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* La correspondance et les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à: / Correspondence and requests for offprints should be sent to: Dr. Lu Wang Department of Geography and Environmental Studies Faculty of Arts Ryerson University 350 Victoria Street Toronto, ON M5B 2K3 ([email protected])
Background
The global population is rapidly aging. According to the United Nations (2015), adults over the age of 60 accounted for 9.9 per cent (607 million) of the world’s population in 2000. This share increased substantially, to 12.3 per cent (901 million), in 2015, with projected increases to 16.5 per cent in 2030 and 21.5 per cent in 2050. The older population, whose age cut-off may vary in different contexts and regions, is growing faster in urban areas, and the aging process is most advanced in developed countries. In Canada, older persons are the fastest-growing age group. In 2016, 16.9 per cent of Canada’s population was aged 65 or older, compared to 7.6 per cent in 1961, and for the first time the number of older people surpassed the number of children (0–14 years). The older population is projected to make up a quarter of Canada’s population by 2036 (Statistics Canada, 2016).
International migration is another global trend that has shaped the demographic landscape worldwide, particularly in major immigrant-receiving countries such as Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Canada has seen an increasing influx of newcomers, particularly from Asia and the Middle East (Statistics Canada, 2016). Although immigrants represent 21 per cent of Canada’s total population, they make up 30 per cent of the country’s older population (65 years and older) (Statistics Canada, 2011). In major urban centres, immigrants make up large proportions of the overall older adult population. In the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area, for example, immigrants account for 48 per cent of the total population but 70 per cent of the population over age 65 (Statistics Canada, 2011).
Immigrants living and aging in a foreign country face many settlement challenges, creating a demand for essential services such as health services (Dean & Wilson, 2010; Joo & Lee, 2016; Tsoh et al., 2016; Zhou, 2012). They often underutilize health services and encounter multiple access barriers related to language, culture, health beliefs, cost, lack of health insurance, location...