NOVA Report 13/07

A central question is how to give elderly from the majority- and minority populations in Norway equivalent care services. In the project «Care Services for elderly persons with a non-western ethnic minority background» the aim has been to to give an overview of the knowledge from research and deve¬lopment on care services to elderly from ethnic minority groups in Norway and other Nordic counties, identify problems and propose further research. The project is financed by the Department of Integration and Diversity, Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion.

There are many common questions in the Norwegian, Nordic and international research literature in this field. Main topics are: Availability and use of care services; family care vs. formal care services; general services vs. culture-specific or multicultural services; the user's choice and preferences and staffs´ competence building.

Questions about the adaptation of care services to meet the needs of elderly with a non-western ethnic minority background are complex and relates to central political and ideological questions as well as to practical everyday-care. The use of care services will depend upon many factors like health, living conditions and resources.

Information is a crucial issue. Elderly with a minority ethnic back¬ground represent a great diversity. Some know the majority culture and language and have lived in Norway for years, some have recently arrived, some of them after traumatic experiences in their former homeland. Some live embedded in their families while others live on their own. Care staff often points to the need of an individual approach combined with cultural competence.
We need more research to get more solid knowledge to estimate the use of community care services among elderly with a minority ethnic background as compared to the majority population. Important aspects about the use of services are information, communication, expectations of the care users and how the services fit their needs.