Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Aging
Date Submitted: Feb 28, 2022
Open Peer Review Period: Feb 28, 2022 - Apr 25, 2022
Date Accepted: Sep 24, 2022
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
The impact of a naturally occurring retirement community supportive services program on older adult participants’ social networks: a qualitative study
ABSTRACT
Background:
The majority of older adults want to age in place, in their homes and communities. However, this can be challenging for many, frequently due to a lack of supports that allow for aging-in-place. Naturally occurring retirement community supportive services programs (NORC-SSPs) offer one approach to help older adults age in place. While qualitative studies have examined the experiences of NORC-SSP participants, little is known how participation in NORC-SSP programming affects participants’ social networks.
Objective:
This study aims to explore the experiences of thirteen NORC-SSP residents and how participating in NORC-SSP programming, specifically based on the Oasis model, influenced their social networks.
Methods:
Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with participants in four NORC communities in Ontario, Canada. Social network theory informed the interview guide and thematic analysis.
Results:
Three main themes were identified from the interviews with Oasis participants: expansion and deepening of social networks, Oasis activities (something to do, someone to do it with), and the self-reported impact of Oasis on mental health and well-being (feeling and coping with life better).
Conclusions:
Naturally occurring retirement communities offer an ideal opportunity to build strong communities that provide deep, meaningful social connections that expand their social networks. NORC-SSPS programs can support healthy aging and allow older adults to age-in-place.
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.