Skip to main content

A live community growing together: Communal occupation of a senior center welcoming Spanish-speaking elders

Publication ,  Journal Article
Lavalley, R; Womack, JL; Bailliard, A
Published in: Journal of Occupational Science
January 1, 2023

The percentage of Latinx immigrants over the age of 65 in the United States is expected to more than double within the next 30 years. These elders face particular health and occupational disparities emerging from a transaction of individual and sociocultural factors that warrants attention by both service providers and researchers. This study employed an ethnographic approach including interviews, observations, document review, and group mapping activities. It sought to explore a county senior center as it evolves toward greater inclusion of Spanish-speaking members who are increasingly agentic in their community occupations despite facing initial constraints. John Dewey’s philosophy is employed alongside critical theoretical perspectives to illuminate the juxtaposition of individual vulnerability and agency interwoven with structural elements. The communal growth experienced by the senior center and the Spanish-speaking elders is characterized by social relationships that transform, and are transformed by, shared occupation. For occupational scientists, the results offer an expanded understanding of communal occupation and its influence on community change, in this case focused on a marginalized population integrating into dominant cultural spaces and practices.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Journal of Occupational Science

DOI

EISSN

2158-1576

ISSN

1442-7591

Publication Date

January 1, 2023

Volume

30

Issue

2

Start / End Page

304 / 316

Related Subject Headings

  • Rehabilitation
  • 3505 Human resources and industrial relations
  • 1103 Clinical Sciences
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Lavalley, R., Womack, J. L., & Bailliard, A. (2023). A live community growing together: Communal occupation of a senior center welcoming Spanish-speaking elders. Journal of Occupational Science, 30(2), 304–316. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2020.1816209
Lavalley, R., J. L. Womack, and A. Bailliard. “A live community growing together: Communal occupation of a senior center welcoming Spanish-speaking elders.” Journal of Occupational Science 30, no. 2 (January 1, 2023): 304–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2020.1816209.
Lavalley R, Womack JL, Bailliard A. A live community growing together: Communal occupation of a senior center welcoming Spanish-speaking elders. Journal of Occupational Science. 2023 Jan 1;30(2):304–16.
Lavalley, R., et al. “A live community growing together: Communal occupation of a senior center welcoming Spanish-speaking elders.” Journal of Occupational Science, vol. 30, no. 2, Jan. 2023, pp. 304–16. Scopus, doi:10.1080/14427591.2020.1816209.
Lavalley R, Womack JL, Bailliard A. A live community growing together: Communal occupation of a senior center welcoming Spanish-speaking elders. Journal of Occupational Science. 2023 Jan 1;30(2):304–316.

Published In

Journal of Occupational Science

DOI

EISSN

2158-1576

ISSN

1442-7591

Publication Date

January 1, 2023

Volume

30

Issue

2

Start / End Page

304 / 316

Related Subject Headings

  • Rehabilitation
  • 3505 Human resources and industrial relations
  • 1103 Clinical Sciences