An exploratory, qualitative study on the experiences of Polish older adults who made a transition from independent living to an ethno-specific residential care facility in Toronto is presented. Using the framework of Continuity Theory of Aging, the impact of ethnic/cultural identity on the process of relocation and subsequent adjustment to a nursing home environment was investigated. A purposive sampling strategy was used to select 2 male and 4 female participants. The data was collected using long interviews that were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim. The findings of this study indicate that the subjects employed specific coping strategies that stem from traditional value orientation and life experiences hence suggesting that ethnic/cultural identity may have played a role in their successful adaptation to residential care setting. Although this research study is limited to one group of older adults and cannot be generalized to other ethnic groups, it has a potential to contribute to increasing the body of knowledge about the dynamics of residential care placement among ethnic minority seniors. Implications for social work policy, research and practice are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.81463 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Kromer, Anna |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Social Work (School of Social Work.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002173318, proquestno: AAIMR06480, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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