Engagement in the social context of the neighbourhood: A critical ethnographic study of older adults with age-related vision loss

Abstract

IntroductionPrevious research has focused on the social environments of older adults with age-related vision loss (ARVL) and how support received from close social networks, such as family and friends, can support engagement in meaningful occupations, which refer to everyday activities that hold meaning for individuals. Little research attention, however, has been paid to how the social context of neighbourhoods may support or hinder engagement in community occupations for older adults with ARVL, including the role that neighbours, service personnel, and strangers play in supporting the social lives of older adults with ARVL in the neighbourhood. MethodThis critical ethnographic study engaged ten older adults with ARVL in a narrative interview, participant observation session, and semistructured in-depth interview. The overarching objective was to explore the ways in which interactions with informal, neighbourhood-based social networks, relate to community occupational engagement. ResultsThe findings from the study focused on strategies enacted by older adults with ARVL when engaging with social networks, that supported positive relationships and ultimately supported occupational engagement in the neighbourhood. These strategies were organized into three main themes including: 1) Enacting control and establishing boundaries; 2) Seeking out the familiar and; 3) A need for reciprocity. ConclusionStudy results demonstrated that interactions with neighbours, service personnel, and strangers shape neighbourhood participation for older adults with ARVL. The quality and nature of these relationships is key to understanding how the social context of neighbourhoods affects the participants’ community occupational engagement.