title: Exploring the Social and Health Needs of Chinese Baby Boomer Migrants in Brisbane, Australia
Creators: name: Chau, Christiana
Publisher: name: Griffith University
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Migrants
subject: Chinese
subject: Baby Boomer
subject: Australia
subject: Health

description: Australia’s population is ageing rapidly with growing demands for health and aged care services. Providing these ageing populations with adequate, affordable and sustainable healthcare poses significant challenges for the government. It is even more challenging to plan for the upcoming large number of ageing and retiring baby boomers born between 1946 to 1964, who are the first generation to face the new ‘third’ age: a decade or two of longer life after retirement. Current aged care planning is largely based on data collected from previous generations with little focus on this bulging baby boomer generation, whose experiences and expectations greatly differ from those of the previous generations. Among the Australian baby boomer cohort are the growing culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) populations. Previous studies demonstrate that Australia’s CALD migrants’ social circumstances, language and cultural issues result in programs delivered failing to meet their needs. But few examine what these needs are and the factors underpinning them. This is the case for Chinese migrants, the fastest growing and largest subgroup of the CALD baby boomer population. Information about their experiences and social and health needs is very limited, making it difficult for health planners to provide them with timely and appropriate information, supportive resources, and culturally-sensitive services. Thus, this study investigates the social and health needs of Chinese baby boomer migrants in Brisbane, Australia so as to inform the future development of policies and programs that promote their health and wellbeing. This research adopts WHO’s concept of the ‘healthy ageing’ approach as the theoretical base for the methodological design. Healthy ageing is about planning health programs that promote active and healthy life stages in order to achieve healthy life expectancy. To this end, this study applies a comprehensive needs assessment framework to identify issues of concern, the various determinants of health and potential solutions from different perspectives, from the users to experts and beyond. This study uses multiple qualitative data collection methods: literature review, in-depth interviews, expert consultations, existing secondary data collection, and focus group discussions. As a resource limited PHD project, this study is exploratory by nature. It had a small sample of thirty-two participants (Chinese baby boomer migrants living in Brisbane), and twenty-five informants (workers with the Chinese communities). The study was conducted from November 2013 to March 2016 in Brisbane, Australia. The study has resulted in rich insights about the participants’ experiences, social and health needs from various perspective. There are two key findings: 1) participants’ experience of having to cope with “changes”, and 2) issues and gaps in service-provision and programs. Participants have to deal with many physical, financial and social changes including relationships, children leaving home, or relatives’ death or illnesses, and, importantly their housing needs. In addition, participants long for ageing-in-family, but there are challenges to this in Australia. This study also found many issues relating to programs delivery. For example, health professionals need to ensure that their programs are delivered in not only appropriate languages, but also dialects to ensure program success. Finally, the majority of participants wish for more affordable traditional Chinese medical services and culturally sensitive information. There are four major recommendations from this study; 1) Develop social and health service policies and plans that target baby boomers in Australia; 2.) Conduct a more extensive comprehensive needs assessment incorporating relevant stakeholders’ perspectives to inform the development of useful, culturally appropriate programs to meet baby boomers’ needs; 3.) Provide relevant information, networks, resources and support measures to help Chinese baby boomer migrants cope with the social and health changes that they face; and 4.) Facilitate the provision of affordable traditional Chinese health services. This study’s findings have filled existing knowledge gaps Chinese baby boomer migrants’ issues and needs in Australia, and informs future program developments to address their needs. Hopefully future policies and social and health services programs will promote healthy ageing and quality of life for Chinese baby boomer migrants in Australia. This study’s methodological framework and findings may have implications for social services and health planning for other CALD groups beyond the Chinese migrant population in Australia.