EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Care support in immigrant families

Care support in immigrant families

Introduction

This study focuses on care support in immigrant families. In practice, these families appear to make little use of existing forms of volunteer care support.

Proposition

What are the factors for success and failure of care support in immigrant families?

Description

Immigrant families still solve care problems within their own milieu. They make little use of existing forms of volunteer care support. Support directed specifically towards this group is scarce. This study, with reference to ten selected projects, provides an insight into possible problems and successful methods. Consideration has been given to accessing the target group, the necessary skills of care providers, boundary conditions for organisation and, where necessary, the development of an appropriate range of services.

Conclusions

The content of culturally appropriate care is dependent on the cultural distance from dominant care institutions.
Where there is a large cultural gap, such as with older immigrants with a low educational level, total modification to their wishes and customs is usually the appropriate strategy.
Where there is less cultural distance, such as with younger, well-educated immigrants, the improvement of access to existing provisions, for example by means of public information, is sufficient.
To the extent that the cultural gap is wider, it will also be necessary to remove practical and psychological barriers.
If care and welfare providers wish to support immigrant families, this requires a series of steps, which to a large extent run parallel with culturalisation in general. These steps are further described in the study.

Contact info

Expertisecentrum Informele Zorg (Expertise Centre for Informal Care)
info@informelezorg.info

Publication date

01/05/2004

Researcher

Yvonne de Jong et al.

Article info
ISBN: 9059572807

Links

Expertisecentrum Informele Zorg (Expertise Centre for Informal Care)

Colouring in Care. Care support in immigrant families (PDF, Dutch, 206KB)

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Quality of life

Keywords

Social services