Abstract
Introduction: The world population is aging, and most people prefer to stay in their homes for as long as possible. There is a growing number of naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs)—unplanned neighborhoods or apartment buildings with a high proportion of older adults—in many countries such as Australia, Canada, and the USA. To experience healthy aging, older adults living in NORCs must be surrounded by a quality network encompassing both formal and informal support providers. This study aimed to understand the types of formal support providers that older adults interact with and the nature of their interactions.
Approach: We asked older adults to identify professionals or community members who provided them with formal care or support in their daily lives. After identifying these formal support providers, participants completed a short questionnaire about each community support (CS) person. The questionnaire included information about (i) the demographics of CS providers, (ii) the methods used by older adults to contact them, (iii) the type of support older adults received, and (iv) older adults’ level of satisfaction with their relationship with CS providers.
Results: A total of 116 participants from eleven NORCs in 4 cities in Ontario, Canada identified 263 CS providers within their social networks. Participants reported that 60.7% of their CS providers were women, 31% were aged between 46 and 55 years, and 38% were known to them for one to five years. Participants identified the professional roles of 199 CS providers, with family doctors (32%) and spiritual leaders (8.5%) being the most common. Participants reported that almost half of their CS providers (48.5%) supported them with physical health, 18.8% (mostly family doctors and spiritual leaders) offered mental health support, and only 9.7% helped with daily activities and personal care. Participants were very satisfied or satisfied with most of their CS providers (88.1%).
Implications: The findings confirm the crucial role of family physicians in providing support to older adults living in NORCs. Additionally, spiritual leaders were identified by a significant number of older adults in their social network. Therefore, it is essential to include these leaders in the circle of care for older adults to ensure holistic care. Additionally, it is important for other service providers to recognize older adults’ spiritual needs. Future research could investigate how older adults choose different service providers for various types of support over time.