A phenomenological design using interviews of 16 Haitian older adults was undertaken to better understand the lived experience of older Haitians as they integrated into an established senior center. Responses to the questions were recorded and transcribed. Two themes emerged: (a) a feeling of being accepted into a new community and (b) hope for a good life in their new homeland. Although older adults who are recent immigrants have a harder time assimilating into a new culture than younger persons, programs can be developed to make this transition easier.
Arean, P., Ayalon, L., Hunkeler, E., Lin, E., Tang, L., Harpole, L., et al. (2005). Improving depression care for older, minority patients in primary care. Medical Care, 43, 381-390.
2.
Danticat, E. (2003). The butterfly's way: Voices from the Haitian Dyaspora in the United States. Toronto: Soho Press.
3.
DeSantis, L. (1999). Transcultural nursing and community-based care. Journal of TransculturalNursing, 10, 184.
4.
DeSantis, L., & Ugarriza, D. (1995). Potential for intergenerational conflict in Cuban and Haitian immigrant families. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing , 9, 102-107.
5.
Gulzar, L. (1999). Health policy: Access to health care. Image: Journal of Nursing Scholarship31(1), 13-19.
6.
McGuire, R., & LeBleu A. (2003). Haiti and the USA: Linked by history and community . Retrieved August 15, 2005, from http://www.haiti-usa.org/modern/evolution.php
7.
Schantz, S., Charron, S., & Folden, S. (2003). Health seeking behaviors of Haitian families. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 10, 62-68.
8.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. ( 1999). Healthy People 2010. Retrieved on March 12, 2004, from http://www.healthypeople.gov/Publications/Cornerstone.pdf
9.
Van Manen, M. (1990). Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. New York: State University of New York Press.
10.
Zunzunegui, A. (2003). The immigration of older adults to America. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 30(4), 659-679.
