The impact of community listening sessions on navigating life challenges and enhancing resilience in older adults

In the community health nursing context, informal listening sessions are opportunities for engagement toward understanding and responding to health and issues that relate to or impact health status. They are a source of information, affirmation, and observation from the community's perspectives. This study aimed to explore how community listening sessions enhance resilience among older adults facing life challenges. Qualitative descriptive design was employed, and purposive sampling was utilized. Listening sessions were conducted by trained professionals in the two communities in an urbanized city in the Philippines with a total of 33 informants who were at least 60 years old and have experienced or are experiencing significant challenge/s in life which allowed for the gathering of enough information to reach saturation. Collaizi's method of data analysis was used. Findings are summarized based on the word Resilience: Religious Faith and Spirituality, Emotional Support from Family, Social Engagement, Independence and Self-Efficacy, Learning through Listening, Inner Strength and Coping Skills, Encouragement and Positivity, Networks of Community Support, Challenges in Health and other areas and Engagement in Meaningful Activities. The study highlights the critical role of listening sessions in community health, providing a safe, nonjudgmental platform for individuals to share their resilience and healthspan experiences. This concludes that resilience is a dynamic, multifaceted construct influenced by various factors, including faith, family support, social interactions, personal strengths, and community networks. These findings highlight the need for community health initiatives to adopt a holistic, inclusive approach that considers the diverse elements contributing to resilience. Trial Registration/Exemption Determination University of Pittsburgh Institutional Review Board (STUDY23020119). Keywords: Resilience, Community listening, Healthspan, Social participation, Spirituality, Community health nursing, Older adults, Qualitative research, Collaizi's method, Urban communities