This review summarises findings from selected literature and statistics on older refugees and asylum seekers. It is one of a series of rapid reviews commissioned by Age UK into the diversity that exists in the older population and the inequalities faced by specific groups of older people. It provides a demographic overview of the number of older refugees and asylum seekers in Europe and the UK and highlights some of their specific needs. Issues facing older refugees and asylum seekers include low income, language barriers, the risk of loneliness and a lack of social networks, and often a loss of social status.
(Edited publisher abstract)
This review summarises findings from selected literature and statistics on older refugees and asylum seekers. It is one of a series of rapid reviews commissioned by Age UK into the diversity that exists in the older population and the inequalities faced by specific groups of older people. It provides a demographic overview of the number of older refugees and asylum seekers in Europe and the UK and highlights some of their specific needs. Issues facing older refugees and asylum seekers include low income, language barriers, the risk of loneliness and a lack of social networks, and often a loss of social status.
(Edited publisher abstract)
The Older Refugees Programme has been a two year joint programme to highlight the issues and concerns that older refugees have about their circumstances and daily lives in the UK. This working paper combines a Literature Review with the Analysis of Interviews with older refugees. The Literature Review provides a comprehensive overview of previous research on issues relating to older refugees’
The Older Refugees Programme has been a two year joint programme to highlight the issues and concerns that older refugees have about their circumstances and daily lives in the UK. This working paper combines a Literature Review with the Analysis of Interviews with older refugees. The Literature Review provides a comprehensive overview of previous research on issues relating to older refugees’ experience in the UK, and identifies a series of research questions which are worthy of consideration for further research in this important area.
Subject terms:
interviewing, literature reviews, older people, refugees;
Elderly refugees are exposed to particularly high risks for their mental health since they are confronted with multiple losses. One of their greatest hardships is loss of their social and emotional support, enhancing more positive orientation towards the present time and the future, can be achieved through different types of groupwork. Four such groups for elderly refugees are described. Implications of these experiences for planning and developing groupwork activities with elderly refugees elsewhere, are discussed.
Elderly refugees are exposed to particularly high risks for their mental health since they are confronted with multiple losses. One of their greatest hardships is loss of their social and emotional support, enhancing more positive orientation towards the present time and the future, can be achieved through different types of groupwork. Four such groups for elderly refugees are described. Implications of these experiences for planning and developing groupwork activities with elderly refugees elsewhere, are discussed.
The extant literature on Jewish Holocaust survivors’ experiences of receiving aged care services typically focuses on the risk that formal care settings may reactivate traumatic memories. Absent from previous research have been the viewpoints of older survivors themselves regarding their aged care experiences. An interpretive phenomenological approach was used to investigate Jewish Holocaust survivors’ lived experience of using community aged care services. Thirteen in-depth interviews were conducted and analysed using thematic analysis. The credibility of the findings was ensured by methodological triangulation and peer debriefing. Four major themes emerged from the analysis: wanting carers to do their job well; being supported to maintain autonomy; having a good relationship with the carer; and being understood as an individual. Although Holocaust survivors described the lived experience of using community aged care services in terms of universal themes similar to those identified with other groups of care recipients, the data revealed that this experience is intertwined with individual earlier-life traumatic experiences. This study has implications for training age care staff who work with Holocaust survivors and older trauma survivors from other refugee backgrounds.
(Edited publisher abstract)
The extant literature on Jewish Holocaust survivors’ experiences of receiving aged care services typically focuses on the risk that formal care settings may reactivate traumatic memories. Absent from previous research have been the viewpoints of older survivors themselves regarding their aged care experiences. An interpretive phenomenological approach was used to investigate Jewish Holocaust survivors’ lived experience of using community aged care services. Thirteen in-depth interviews were conducted and analysed using thematic analysis. The credibility of the findings was ensured by methodological triangulation and peer debriefing. Four major themes emerged from the analysis: wanting carers to do their job well; being supported to maintain autonomy; having a good relationship with the carer; and being understood as an individual. Although Holocaust survivors described the lived experience of using community aged care services in terms of universal themes similar to those identified with other groups of care recipients, the data revealed that this experience is intertwined with individual earlier-life traumatic experiences. This study has implications for training age care staff who work with Holocaust survivors and older trauma survivors from other refugee backgrounds.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
Jewish people, refugees, home care, older people, traumas;
This article describes an ongoing group for Cambodian refugee elder women held in the Un. The group was facilitated by a White licensed clinical social worker who spoke only English and a bilingual, Cambodian interpreter. The interpreter interpreted for the members and the English speaking facilitator but also was a cofacilitator performing assessments of group dynamics, interventions, and actively facilitated alongside the licensed clinical social worker. This model is different than how interpreters are traditionally used. Challenges, strengths, and the dynamics of this model are discussed.
(Publisher abstract)
This article describes an ongoing group for Cambodian refugee elder women held in the Un. The group was facilitated by a White licensed clinical social worker who spoke only English and a bilingual, Cambodian interpreter. The interpreter interpreted for the members and the English speaking facilitator but also was a cofacilitator performing assessments of group dynamics, interventions, and actively facilitated alongside the licensed clinical social worker. This model is different than how interpreters are traditionally used. Challenges, strengths, and the dynamics of this model are discussed.
(Publisher abstract)
Social Work: A journal of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), 56(2), April 2011, pp.159-168.
