its affects. Workshops could be a helpful learning method, especially when many groups of people are involved. Another tool that service providers seem to be inclined to use is a checklist. A type of form that could act as an indicator of whether or not they are being inclusive, could allow them to properly evaluate the level of senior participation within their organisation.

Community Perspective

To get a sense of the environment surrounding their community, interviewees were asked questions regarding their community (their organizational community as well as the community of Cambridge). Questions on their perspective on their community ranged from asking the participants if they thought isolation was even an issue for seniors in the first place, to what the community does well or not does well for the senior population. The urban versus rural experience of isolation was also a key question asked in order to address the effect that different regions and physical environments may have on community participation.

It was found that exclusion and isolation seem to be an issue for seniors due to the factors of health, loss of control, confidence and their social network. Their social connections decay as their spouse, siblings, and friends pass away, and they thus tend to become more lonely and isolated. Others feel left out or let down by the government and thus do not wish to participate in political matters. Perceptions of seniors also affect their level of participation. One interviewee claimed that not enough time was used in recruiting seniors for their input, advice and expertise. They thus feel neglected, and feel as though they are not given much respect at times.

An important aspect of this project was to explore the urban experience as compared to the rural experience of seniors in terms of social and economic inclusion. Almost all of the participants interviewed saw a difference in isolation between rural and urban regions. They noted that in rural settings the issue of isolation was even more significant. The following were the most frequent reasons given to why they felt that rural populations had fewer supports within their community, than those that resided in rural areas:

There are many things that the interviewees felt that the community did well and many things which they felt they could do better. In general, the community of Cambridge was considered to have many services that cater to the senior population. However, some things that the community does not do well are things such as:

It was mentioned that the key people who could make changes within the community were the local churches, government, and senior centres.

It is important to note that emergency transportation is quite accessible (i.e. when a senior needs to go to see a doctor). However, access to transportation for something like entertainment is not as readily available. It is assumed that seniors’ quality of life is affected by this, in the sense that even if seniors desire to be involved in a variety of activities or events, the lack of transportation to these services stands as a barrier to their active participation. Elements to reduce this barrier should be tailored to seniors’ needs in this respect. More marketing, funding, and volunteers could be effective measures to reduce current barriers so that seniors are more included.

Seniors Perspective

The last section of the questions posed to the participants of the interviews included questions about what the seniors themselves wanted different within their community. For example, the service providers were asked how they thought seniors could contribute to increasing their inclusion (for themselves, in their organisation, or in their community).

From the interviewees’ perspective, the key changes that seniors seem to want are those associated with the level of transportation and social support they receive. Seniors are thought to want more support and help in order to be able to connect with the community. They also seek acceptance for the knowledge and experience they have; wishing to feel needed and useful. One interviewee stated that many seniors today feel patronized by society, which helps us understand their lack of desire to participate in their community.

The following are reasons why seniors may not want to participate as often as we may like:

Things that could contribute to increase their inclusion could be things such as the following: