Abstract
AbstractThe literature on older migrants often focuses on identifying the characteristics of ethnic groups that constitute ‘barriers’ for members of these populations to access care. This paper offers an alternative conceptualisation of access to care, by combining relational approaches to place and the notion of super-diversity. From this perspective, ‘access to care’ is perceived as an outcome of an individual's embeddedness in relationships of care in urban places. The objective of the study is to identify relationships of care that facilitate access to aged care for older first-generation migrants. Thirty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with older migrants who were residents of Nijmegen or The Hague, The Netherlands. All interviewees had accessed home care, home aid and/or day care. Both relationships with minority-specific services and informal relationships of care, particularly those within local minority communities, were found to facilitate access to aged care. Past experiences with health and social care were also found to influence current relationships with formal care providers. This study, therefore, suggests that policy makers and care organisations should build long-term positive relationships with new and incoming migrant groups. In addition, it argues that policy makers and care providers should identify locally relevant shared migration-related (rather than ethnic) identities around which communities can be mobilised and targeted with appropriate services.
Highlights
This paper explores how care providers and policy makers facilitate older migrants’ access to care in cities
I outline the theoretical framework of the paper, arguing that a combination of superdiversity and relational approaches to place enables researchers to identify possibilities for greater equity of access to aged care in cities
After showing how individual older migrants are embedded within these local relationships of care, it will be argued that variables of super-diversity are more useful than ethnicity in predicting for whom the care landscape in a city might enable access to care
Summary
This paper explores how care providers and policy makers facilitate older migrants’ access to care in cities. I draw together insights from health geography literature on relational approaches to place (Conradson, 2005; Cummins et al, 2007; Milligan and Wiles, 2010; Duff, 2011; Andrews et al, 2013) and scholarship in migration studies on the super-diversity of migrant populations (Vertovec, 2007; Boccagni, 2015; Bradby et al, 2017). The paper concludes with suggestions for how policy makers and care providers might improve aged-care access for migrants locally These include (a) building longterm relationships of trust with new and incoming migrant groups and (b) using the technique of care landscape mapping to identify shared migration-related (rather than ethnic) identities around which communities can be mobilised and targeted with culturally, linguistically and/or religiously appropriate services
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
