Learning from The Lived Experiences of Aging Immigrants: Extending the Reach of Photovoice Using World Café Methods

Abstract

This article reports on a series of Stakeholder Outreach Forums hosted in Canadian communities from 2018 to 2019. These forums built on a previous research project, The Lived Experiences of Aging Immigrants, which sought to amplify the voices of older immigrants through Photovoice and life course narratives analyzed through an intersectional life course perspective. The forums used World Café methods to encourage cumulative discussions among a broad range of stakeholders who work with or influence the lives of immigrant older adults. Participants viewed the previously created Lived Experiences of Aging Immigrants Photovoice exhibit, which provided a springboard for these discussions. The forums’ aim was to increase the stakeholders’ awareness of the experiences of immigrants in Canada as they age and to create space for the stakeholders to reflect upon and discuss the experiences of aging immigrants. Here we illustrate how the forums complement the narrative Photovoice research methodology and highlight the potential of Photovoice and targeted outreach strategies to extend academic research findings to relevant stakeholders. Across all forums, participants identified structural and systemic barriers that shape experiences of and responses to social exclusion in the daily lives of immigrant older adults. They further identified challenges and strengths in their own work specific to the issues of social inclusion, caregiving, housing, and transportation. Intersectoral solutions are needed to address the structural and systemic roots of exclusion at the public policy and organizational levels.