AGED CARE POLICY FOR A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY
Authors: Barnett Kate 
Published: December 2008

The development of aged policy which is appropriate to our multicultural society involves the removal of a number of barriers restricting the access of the ethnic aged to available programs and services, together with the implementation of a number of measures designed to promote equitable aged care provision. Such a process involves a number of factors, which are all interdependent because their individual impact relies on their implementation as a whole unit. The components of this ‘policy jigsaw’ are:

* linguistically appropriate services and programs;

* culturally appropriate services and programs;

* appropriately targetted information;

* appropriate consultation and participatory processes

* appropriate training strategies;

* improved co‐ordination strategies;

* appropriate planning and data collection systems. In developing policy which addresses itself to the special needs of the ethnic aged, a number of alternative strategies can be pursued. The central option involves a choice between ‐

* ‘ethno‐specific’ provisions and;

* modifications to existing ‘generalist’ provision.

As described, there are advantages in pursuing each alternative, and in order to maximise these, the most viable option entails achieving a balance between the ethno‐specific and generalist approaches. The ultimate objective should be the promotion of an integrated care system, rather than a dual system involving a central and a peripheral system of aged care.

As part of a combined ethno‐specific and modified generalist approach, support needs to be directed to promoting the option of ‘joint ventures’ or partnerships' between ‘mainstream’ providers and ethnic community organisations. This, in turn, necessitates consideration of the existing role of ethnic community organisations, and the provision of support and encouragement in extending this role to care for the aged. Attention to this role also involves acknowledgement of the valuable contribution made by volunteers and the need to support them in this role.

The central option of an ‘ethno‐specific’ or a ‘generalist’ approach is analysed in relation to the provision of home and community based care and residential care. It is clear that certain programs and services are enhanced by an ethno‐specific approach (for example, food services) and others by a combination of each (for example, respite care). Others, such as, senior citizens' centres, can be made more effective by targetting resources to individual ethnic groups, or to a number of ethnic groups, or to the Australian born and the ethnic aged on a shared basis.

In addition, the effective targetting of resources to the ethnic aged is dependent on the promotion of policies designed to enhance service and program coordination. Two options which hold much promise are:

(1) the ‘linkages’ or ‘brokerage’ strategy which assesses need individually and links the user to a network of services according to need; and

(2) the employment of Ethnic Aged co‐ordinating personnel in a range of government and selected nongovernment organisations.

There is also a need to promote innovatory provisions for the ethnic aged, in order to improve existing knowledge about the relative effectiveness of alternative approaches.

Taken together, these options require aged policy to be notable for its flexibility in adapting to the changing and varied needs of our older population.