Optimizing health promotion among ethnocultural minority older adults (EMOA)

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to identify the salient barriers in the uptake and effective utilization of health promotion interventions among ethnocultural minority older adults (EMOA). Design/methodology/approach -The paper opted for a literature review of 25 sources (peer-reviewed articles as well as documents from the grey literature). The search was primarily conducted in a database developed during a scoping review on the health and health care access and utilization of EMOA. Emphasis was placed on older ethnocultural minorities in Canada; however examples from the UK (which has a comparable health care system) and the USA and Australia (which have large, ethnically diverse populations) were also selected. The Candidacy framework was used as an analytical lens in the review. Findings -Findings indicate that health promotion needs to be understood as comprehensive care, involving not only the provision of health care services, but also knowledge dissemination and the facilitation of access to these services. Limited health literacy, low levels of self-efficacy and autonomy, and diverse life course experiences, particularly in the case of immigrant older adults, give rise to issues around the identification of need and system navigation. Cultural beliefs on health and illness, particularly around diet and exercise, and a lack of trust in formal systems of health care, are barriers to the uptake of interventions. Similarly, service permeability is low when cultural competency is lacking. Practical implications -The recommendations include the need for collaborative engagement with stakeholders, including family, peers, community partners and health practitioners, and the development of concise, culturally, and linguistically appropriate tools of health promotion that are targeted toward the intersecting needs of individuals in this diverse population of older adults. Originality/value -Given the increasingly diverse nature of the older adult population in Canada over the past four decades, this paper makes an important contribution toward understanding the social, cultural, structural, biographical, and geographical factors that may optimize the effective disseminati...

Understanding the Patient Experience of Foreign-Born Older Adults: A Scoping Review of Older Immigrants Receiving Health Care in Canada

“…Our findings are consistent with other research in this area: similarly to Wang et al’s (2019) review of older immigrants’ experiences with primary care, we too identified the importance of language and culture (Wang et al, 2019); we also echo the findings of Khan and Kobayashi (2015) in their analysis of health promotion uptake by older immigrants, who also emphasized the importance of system navigation and how diverse life experiences may influence when and how an FBOA accesses and experiences the health care system (Khan & Kobayashi, 2015).…”

Challenged assumptions and invisible effects: an explorative case study of a health education intervention addressing immigrants

“…In recent years, several immigrant-related health interventions have been initiated in Denmark (Eskildsen et al , 2012) as well as in other Western countries (Nierkens et al , 2013). The current interest, both policy-wise and scientific, in immigrant-related health improvement interventions in Denmark and other Western counties reflects the vulnerable and socially and economically disadvantaged situation of non-Western immigrant groups[1] (Bhopal, 2007; Gideon, 2011; Hjern, 2012; Khan and Kobayashi, 2015; Lorant and Dauvrin, 2012; Statistics Denmark, 2009; Stronks and Kunst, 2009), and their poor health outcomes compared with the general population (Correa-Velez et al , 2011; Helweg-Larsen et al , 2007; Masmas et al , 2010; Singhammer, 2008; Smith and Szuster, 2000; Tiong et al , 2006; Yun et al , 2012). Denmark is becoming increasingly multi-cultural.…”