Abstract
BackgroundOlder people from culturally and linguistically diverse groups are underrepresented in residential aged care but overrepresented in community aged care in Australia. However, little is known about culturally and linguistically diverse family caregivers in utilising dementia services in Australia because previous studies mainly focused on the majority cultural group. Experiences of caregivers from culturally and linguistically diverse groups who are eligible to utilise dementia services in Australia are needed in order to optimize the utilisation of dementia services for these caregivers.MethodsThe aim of the study was to explore the experiences of family caregivers from Chinese, Greek, Italian and Vietnamese groups in utilising dementia services. Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics was used to interpret the experiences of the participants. Focus group discussions and in-depth individual interviews were used to collect data. Data collection was conducted over a six month period in 2011. In total, 46 family caregivers who were caring for 39 persons with dementia participated.ResultsFour themes were revealed: (1) negotiating services for the person with dementia; (2) the impact of acculturation on service utilisation; (3) the characteristics of satisfactory services; and (4) negative experiences in utilising services. The present study revealed that the participation of caregivers from culturally and linguistically diverse groups in planning and managing dementia services ranged markedly from limited participation to full participation.ConclusionsThe findings of this study suggest that caregivers from culturally and linguistically diverse groups need to be fully prepared so they can participate in the utilisation of dementia services available to them in Australia.
Highlights
Older people from culturally and linguistically diverse groups are underrepresented in residential aged care but overrepresented in community aged care in Australia
The few studies on this subject have tended to regard various culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) groups as a uniform group. This may be inappropriate as it overlooks the diverse nature of different CaLD groups in terms of important factors such as their acculturation level and readiness to participate in planning and control of dementia services
Given the diverse nature of the different CaLD groups and the disparities of ethno-specific dementia services among the CaLD groups, future studies on the effectiveness of dementia services in Australian immigrant groups would be invaluable in planning of dementia care services
Summary
Older people from culturally and linguistically diverse groups are underrepresented in residential aged care but overrepresented in community aged care in Australia. Australia is one of a few developed countries in the world that relies heavily on immigration to maintain its population growth. Overseas-born older people comprise 35% of the population that is aged 65 years or over and of these, 61% are immigrants from non-English-speaking countries [1]. Among people with dementia in Australia, approximately 12.4% do not speak English at home. In 2010, 35,549 people with dementia were from culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) groups and this number is expected to reach. Compared to the Australian-born group, CaLD groups used community aged care services relatively more frequently
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