Partnership approach to culturally and linguistically diverse aged care

Mainstream and multicultural aged care providers need to work in partnership to provide culturally appropriate care, according to a report form the Healthy Ageing Research Unit at Monash University.

The report said most main mainstream services that operate in isolation do not meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) clients.

It also highlighted the diversity of experiences and needs among older people from CALD backgrounds.

“A fundamental principle for service delivery is that a blanket approach, or single model of service delivery, may be inappropriate to meet the diversity and dynamic nature of CALD people’s needs,” the report said.

The researchers said part of the problem was the lack of a consistent and coherent policy direction for multicultural aged care.

“Academic and evidence-based research and publications in this field are scarce,” it said.

“The ‘grey’ literature appears to predominate, but is difficult to access and may lack scientific rigour.”

The report called for a ‘whole-of-government’ approach and more evidence-based research to inform future policy directions.

Another issue raised by the report was the inadequacy of funding and resources for the provision of multicultural aged care.