Eimeg tan tleoiaoltieg (We are home where we belong) Home for Life: An applied research study supporting independent living for Elsipogtog First Nations Elders

About the project

The number of Elders is growing in First Nations. A culturally appropriate long-term care system needs to be established to help take care of aging Elders. The purpose of Phase I was to explore the needs of Elders living at Elsipogtog First Nation, the largest First Nations community in New Brunswick, and understand the services and support they need to continue to live in their own homes as long as possible. When Phase I was complete, funding was received to work on scaling-up (Phase II).

  • Phase I: A community-based research team was created. They conducted in-depth interviews with 30 Elders in their own language to identify the needs of Elders living in the community (Elsipogtog) and create the Home for Life Assessment Tool (HFLAT) based on the findings. Additionally, new programs were implemented in the community to address some of these needs.
  • Phase II: The project has begun to scale up using a Nation-to-Nation, Elder-to-Elder approach, to develop culturally appropriate long-term care program model for First Nations communities.

In Phase I, there were 30 Elder participants. In the second phase there were 120 Elder participants. All participants were located rurally, all spoke Micmac primarily and most spoke English as their second language (no gender demographics were provided for the sample).

Conclusions and lessons learned

The needs of the community were identified using the HFLAT. From the needs that were identified in phase I, new programs were implemented in the community: 
  1. “Meals to Go” program to address food insecurity 
  2. "Eva’s Vision” education programs (dementia and end of life care) 
  3. Long-term care/assisted living lodge planning 

In phase II the tool was evaluated, with high satisfaction from resource team members and Elders from six different communities.

Recommendations

This team recommends that a continuum of long-term care be built in First Nations to keep Elders in their community as they age. They also recommend Indigenous long-term care programming, to help caregivers deliver appropriate community care to Elders. Finally, because the Elder community is growing, they recommend specific funding opportunities continue to be accessible for Indigenous aging research. This funding is needed to understand how to meet increasing care needs, while being culturally appropriate.

To learn more read the complete project findings (PDF 141 KB)

Knowledge transfer