COPE Engage Completes Focus Groups with Older Adults on Extreme Heat
As summer comes to a close, the COPE Engage team has wrapped up focus group data collection with older adults on how extreme heat events affect their daily lives. Our research team aims to assess the effectiveness of community-based programs, policies, and strategies designed to support older adults during periods of extreme heat.
Over the past few months, the team conducted five focus groups with residents of affordable rental multi-unit housing and a seniors' centre. The following table provides details on these focus group sessions.
| Housing or Centre | Management | Support Service Provider/Program |
| Harmony | Brightside Community Home | OASIS |
| Collingwood Tower | Brightside Community Home | OASIS |
| Chelsea Terrace | New Chelsea | Whole Way House |
| Alexander House | Affordable Homes | Whole Way House |
| Silver Harbour Seniors Center | - | - |
At each session, 5–7 older adults participated in focus group interviews guided by research team members as facilitators. Two of the rental housing had a good portion of tenants who were of Chinese descent. Thus, two focus group sessions were held in Mandarin by bilingual RAs to ensure accessibility for participants whose first language is not English. Ahead of each focus group session, a meet-and-greet session was held at each location to introduce the project recruit participants.
The focus group interviews provided valuable insights into participants’ lived experiences, including the challenges, risks, and barriers they face during heat events, as well as the coping strategies they use. The recruitment and conducting of focus group sessions were made possible through the support of our community partners: Brightside Homes, New Chelsea Housing Society, Whole Way House, and Silver Harbour Seniors Centre.
The focus groups were facilitated by Dr. Mahmood, PhD student Leticia Zhu (the Chinese participants focus groups), project coordinators Jean Paul Echavarria and Cindy Wei. They were supported by undergraduate research assistants and MITACS Globalink interns, who contributed to the work and gained valuable learning experience. While focus group data collection has concluded, the project team is continuing interviews with experts from academia, health authorities, city planning, housing, and community-based seniors’ services.
Reflection from PhD student, Letitia Zhu
"This summer, we had the opportunity to engage closely with older adults and discuss their lived experiences, needs, concerns, and strategies for coping during periods of extreme heat. The participants were highly engaged, and I was fortunate to facilitate two focus groups conducted in Mandarin. To my surprise, these groups revealed distinct perspectives and themes compared to the English-speaking groups, underscoring the importance of linguistic and cultural sensitivity in community-based research. We look forward to the insights that will emerge from the next stage of data analysis.
Moreover, assisting participants in completing the pre-discussion survey not only allowed us to gather valuable contextual information but also helped to create a smoother transition into the focus group conversation. This process highlighted how structured preparatory tools can complement open-ended dialogue.
Overall, it was a meaningful experience to collaborate with a group of people with lived experience, and I look forward to the findings that will emerge from our analysis."
View the full picture gallery from the focus groups here.
Stay tuned for findings and recommendations from this important work on climate resilience and older adults!