Promoting age-friendly communities : an integrative review of inclusion for older immigrants

Immigration patterns of older people are transforming the ethnic composition of Western societies (Torres 2012). In 2015, immigrants aged 65 years and over made up 13% of the total number of immigrants worldwide, almost double the percentage of people aged 65 years and over globally (United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs,, and Population Division 2016). While immigration in older adulthood can provide new opportunities, evidence indicates migrants of all ages can experience discrimination, difficulty speaking the language and a lack of community support in their host country (Shishehgar et al. 2015; Schunck et al. 2015). Research on immigration has focused predominantly on younger people and older immigrants have largely been ignored (Torres-Gil and Treas 2008, 2009).