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
The psychological status of older refugees who have immigrated from war-torn areas in the Middle East are poorly studied. This study investigated depression in 70 older Kurds living in the United States. They were recruited and questioned by trained Kurdish interviewers in their native language. Findings revealed that the majority were on low incomes, were poorly educated, and had little
The psychological status of older refugees who have immigrated from war-torn areas in the Middle East are poorly studied. This study investigated depression in 70 older Kurds living in the United States. They were recruited and questioned by trained Kurdish interviewers in their native language. Findings revealed that the majority were on low incomes, were poorly educated, and had little or no ability to speak or read the English language. Sixty seven per cent were shown to have high levels of depression, and 26% had severe levels of depression. Depression was associated with demographics, stress and coping variables. Health conditions exerted the greatest effect. Migratory grief and social support were also significant predictors of depression. In ending, the authors discuss implications for research and practice with older members of this refugee population.
Subject terms:
immigrants, older people, refugees, black and minority ethnic people, depression;
... were older persons. In Louisiana, 71% of those who died were older than 60 years; 47% of this group were over 77 years old. Worldwide, the UNHCR has estimated that older persons make up 8.5% of the overall refugee population, and in some cases comprise more than 30% of caseloads. In 2005, approximately 2.7 million people over the age of 60 were living as refugees or internally displaced persons.
Older people have often been overlooked in disasters and conflicts, and their concerns have rarely been addressed by emergency programs or planners. This analysis seeks to highlight factors that particularly affect older people in emergencies, especially health-related concerns, propose a strategy to raise awareness about older people in emergencies and recommend policies and practices to address these considerations. Until recently, older people s needs in disasters and conflicts were addressed only by broader adult health and humanitarian programs. This has changed as several recent emergencies highlighted this population s vulnerabilities. Of the 14 800 deaths in France during the 2003 heat wave, 70% were of people over 75 years. Of the estimated 1330 people who died in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, most were older persons. In Louisiana, 71% of those who died were older than 60 years; 47% of this group were over 77 years old. Worldwide, the UNHCR has estimated that older persons make up 8.5% of the overall refugee population, and in some cases comprise more than 30% of caseloads. In 2005, approximately 2.7 million people over the age of 60 were living as refugees or internally displaced persons. Globally, the proportion of older people is growing faster than any other age group. In 2000 one in ten, or about 600 million, people were 60 years or older. By 2025, this figure is expected to reach 1.2 billion people, and in 2050 around 1.9 billion. In developing countries, where 80% of older people live, the proportion of those over 60 years old in 2025 will increase from 7% to 12%.
Subject terms:
older people, refugees, United Nations, disaster services, emergency services;
Diversity in Health and Care, 8(2), June 2011, pp.113-119.
Publisher:
Radcliffe Publishing
The National Dementia Strategy (NDS) is a five year plan that sets out initiatives designed to improve awareness and knowledge of the issue, ensure early diagnosis and improve GP training, services in General hospitals and Care homes as well as services aimed at Carers. While recent government policy in health and social care has highlighted the need for local partnerships across sectors to deliver improved healthcare and reduce health inequalities, there has been limited research on dementia in minority ethnic groups. Despite the cosmopolitan mix of the capital's population, black, minority ethnic and refugee (BMER) communities have historically been marginalised from strategic health initiatives. This article highlights the work undertaken by the London Region Dementia Implementation Task Group to support commissioner engagement with BMER communities in planning dementia services, and to help these communities to have more influence on the implementation of the NDS in London. The article ends by describing the potential health access and economic risks of failing to improve the involvement of BMER communities when planning dementia care.
The National Dementia Strategy (NDS) is a five year plan that sets out initiatives designed to improve awareness and knowledge of the issue, ensure early diagnosis and improve GP training, services in General hospitals and Care homes as well as services aimed at Carers. While recent government policy in health and social care has highlighted the need for local partnerships across sectors to deliver improved healthcare and reduce health inequalities, there has been limited research on dementia in minority ethnic groups. Despite the cosmopolitan mix of the capital's population, black, minority ethnic and refugee (BMER) communities have historically been marginalised from strategic health initiatives. This article highlights the work undertaken by the London Region Dementia Implementation Task Group to support commissioner engagement with BMER communities in planning dementia services, and to help these communities to have more influence on the implementation of the NDS in London. The article ends by describing the potential health access and economic risks of failing to improve the involvement of BMER communities when planning dementia care.
Subject terms:
older people, refugees, social inclusion, black and minority ethnic people, commissioning, dementia;
International Journal of Migration Health and Social Care, 3(1), July 2007, pp.4-14.
Publisher:
Emerald
This paper reports on a project undertaken in Victoria, Australia to explore the needs of older people from 14 recently arrived refugee communities and the barriers to their receiving health and aged care. Findings from consultations with community workers and service providers highlight the key issues of isolation, family conflict and mental illness affecting older refugees, and point to ways
This paper reports on a project undertaken in Victoria, Australia to explore the needs of older people from 14 recently arrived refugee communities and the barriers to their receiving health and aged care. Findings from consultations with community workers and service providers highlight the key issues of isolation, family conflict and mental illness affecting older refugees, and point to ways in which policy-makers and service providers can better respond to these small but deserving communities.
Subject terms:
needs, older people, refugees, access to information, access to services, health care;
Reports on research studies which show that older refugees' needs vary across ethnic communities, but all suffer from a lack of knowledge of available services.
Reports on research studies which show that older refugees' needs vary across ethnic communities, but all suffer from a lack of knowledge of available services.
Subject terms:
older people, refugees, short break care, social care provision, access to services, Asian people, black and minority ethnic people;