Elder Care in the Context of Migration

Background: Demographic changes related to ageing and migration are key societal issues of our days. Cultural diversity in elder care will increase considerably in the next years especially in Northern and Western European countries due to a large share of first generation immigrants from the 1950s to 1970s. Culture-specific needs, expectations and behavioral tendencies become particularly salient in times of frailty. Cultures differ in how they arrange old age care and intergenerational co-residence patterns. When families migrate from a more collectivist, family-oriented to a more individualist cultural context, the question arises in how far traditional care patterns from the country of origin are retained or adapted to the host cultural context. Ageing migrants have been found to be more reluctant regarding formal care due to cultural, religious or language issues which might put specific pressure on their close family members who are often responsible for care arrangements, even if not providing hands-on care.
Objectives: The aim of the present study was to examine how established formal assistance should be modified in order to fit the special needs of both informal caregivers and care receivers with migration background. For this purpose, we will draw on two sub-studies: a) a qualitative study with n = 3 in-depth expert-interviews in the field of elder care and migration, and b) a survey in a daycare center with a large population of elder care receivers with migrant background.
Results/Discussion: Preliminary results show different starting points for a culture-sensitive adaptation of the services. First, as the existence of help services is often unknown to migrants, it is important to provide low-threshold information, involving multipliers. Second, an important aspect is the culture-sensitive training of staff, increasing their awareness of cultural aspects in care and introducing an individualized as well as relationship-oriented approach. Finally, the exchange of caregivers with other concerned turned out to be a helpful resource and therefore it shall be facilitated and supported by formal services. A structural integration of cultural sensitive care services in the existing elder care system is highly suggested in order to meet the future challenges.