Canadian Adaptation of a Community Navigator Program to Address Loneliness Among Older Adults With Depression and/or Anxiety: A Pilot Study

Objectives To (a) adapt (Phase 1) and (b) pilot (Phase 2) a ‘Community Navigator' program developed in the U.K. in a Canadian setting. Methods For Phase 1, we conducted five focus groups with a total of 22 stakeholders (clinicians, caregivers, community members, etc.). For Phase 2, we used a convergent parallel mixed-methods pre-post design to evaluate the adapted Community Navigator program among 10 older adults (age 55 or older) experiencing loneliness with depression and/or anxiety recruited from Northwestern Toronto. Results All participants who completed the program per protocol (50%) showed decreases in loneliness and social isolation. Rates of moderate to severe anxiety also decreased (from 60% to 0%) with participants reporting less social anxiety to attend group activities. Conclusions The Community Navigator program demonstrates promise in a Canadian setting for reducing loneliness and improving mental health, however greater efforts will be needed to reduce drop-out rates through addressing barriers to participation.