Design Principles and Social Isolation among Older African Immigrants

Abstract

This study explores how older African immigrants in the United States experience social isolation, which manifests as a lack of interactions with people from other races. Using qualitative data and Elinor Ostrom’s design principles (DP), the study describes how older African immigrants do not interact with their counterparts from other races in the United States and take advantage of aging programs designed to reduce social isolation. The study finds that the blamable factors are cultural differences (DP2) that make older African immigrants feel like non-citizens (DP1); the shame of feeling like strangers (DP5); communication challenges stemming from language and cultural differences (DP2) that sometimes spark conflicts(DP6); the belief that they have limited rights to associate with other races (DP7); and the lack of interactions between sociocultural organizations of older African immigrants and those of different races (DP8). Understanding these challenges can help foster a more inclusive and race-friendly community for older African immigrants.