Health-promotion in the context of ageing and migration: a call for person-centred integrated practice

Qarin Lood,Lena Mårtensson,Synneve Dahlin-Ivanoff,Lisen Dellenborg

doi:10.5334/ijic.1162

Qarin Lood, Lena Mårtensson + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5334/ijic.1162

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Abstract

For the aim of improving the implementation of a health-promoting intervention for older persons who are born abroad, this study aimed to explore health care professionals' experiences of facilitators and barriers for their possibilities to support a healthy ageing in the context of migration. Qualitative data were collected from four focus groups with health professionals who all had experience of working with older persons who are born abroad. Data were analysed with the guidance from the method developed by Krueger and Casey, progressing from an empirical to an abstract level. FIVE DIFFERENT CONDITIONS WERE FOUND TO INFLUENCE SUPPORTING HEALTHY AGEING IN THE CONTEXT OF MIGRATION: Sense of belonging through significant others, Emotional bonds to a place called home, Expectations on health and support during the ageing process, Mutual understanding as a means for communication and Heterogeneity as a point of departure. The one comprehensive theme complexity describes how those aspects are interrelated in a complex and unpredictable way. The results point at the need for focusing on each person's experiences and health expectations, and the study provides a foundation for future research on the integration of whole-system and person-centred practice.

Highlights

With increases in the amount of older persons who are born abroad [1], there is a growing need to attend to the issue of equitable health care service delivery
When it comes to persons who are born abroad, there is a notion that health care delivery services are especially important to address [3], [5], [6], with research pointing at serious health care inequities based on country of birth, ethnic origin, religion or preferred language [3], [7,8,9,10]
The results provide new data on how health professionals experience facilitators and barriers when providing health care to older persons who are born abroad

Summary

Introduction

With increases in the amount of older persons who are born abroad [1], there is a growing need to attend to the issue of equitable health care service delivery. With a previous intervention programme as a stand point [2], this study is part of the implementation process of a multidisciplinary health-promoting intervention for older persons who have migrated to Sweden Both migration status and age seem to be predictors of unequal access to health care services [3], and there is a need for conscious implementation strategies and efforts in order to guarantee that the positive effects of the source intervention remain when implemented in another context [4]. Even if many health care inequities that older persons who are born abroad experience can be explained by socioeconomic factors, serious inequities regarding access, quality and utilisation of health care services still remain after taken such factors into account [16]

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