Asian and Pacific Island Elders: Issues for Social Work Practice and Education

Abstract

The highly diverse Asian and Pacific Island population in the United States doubled in size from 1980 to 1990 and is now the nation's fastest-growing minority group. This article describes the Asian and Pacific Island elderly population and its ethnic diversity, geographic location, gender ratios, income and poverty, health status, service utilization, and cultural values and beliefs. Also presented are the specific challenges for social workers in practice settings in designing and providing culturally relevant services and programs. A number of suggestions for social work education to meet the needs of this growing aging population are offered, including the development of an ethnogerontological and multicultural social work curriculum and the critical need for data on this population.