ECCV launch "Aged Care Services for People from Ethnic Backgrounds"

16 December 2008

Mr Sam Afra, Chairperson of the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria (ECCV), hailed the launch today of a new research paper examining the planning and delivery of services for older people from diverse cultural backgrounds.

“This paper helps stimulate a much-needed discussion about the state aged care for our rapidly expanding population of seniors from ethnic backgrounds,” Mr Afra said.

The research report, commissioned by ECCV, was produced by Monash University’s Healthy Ageing Research Unit (HARU) and officially launched by Ms Anna Burke, Federal Member for Chisholm, at the Monash Conference Centre in Melbourne.

Mr Afra said a key theme of the report was a need for ethno-specific agencies and mainstream services to better complement each other.

“Too often discussion about different aged care models focuses on comparisons between the public, private and community sectors which is not always been appropriate or productive,” Mr Afra said.

“Many grass-roots community organisations have taken on the responsibility of aged care provider for the elderly in their ethnic communities because of an identified need,” Mr Afra explained.  “They do so with minimal support and the slenderest of resources, and should be commended for the immeasurable difference they make to the lives of Victorian seniors.”

“The report notes, however, that it isn’t enough for us to simply rely on ethno-specific agencies to respond to the needs of all of Australia’s ethnic communities.  As our diverse population ages, all service providers have a duty of care to better understand and attend to the specific needs that arise, and are prevalent already.”

The research report identified a lack of accessible information about services to older people and their families as a key barrier to be addressed.

Mr Afra paid special tribute to the team of researchers at Monash University responsible for producing the report.

“The development of this research paper is a prime example of the type of co-operative projects that can and should be encouraged between the community and academic sectors,” Mr Afra said.  “ECCV hopes it will also signal the beginning of further intensive research into the needs and expectations of older people from diverse backgrounds and their families.”

“By being part of the consultation process, older Victorians have the chance to provide their own input into the planning and policy that most directly affects their lives.”

theage.com.au also reported the paper. Please click here for details. Also you can click here to download the paper.