Exploring Perspectives of Professionals in Community Organizations for Outreach and Services to East Asian American Older Adults and Family Caregivers

Abstract

The present study explored how social service agencies serve older adults and their family caregivers to examine how to better serve those from East Asian American communities through a qualitative study design. Using a convenience sampling method, 42 participants were recruited from 37 home- and community-based, social service organizations. Four themes were developed based on their efforts in outreach, service delivery, engagement, and collaboration. The results showed that traditional forms of media, such as local newspapers, TV ads, or radios were commonly used to reach East Asian American communities. Specifically, ethnic media was considered the most effective way to reach Chinese and Korean American older adults due to the familiarity with the language and the culture. While technology acted as a bridge for delivering services to their clients, it was not seen as a permanent solution to the issue but rather a “Band-Aid”. Also, some ethnic organizations used multipurpose messaging mobile applications to stay connected with their clients. Ethnic organizations serving East Asian older adults offer unique contributions to the community due to their deeper understanding of cultural backgrounds. Through greater collaborations between organizations, resource utilization may be increased thereby, successfully supporting this underserved aging population.