Cultural racism claimed for ethnic health and social service problems
Older overseas born Australians with mixed cultural backgrounds may face big differences in their health needs and support systems, and are generally being under serviced by local health and social care services.
In the September issue of the Australasian Journal on Ageing two RMIT University health science experts state that “it is suggested that cultural racism be named as a possible cause of ethnic aged disparities and disadvantages in health and social care.
“It is further suggested that unless cultural racism is named as a structural mechanism by which ethnic aged disparities in health and social care have been created and maintained, redressing them will remain difficult”.
Megan-Jane Johnston and Olga Kanitsaki, of RMIT’s Bundoora West campus, said that past research had listed major problems as cultural and language barriers, lack of consumer health literacy, and the impact of migration location and circumstances on the migrant’s financial situation.
The two authors take it further and list cultural racism as “another although largely unacknowledged cause” of disparities for elderly ethnic Australians.
They admit in their conclusion “that there will be harsh and protracted disagreements about these issues at a moral, legal, and public policy level”.
The authors state that “the insidious nature of cultural racism and the relative ease with which it can become embedded in the ‘commonsense’ of individuals and the ‘culture’ of institutions will make it extremely difficult for ethnic aged advocates to challenge and change the status quo”.
But they believe that “unless policy makers and practitioners recognise and systematically address cultural racism as a structural problem, unjust disparities in the health and social care of the ethnic aged in Australia will continue; not just in long established, but also more recently arrived immigrant groups in Australia”.
